Rajasthan pulled off a marvellous two-run win over Punjab in the 32nd match of IPL 2021. Just four needed off the last over and Punjab can’t even do that, that’s just one of the poorest death overs batting the IPL has ever witnessed.
PU needed 10 off 15, 8 off 12 and finally, just 4 off the final over. And yet, they have ended up losing by a couple of runs. Lost for words here.At times it felt like Kings were yawning through the latter half of the chase after Agarwal and Rahul got out, which perhaps was part of the problem. They let it drag out and drag out, lacking the killer instinct to put the match to sleep. The door was left ever so slightly ajar and Kartik Tyagi has snuck through to steal victory for Royals at the finish line. It’s rare to see a team lose when they have eight wickets in hand heading into the final over but Kings have somehow managed to do just that.
An over for the ages from Kartik Tyagi! Defends 4 after the Fizz had delivered a 4 run over. Incredible finish. How could #PunjabKings mess this up!
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) September 21, 2021
But spare a thought for young Tyagi. With hardly anything to defend in the final over, he stuck to his guns and bowled brilliantly. The Kings still should have gotten those four runs though. The chase was set up by the openers, KL and Mayank both taking turns at bossing the bowling, and it looked like one-way street even after they got out. Markram and Pooran seemed to have gotten the job done – well seemed to have is the right expression, because they didn’t. A thrilling game of cricket and you’d think that it was much-needed for the IPL after the way the previous two games went.
KL Rahul Utterly Disappointed
“It’s a tough one to swallow. We have been a team that has experienced games like these before. We need to see how we can handle pressure better. Trying to finish in the 18th over sometimes you go too hard and lose your way and let the opponents in. We haven’t learnt from previous mistakes. We will now try to come back stronger and win the next five games. We pulled things back quite nicely with the ball, kept taking wickets, which is very crucial in this format. Getting runs for me, Mayank and even Aiden in his first IPL game was important.”
Kartik Tyagi – Man of the Match
” I was injured during the India leg of the IPL and by the time I got fit, the tournament was suspended. Felt sad. So this feels really good. I have been talking to people over the years and they keep telling me that things keep changing in this format, so I need to keep believing. I’ve always heard from everyone and also watched games in this format where strange things have happened. Today, I was fortunate to play a big role in something special. I was bowling a bit too short earlier, later worked on it consciously after getting a lot of feedback.”
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