The maths is quite intriguing now. As things stand, PBKS or RR can still get to 14 points and the latter’s net run-rate (NRR) is quite sound and a win will throw them back into the fray, depending on how the other sides do.
Dharamshala: The Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 is at that stage where the last few matches have taken some fascinating angles. Here we have a situation where Punjab Kings (PBKS), fresh out of the disappointing loss in their last game, taking on Rajasthan Royals (RR) who were so much in the run till not so long ago. But the way the IPL 2023 points table is shaping up, even now, at least RR would be looking for some sort of mathematical miracle to see if there is any toehold on the qualifiers bandwagon. For sure, this will be a pipe dream but hope lives eternal.
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The maths is quite intriguing now. As things stand, PBKS or RR can still get to 14 points and the latter’s net run-rate (NRR) is quite sound and a win will throw them back into the fray, depending on how the other sides do.
Mumbai Indians (MI) are on 14 points with one game to go, while Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) are on 12, with the potential of reaching 16 with two games left.
If RCB win both matches, then all the rest will pack their bags and head back home. But if they lose, as do MI, then RR can even look like a strong bet.
As for PBKS, their dreams are almost done and dusted. Even if they were to win against RR, their NRR is hardly expected to go through the roof. But what that will do is also consign RR to history.
Not the best place to be for either side, more so RR, since they have it all to play for now. As for PBKS, they were till Wednesday night pretty much in the game, but a loss to bottom-placed Delhi Capitals ended their campaign for all intents and purposes.
Liam Livingstone would possibly be the most depressed PBKS batter after the DC game. His 94 was so close, but the Punjab bowlers had given away too many runs for him to do any more.
PBKS were always a very strange mix of players. They never had any really big names, barring maybe Sam Curran, who was bought for some exorbitant sum, and did precious little through the tournament to justify that tag. Livingstone had some bright moments, as did skipper Shikhar Dhawan towards the beginning of the tournament, but just not enough.
Ironically, PBKS boast one of the batters who have scored centuries in IPL 2023 in Prabhsimran Singh, but that just does not reflect on their overall performance.
The bowling too was strange. We had Arhsdeep Singh and Harpreet Brar with some fine spells, as also Nathan Ellis, but like the batting, not frequently enough.
As for RR, having a batter like Yashasvi Jaiswal at the top of the inning and still struggling to survive says a lot about how the rest have fared.
Their last game was an unqualified disaster, being dismissed for 59 with a line-up that included Jaiswal, Jos Buttler, Sanju Samson, Joe Root and Shimron Hetmyer.
Nevertheless, all of that is now in the past, and at least for RR, there is another chance to get two points and then wait and watch. Maybe the other sides will have late nerves. A remote chance, but that is the only one RR have left themselves.
