PBKS vs RR / Rajasthan stopped Punjab's victory streak - won the match by 50 runs

Rajasthan Royals defeated Punjab Kings by 50 runs in the 18th match of IPL 2025. Yashasvi Jaiswal scored 67 and Riyan Parag scored an unbeaten 43. Punjab could score only 155 runs while chasing the target of 206 runs. Jofra Archer took 3 wickets.

PBKS vs RR: The excitement of IPL 2025 is at its peak and in the 18th match played on Saturday, Rajasthan Royals (RR) once again strengthened their intentions by defeating Punjab Kings (PBKS) by 50 runs. In this high-scoring match played at Maharaja Yadavindra Singh Cricket Stadium in Mullanpur, Rajasthan's batting, bowling and captaincy—all three gave the team a spectacular victory. At the same time, the Punjab team had to face defeat for the first time this season.

Yashasvi-Samson's great start

Despite losing the toss, Rajasthan Royals started batting with confidence. Opener Yashasvi Jaiswal and captain Sanju Samson shared a crucial 89-run partnership for the first wicket. Jaiswal showed a great mix of patience and aggression and scored 67 runs off 45 balls, including three fours and five skyscraper sixes. This was the 10th half-century of his IPL career and also the slowest so far.

Sanju Samson, while taking over the responsibility of captaincy, played a crucial innings of 38 runs in 26 balls. Both were dismissed by Lockie Ferguson, who took two wickets for Punjab. Riyan Parag then gave an explosive end to the innings by scoring a quick unbeaten 43. Nitish Rana, Shimron Hetmyer and Dhruv Jurel also made useful contributions. The team scored 205 runs for the loss of 4 wickets in 20 overs, which also became the highest IPL score ever on this ground.

Punjab innings – setback in the beginning, hope in the middle, disappointment in the end

Chasing the target of 206 runs, Punjab Kings had a very bad start. The team came under pressure due to wickets falling at regular intervals. However, Nehal Wadhera played a brilliant innings of 62 runs in 41 balls and gave hope to the team by sharing an 88-run partnership with Glenn Maxwell (30 runs).

But this partnership could not take the team to victory. Rajasthan bowlers performed brilliantly in the last overs. Jofra Archer took three wickets with his speed and line-length, while Sandeep Sharma and Mahish Teekshana got 2-2 successes. Punjab team could score only 155 runs for 9 wickets in 20 overs.

Rajasthan's strategy was impressive

The credit for Rajasthan Royals' victory goes not only to the players, but also to the captaincy and strategy. Sanju Samson changed the bowlers at the right time and kept changing the fielding, due to which the opposition batsmen did not get a chance to play freely. After winning the second consecutive match, the team is moving up strongly in the points table.

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