On Wednesday, Punjab Kings (PBKS) led by Shikhar Dhawan continued their winning streak by defeating Rajasthan Royals (RR) by five runs in a thrilling Indian Premier League (IPL) match in Guwahati. Dhawan, who led the team from the front, played a brilliant unbeaten innings of 86 off 56 balls to help Punjab Kings post a daunting total of 197/4 in their 20 overs, after being put into bat first. Prabhsimran Singh also played an important role in Punjab’s innings, providing them with a quick start alongside Dhawan as the duo added 90 runs for the opening wicket. However, Prabhsimran was dismissed for a well-played 64 off 34 balls, following which Dhawan combined with Jitesh Sharma (27 off 16) to put on another 50-plus partnership.
Rajasthan Royals, in response, tried an experiment by sending R Ashwin to open alongside Yashasvi Jaiswal, but it failed miserably as they lost Yashasvi, Ashwin, and Jos Buttler in the powerplay. Sanju Samson, however, steadied the innings with his knock. Nathan Ellis, who picked up four wickets, kept things under control for Punjab Kings. However, Shimron Hetmyer and Dhruv Jurel’s hard-hitting kept Rajasthan Royals in the hunt before Sam Curran bowled an exceptional final over to seal the victory for Punjab Kings and secure two vital points for the team.