IPL 2024: Curran Crushes Royals' Confidence, RR Loses Fourth Straight Before Playoffs
Sam Curran's all-round performance handed RR their fourth straight defeat ahead of the playoffs as PBKS won by 5 wickets in Guwahati on Wednesday, May 15. Curran took 2 wickets and scored 63 off 41 balls as Royals' second half syndrome continued and they risked losing their place in the top two. The defeat ensured that KKR moved to the top of the IPL points table. In Guwahati, RR won the toss and elected to bat first on the day. However, they didn't get off to the best of starts as Yashaswi Jaiswal pulled one onto his stumps. Sanju Samson and debutant Tom Kohler-Cadmore struggled in the powerplay overs as the PBKS bowlers were disciplined in the first six. Samson would perish in hopes of increasing the run-rate and Kohler-Cadmore soon followed him back to the pavilion.
The innings was repaired by R Ashwin and Ryan Parag's 50-run partnership, but Ashwin's wicket would once again cause the opening batting order to collapse. Dhruv Jurrell, Rovman Powell and Donovan Ferreira all failed to hit the target with the bat as Parag's 48 in the end proved to be the saving grace as RR posted 144 for 9 in their 20 overs. Curran, Harshal Patel and Rahul Chahar will take 2 wickets each. PBKS's innings started similarly to RR One as they lost Prabhasimran Singh early. Riley Rossouw would score 22 as it looked like Punjab were taking the game away from the Royals when Avesh Khan came into the field. The pacer picked up Rossov and Shashank Singh in the same over as PBKS got back into the run-chase. Bairstow would also score 14 off 22 balls as the Royals looked to be in control of things.
Jitesh Sharma and Curran would keep the innings steady and attack the RR bowlers as the pair put on 63 runs as it looked like PBKS were on their way to victory. However, Jeetesh's wicket will bring RR into the contest. But Curran and Ashutosh Sharma ensured that PBKS got the win in the end as they moved away from the bottom of the table.
RR need a solution as the second half jinx continues
One of the things that seem synonymous with RR is how they have fallen apart in the second half of the season. RR has been a contender for the last few seasons and reached the final in 2022. In 2023, they once again set the pace, only to falter in the end and miss the playoffs.
The 2024 season started with a lot of optimism as they won 7 of their first 8 matches. It looked like RR would be the first team to reach the playoffs and top the table once the league phase was over. However, they had lost three matches in a row before the PBKS result and were relegated as it became the first season that KKR knocked them out and qualified.
The second half of the IPL 2024 season also saw inconsistency in the RR camp with Sanju Samson and Ryan Parag maintaining form. Both have scored more than 500 runs this season. The bowling has also had problems with not taking many wickets recently with the likes of Trent Boult and R Ashwin. RR will now be looking over their shoulder as they could lose second place if SRH win both their remaining games by big margins. This means Samson and co. A big win against KKR on May 19 is a must.
PBKS shows struggle with bowling
PBKS bowling showed a lot of character and fight in Guwahati. Kuran led from the front as they didn't let RR get away in the powerplay with Rahul Chahar acting as the enforcer in the middle. RR got just 34 runs in the last few overs and their score was 144. PBKS will now be without most of their overseas players, with Bairstow, Curran being left out. Kagiso Rabada and Liam Livingstone are already out and they will be forced to rely on Indian players for the final match against SRH.