IPL 2021 | PKBS vs RR - Hits & Flops as change of name just about pays off for Punjab

The new, refreshed, rejuvenated Punjab Kings just about held on in an absolute nail-biter of a game in the fourth match of the Vivo Indian Premier League against Rajasthan Royals on Monday, 12 April at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.

In what turned out to be a six-hitting contest between the teams Kings pipped the Royals in the final delivery of the match, clinching the victory by four runs weathering a Sanju Samson assault.

The newly appointed Rajasthan captain lived a charmed life in Mumbai on a fine Monday evening taking full advantage of being dropped by the Kings multiple times throughout the game. Samson, famous for his elegance, presented his full arsenal of deft touches and almost chased down the mammoth target set by KL Rahul and his men. But more on that later.

Before that, let us talk a little bit about the build-up to this encounter.

There are several franchises in the history of the sporting world that have rebranded themselves in an attempt to change their luck. In IPL specifically, Kolkata Knight Riders did it after a couple of dismal seasons. From an elegant black and gold jersey, that looked rather good on the eye, they shifted purple, and well, gold. Mind you that the change did bring them two trophies in 2012 and 2014, albeit, it was probably more because of the team that they set up under Gautam Gambhir. 

Now assuming that you believe in that kind of voodoo, Punjab’s change of name and match kit also brought a change of approach in their playing style. Ridiculed for their lack of intent in the batting line-up, Punjab Kings looked to amend things as quickly as possible. Easier said than done, Punjab were yet again stuck in the powerplay scoring just 46 runs off the first six overs. With captain KL stuck at 15 off 13 balls, things looked ominous for the Punjab franchise.

Visibly frustrated KL Rahul knew that he had to shake things up. Timing his innings to perfection from there on, KL Rahul started finding his range with one boundary per over. He reached his 30-ball 50 in the 13th over of the game and from there it was just carnage. Putting the balls away to every part of the ground, Rahul at the end of his innings in the final over had managed to score a 50-ball 91 at a strike rate of 182, well above the rate he scored last season (129). 

Why talk about Rahul here you ask and not in the hits section? Because, actually, he kind of, failed to make it. It was just that type of day today in the IPL.

So, without further delay, let us get into our Hits and Flops of the day.

#1 Deepak Hooda

There are only two reasons why KL Rahul does not make this list, one obviously is the Samson century and the other one is Deepak Hooda. Before Rahul found his range and unleashed hell from the 14th over, Hurricane Hooda was already batting at a strike rate of 200, 20 off 10 to be precise.

Now mind you, Hooda walked into the park in a tricky situation with the Punjab unit poised at 89/2 in the 10th over with Gayle and Mayank Agarwal having gone back to the pavilion.

Getting an uncapped Indian player who had not played competitive cricket since IPL last year ahead of a seasoned, in-form Nicholas Pooran was a brave call. But the confidence paid off. The number 4 bludgeoned the bowlers in the middle overs and set the stage perfectly for the rest of the big hitters to come. The pair weaved a partnership of 105 runs in just 47 deliveries, where the Rohtak-born was the primary aggressor, scoring 64 runs off just 28 balls.

#2 Chetan Sakariya

Chetan Sakariya is not your run of the mill story. Hailing from Bhavnagar, Sakariya grew up as a tennis ball player and comes from a very humble family who found it difficult to make ends meet. Sakariya is the lone breadwinner for his family in the last few years after his father had to shut his tempo business due to ill health.

There is an expression in football that warriors are made in the most extreme of circumstances. Sakariya’s spell today exemplified that. 

Playing his first game in the IPL, Sakariya stole the limelight with his exceptional seam position and his ability to move the ball both ways.

Things did not start very pretty though. He was baptised in fire by Punjab openers who hit the ball running scoring two boundaries off his first over.

Sakariya was not going to give up, people with his kind of mentality do not give up. He returned for his second over, gave just a single run and dismissed Mayank Agarwal. 

