Sam Curran led from the front to power Punjab Kings to an emphatic five wicket victory against the struggling Rajasthan Royals in the IPL 2024 match on Wednesday, May 15, 2024.
Curran stroked an unbeaten 63 from 41 balls -- the only half-century of the match played on a difficult pitch at the Barsapara cricket stadium, Guwahati.
Local lad Riyan Parag had treated the home fans to some sizzling boundaries as he hit 48 from 34 balls but could not prevent Royals from suffering their fourth defeat in a row.
Who do you think played the best knock?
Sam Curran
After being retained for Rs 18.5 crore (Rs 185 million) ahead of the IPL auction, Sam Curran didn't live up to expectations this season.
In the absence of the injured Shikhar Dhawan, he was handed the captaincy but Curran could not come up with commanding performances as Punjab Kings endured another disappointing season.
Against the Rajasthan Royals, Curran starred with both bat and ball to steer Punjab to a consolation five wicket victory.
After starring with the ball with excellent figures of 2/24, the England all-rounder played a vital knock with the bat.
Punjab were struggling on 36/3 inside the Powerplay as Curran took the responsibility upon himself by walking in at No. 5.
Curran struggled to get started on the sluggish pitch as he managed just seven runs from the first 10 balls he faced. His first boundary off Yuzvendra Chahal was quite streaky as he got a bottom edge trying to sweep for a four fine on the leg side.
While Jitesh Sharma continued to struggle and was happy to take the singles, Curran ensured that he hit the boundaries in the middle overs.
Jitesh heaved Ravichandran Ashwin over mid wicket for a six before Curran used his feet to loft the spinner for a wonderful inside out six over the cover region, while also taking his team past the 100 run mark, in the 15th over.
He brought up his fifty from 38 balls -- his second of the season -- before he settled the deal with a six off Sandeep Sharma in the 18th over.
Curran then slammed Avesh Khan for a six and his partner Ashutosh Sharma also hammered the pacer for another six to take Punjab Kings to an important victory which helped them get off the bottom of the standings and overtake Mumbai Indians into ninth place.
Riyan Parag
Riyan Parag rescued Royals with a responsible 48.
Playing in front of his home fans in Guwahati, Parag didn't let the pressure affect him as he rebuild Royals after a difficult start.
Coming in at No. 4, with the Royals struggling at 41/2 in 6.4 overs, Parag got off the mark with a single off Nathan Ellis. It took Parag ten deliveries to find his first boundary of the evening as he punched Harshal Patel for a four in the 11th over.
Parag steadied Royals' innings alongside Ashwin as the pair added 50 off 34 for the fourth wicket. The normally aggressive Parag gauged the conditions at his home ground quite well and was happy to play second fiddle to Ashwin, who hammered Rahul Chahar for two fours and a six in the 12th over to get some momentum back.
Parag found his next boundary in the 13th over as he crunched Arshdeep Singh in the gap between covers and point. That four took Parag past the 500 run mark in IPL 2024.
This is only the second time that an uncapped Indian player has scored 500 runs or more in the IPL. The first one do it was Parag's team-mate Yashasvi Jaiswal, who hammered 625 runs in IPL 2023 last year.
The first uncapped player to breach the 500 run mark was Australia's Shaun Marsh, who struck 616 runs in the inaugural IPL in 2008.
Parag hit a couple of boundaries ofd Sam Curran and Ellis before hammering Arshdeep Singh for back-to-back fours in the 18th over.
With wickets tumbling Parag couldn't break free as he fell just two short of a deserved half-century. Looking to go for the big shot in the final over, Parag was deceived by a slower ball from Harshal Patel in the final over as he was trapped leg before for a 34-ball 48, having hit six boundaries.
Parag's dream season with the bat continued as he took his tally to 531 runs in 13 games -- the fourth highest this season as he overtook RR Captain Sanju Samson (504 runs).
Parag, in fact, has scored nearly as many runs this season as he managed in five previous seasons combined for the Royals.
PBKS Vs RR: Who Played The Best Knock? Vote!
Photographs: BCCI
