Picture Credit: BCCI/IPL
Saturday brought two thrilling doubleheaders for all the cricket fans. A lot of action, power-packed hitting, and exciting moments came to the fore. Rajasthan Royals defeated Punjab Kings by 6 wickets in the afternoon, followed by Lucknow Super Giants proving their ultimate dominance against Kolkata Knight Riders after beating them by 75 runs.
Speaking of the first match, the Royals chased down 189 on the back of Yashasvi Jaiswal (68 off 41), Jos Buttler (30 off 16) and a blistering knock of 31 from Shimron Hetmyer towards the end. Earlier, Yuzvendra Chahal's three-wicket-haul challenged Punjab batters, but Jonny Bairstow (56 off 40) and Jitesh Sharma's 38 in 18 balls helped the side to post 189 at the loss of five wickets.
On the other hand, Kolkata Knight Riders succumbed in front of a lethal pace attack from Avesh Khan, Jason Holder and Mohsin and, as the runner-up of the previous season, got bundled out at just 101. Aaron Finch (14 off 14), Andre Russell (45 off 19) and Sunil Narine (22 off 12) were the only batters who could reach double-digit figures. In contrast, wicketkeeper-batter Baba Indrajith, Anukul Roy and Tim Southee got out at duck.
Avesh and Jason picked three wickets each in the game, while Mohsin conceded just 6 runs in three overs and picked one priced wicket of Baba Indrajith. For Lucknow, Quinton de Kock (50 off 29) and Deepak Hooda (41 off 27) played brilliant knocks in the first innings, whereas Marcus Stoinis geared up the innings in the death over by scoring 28 runs. Let's take a look at the points table after two thrilling games.
Changes in points table
Lucknow Super Giants has reached the top of the table with 16 points after eight wins in eleven games. On the other hand, Kolkata Knight Riders have been almost eliminated from the playoffs race. Speaking of another match, Rajasthan Royals has secured the third spot in the table with seven wins in eleven games, while Punjab Kings is slipped to the seventh position in the points table.
What did the captains say?
After the first game of Saturday's double-header, Sanju Samson looked happy and confident after a crucial stage of a comprehensive win. He lauded every player in the team for stepping up and doing their part. Sanju was highly impressed with Yashasvi Jaiswal, whose crucial 68 in 41 balls set the right tone for Rajasthan, while he believes Yuzvendra Chahal is a world-class spinner and doing a phenomenal job for the team. Meanwhile, Mayank Agarwal felt that bowling could have been better as the bowlers leaked too many runs despite taking wickets at regular intervals.
After the second match of the day, KL Rahul was delighted with that dominating performance from the players as he mentioned De Kock and Hooda batted brilliantly, whereas Mohsin Khan, Avesh Khan and Jason Holder stepped up when the team needed them in the second innings. On the other hand, Shreyas Iyer confessed of being outplayed by the opponents in all the departments and didn't put in many fights in the game.
Today's matchup
Sunday (May 8) will bring yet another doubleheader for the cricket fans as Hyderabad will take on Bangalore at the iconic Wankhede Stadium in the afternoon clash. The second match will get defending champions Chennai Super Kings up against Delhi Capitals at DY Patil Sports Academy in Mumbai.