Rajasthan snatch win

DUBAI – A disastrous final 17 balls from the Punjab Kings saw them throw away a certain win to fall to a two-run defeat against the Rajasthan Royals in their 2021 Vivo IPL clash at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium yesterday.

Batting first, the Royals managed 185 all out in their innings, before a solid performance from the Kings saw them needing 12 runs to win off 17 balls with eight wickets in hand. Some tight bowling from Chris Morris and Mustafizur Rahman limited the Kings to just eight runs from 11 balls, with them heading into the final over needing four runs to win. Set batsmen Nicholas Pooran, 32 off 22 balls (1x4; 2x6) and Aiden Markram, 26 not out off 20 (2x4; 1x6) were at the crease and would have been confident in knocking off the runs, while Kartik Tyagi was given the unenviable task of defending the improbable.

However, Tyagi then bowled a perfect final over to become the hero as the first ball was a dot followed by a single to Markram, before the third ball saw Pooran edge behind to keeper Sanju Samson. Two very wide deliveries followed with new man Deepak Hooda following both, the first he missed and the second he edged to fall for a duck, leaving three needed off the final ball with Fabian Allen unable to get his bat to the ball as the Kings ended on 183 for four.