Shimron Hetmyer (27 n.o., 10b, 1×4, 3×6) held his nerve in the final over of the contest to help Rajasthan Royals (RR) beat Punjab Kings (PBKS) by three wickets in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium here on Saturday.

With ten needed off the last over, Arshdeep Singh nailed a couple of wide yorkers and produced dot balls. Hetmyer hit a straight six, picked up a double, and hit another six over the fine leg boundary off the next three deliveries to get RR past the finish line.

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The match surprised even before it began when Sam Curran, not Shikhar Dhawan, walked out for the toss for the Kings. Dhawan, out with a niggle, had been replaced by Atharva Taide, informed Curran.

Then, it was Royals captain Sanju Samson’s turn to surprise. He revealed that Jos Buttler and Ravichandran Ashwin, both out with minor injuries, had been replaced by Rovman Powell and Tanush Kotian, respectively. All-rounder Kotian was the Player-of-the-tournament in Mumbai’s recent title-winning Ranji Trophy campaign.

The Kings produced a lacklustre batting display to get to 147 for eight. Only 38 were scored in the Powerplay with 14 dot balls. PBKS kept losing wickets and struggled its way to 53 for four in 10 overs. Cameos from Jitesh Sharma (29, 24b, 1×4, 2×6), Liam Livingstone (21, 14b, 2×4, 1×6), and Ashutosh Sharma (31, 16b, 1×4, 3×6) in the second half helped PBKS put up a fighting score.

There was a surprise again when Royals began their chase. Kotian, who often batted in the lower middle order for Mumbai in the Ranji Trophy, opened the batting for Royals with Yashasvi Jaiswal.

The openers, though not at their best, got their team to 50 in the eighth over. Even after Kotian fell, Jaiswal and Samson seemed to be in control of the chase. But Kagiso Rabada dismissed them in consecutive overs to pull his side back into the contest.

With 20 runs needed off 12 balls, Rovman Powell hit back-to-back fours off Curran to bring the equation down to 12 off 10 balls. Hope lingered on for PBKS when Curran got Powell caught behind off a short ball before Hetmyer’s heroics sealed the win for the Royals.