'El Clasico of IPL for a reason' - Fans react as Punjab Kings beat Rajasthan Royals by five runs in a nail-biting encounter in IPL 2023

In the eighth match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023, Rajasthan Royals hosted Punjab Kings at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium in Guwahati. In the thrilling game, Punjab Kings beat Rajasthan by five runs. Skipper Shikhar Dhawan and pacer Nathan Ellis shined in Punjab’s victory. Dhawan, in his innings, scored 86 runs off 56 balls, while Ellis clinched four wickets in the second innings.

Earlier, after winning the toss, Rajasthan Royals skipper Sanju Samson opted to bowl first and called visitors to bat. Punjab capitalized on the opportunity as their opener Prabhsimran Singh and Shikhar Dhawan added 90 runs in 9.4 overs. Prabhsimran, in his innings, scored 60 runs off 34 balls, with the help of seven boundaries and three sixes. He was dismissed by Jason Holder who gave the first breakthrough to the hosts.

Meanwhile, Dhawan continued his attacking batting as he scored yet another half-century. Dhawan, in his innings, scored unbeaten 86 runs off 56 balls, with the help of nine fours and three sixes. In the end, Jitesh Sharma also played a crucial knock of 27 runs off 16 balls, including two boundaries and one six. Notably, Jason Holder shined with the ball for Rajasthan Royals as he clinched two wickets. Ravichandran Ashwin and Yuzvendra Chahal also clinched one wicket each as Punjab Kings posted 197/4 in 20 overs.

Rajasthan failed to handle the pressure 

Chasing 198 never looked easy for Rajasthan Royals as they failed to build any partnership throughout the run chase. Starting with a bizarre decision to open with Ravichandran Ashwin, RR never tried to make an impact in the game. Rajasthan lost wickets on regular intervals as they were restricted to 57-3 in the powerplay.

Later, skipper Sanju Samson, along with Devdutt Padikkal, tried to build a partnership but eventually failed to do so. Sanju, in his innings, scored 42 runs off 25 balls with the help of five boundaries and one maximum. In the end, Riyan Parag, Padikkal, Dhruv Jurel, and Shimron Hetmyer tried to score quick runs but eventually failed to pull the win for their team. Padikkal played a slow inning of 21 runs while Parag scored quick 20 off 12 balls. Jurel, in his innings, scored unbeaten 32 runs off 15 balls.

Meanwhile, Nathan Ellis shined with the bowl for Punjab Kings as he clinched four wickets. He dismissed players like Jos Buttler, Devdutt Padikkal, Sanju Samson, and Riyan Parag. Apart from him, pacer Arshdeep Singh clinched two wickets.

Here are how fans react to the thrilling game

Man of the match for PBKS
DEVDUTT PADIKAL 🔥 pic.twitter.com/xjWSR7acZI

— Saurabh Jayaswal (@criccrazy100rbh) April 5, 2023

pic.twitter.com/OB8YTiV0Zu

— Bavuma fc (@RRfanforever) April 5, 2023

Chutiya Samson at d end is biggest WATERBOY 😂😂😂😂😂 pic.twitter.com/zaUVgxO2pl

— Anu ICT FANGIRL ❤️ (@big_bull12) April 5, 2023

pic.twitter.com/jHzSvXAcrR

— Laksh Sind (@LakshSind) April 5, 2023

pic.twitter.com/zEdh09R9xo

— Diljot Sidhu (@DiljotSidhu16) April 5, 2023

Padikkal impact player for pbks

— Fan of Daburmelon Tarbuzazam🛎️ka king (@klassytushar) April 5, 2023

Another father of chumtiya ling loli pic.twitter.com/GdW5ORy6Ul

— god Rohit sharma fanclub (@rogoat45ro) April 5, 2023

Punjab has the best death bowling in the tournament

Curran-Arshdeep-Ellis

— Satyam Singh (@MyFreakyTweets) April 5, 2023

Arshdeep went Dinda mode in 19th over pic.twitter.com/2aJvGj516z

— Ritvik (@kohli_fanatic) April 5, 2023

pic.twitter.com/3YG3dgfDxk

— Rishabh Pandey (@RAVINDU_PANDEY) April 5, 2023

Plot : Thriller 🥵 when these 2 teams meet.. El classico in recent years.. Sam Curran showed his class 👌

— Cricspaceoffl (@cricspaceoffl) April 5, 2023

Thanks to Lord Paddikal to make this irrelevant match interesting.

— DK (@CricCrazyDK) April 5, 2023