Kings needed only four off the final over with eight wickets in hand, but they came up short
A banner statistical day for Punjab Kings that included KL Rahul passing 3000 runs in the IPL, 2000 runs in the league for Mayank Agarwal, and a maiden IPL five-for from left-arm seamer Arshdeep Singh became completely spoiled in the final moments of play as they tripped spectacularly at the final hurdle, losing by two runs despite having six wickets in hand chasing a target of 186.
Rahul was dropped three times during a sloppy fielding display by Royals that allowed him to reach 49 in the end as part of a century stand with Agarwal. But Royals were able to overcome that due to the brilliance of Mustafizur Rahman and Kartik Tyagi. With eight runs needed off 12 balls and eight wickets in hand, Mustafizur conceded just four singles off the penultimate over.
The odds were still overwhelmingly in favor of Kings entering the final over with the well-set pair of Aiden Markram and Nicholas Pooran at the crease on 25 and 32 respectively in the midst of a half-century partnership. But after a single by Markram, Pooran’s attempted steer with an open face to third man instead found the gloves of Sanju Samson behind the stumps. Markram was then starved of the strike for the rest of the over as Deepak Hooda and then Fabian Allen could not get away Tyagi’s wide yorkers, capping a scoreless final four deliveries and a stunning heist by Tyagi and the Royals.
More to follow…
Peter Della Penna is ESPNcricinfo’s USA correspondent @PeterDellaPenna