He would later come back to bowl his final two in the death where a similar story would transpire. He would get hit for 15 runs in the 17th over and then would once again come back to pick two wickets in the final over of the first innings.

If that was not enough on debut, he also grabbed a fantastic chance at fine leg off Chris Morris bowling to dismiss the dangerous Nicholas Pooran. 

#3 Sanju Samson

There has never been a shred of doubt about the amount of talent Sanju Samson possesses. Elegant stroke maker who can change the direction of the play inside a couple of overs, the cricketing world has been waiting for several years for Samson to come of age. Only, he hasn’t. Consistency has been an issue with him and if today’s innings was any indication, it still might be. Punjab Kings’ fielders were guilty of dropping him twice in the early part of the chase but that should not take anything away from what Sanju Samson achieved tonight.

En route his third hundred of the IPL, Sanju’s measured attack was pleasing to the eyes. Offered half volleys in a plate, the RR captain kept grazing the balls through the gaps. He kept Rajasthan in the game till the last ball, and if his last shot of the day would have come off, this could easily have been ranked as one of the best T20 knocks ever played by the batsman.

Samson's defiant 119 off 63 balls is the 10th highest score in the history of the IPL and is the joint second-highest runs scored in a chase.

Flops

#1 Riley Meredith and Jhye Richardson

The Australian speedsters welcome in the Indian Premier League was not a good one. Especially Meredith who was welcomed by Jos Buttler with 4,4,4,4 in his first four balls.

Both bowlers were guilty of bowling too full in Indian conditions and that error cost the Punjab Kings 104 runs in between their eight overs.

The idea behind getting the two speedsters as coach Anil Kumble put it was to strengthen the franchise’s death bowling. While Meredith bowled a brilliant 19th over picking up a wicket at the cost of eight runs, that does wash the blood off his hands.

The speedsters showed glimpses of brilliance hurrying batsmen at occasions with their ability to skid the ball off the surface, but for the majority of the game, it looked like they had not adjusted their lengths to the Indian conditions yet.

Richardson actually bowled a terrific slower yorker against a set Jos Buttler who was looking due for a big one. He outfoxed the Englishmen with an extraordinary dip on the ball to castle his stumps and bring Punjab back into the game.

Having said that, both players would need to find the sweet spot if they want to remain in contention for the first XI in the franchise.

#2 Ben Stokes

Let’s not fool anyone here. T20 has never quite been Stokes’ forte. About 2750 runs at a strike rate of 136 and 75 wickets at an economy over 8.5 from 140 T20 matches, Stokes has not done justice to his talent.

Having said that it is Stokes utility as an international player that gets him an assured space into any side in the world in any format. He is a gun fielder at every position, he can bat at any position and is very handy with the ball. 

Now, there are days that none of these really work out. He dropped two chances in the outfield, poor communication meant that Jos Buttler dropped one because of him and he just bowled only one over, where he conceded 12 runs.

Coming into the chase, Stokes made a three-ball duck trying to pull a hard length delivery against Shami. 

Knowing Ben Stokes, he would certainly pick himself up, but the more important question here is when? Last season in the United Arab Emirates, he had a horrible outing in the IPL, scoring 285 runs in 8 matches, out of which there was a 107*. With the ball, he leaked runs at over 10 per over and managed to pick just 2 wickets.

It is of utmost importance for the Rajasthan franchise to figure out the key to unleash Stokes at full potential, something they did with Buttler today, playing him at four. With the lack of swing on offer, Buttler in his brief stay became a nightmare for the bowlers, something that took the pressure off Sanju Samson. If it were not for the foxy yorker, the story could have been very different for Rajasthan tonight.

So, there we have it, our hits and flops of the game that yielded 24 sixes, 40 boundaries and 438 runs. 

Catch you in the next one as Mumbai Indians take on Kolkata Knight Riders at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on 13 April at 7:30 pm.