Picture Credit: BCCI/IPL
It won't be an easy defeat to digest for the Punjab Kings fans and supporters on Tuesday night. The victory was theirs for the taking and it looked only a matter of time as to when they would be able to finish the run chase but when it mattered the most their batters failed to absorb the pressure. With eight to get from the last two overs, teams would take that situation every day of the week in every month of the year but Punjab found a way to lose from there despite having two set batters out in the middle.
To add salt to their wounds, one of their tweets which they had posted midway through their innings to troll their opposition has come back to haunt them. Once Rajasthan Royals registered a 2-run win over Punjab, even the Men in Pink did not forget to remind that it was them who had won the match.
Notably, Punjab had posted, "And finally #RR holds onto a catch tonight," after their captain KL Rahul was given three chances by the RR fielders, when RR finally won, courtesy a splendid final over from Kartik Tyagi in which he conceded just one and scalped two wickets, they replied, "Held our nerves too" and coupled that up with a wink emoji.
Check out the Twitter exchange here:
As a result of the win, the Men in Pink have now reached number five position on the points table with eight points from as many matches. Meanwhile, Mumbai Indians, who are looking at an unprecedented hat-trick of titles, also have the same number of points but are placed fourth due to a slightly better net run rate.
Rajasthan Royals' next game is against Delhi Capitals on Saturday at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi.
For Punjab Kings, the situation has gotten worse since they would now have to win each of their remaining five matches to secure a berth in the playoffs. They will meet SunRisers Hyderabad next on September 25 and somehow try and redeem themselves from a heartbreaking defeat. The fixture is slated at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium.