Rajasthan Royals would have lost the game against Punjab Kings had Shimron Hetmyer not scored an unbeaten 27 off 10 balls. He was named the Player of the Match for his knock.
Keshav Maharaj, who replaced injured Ravichandran Ashwin, demanded a special gift from the West Indies batter. Maharaj took two wickets against the Sam Curran-led team. He dismissed Jonny Bairstow and stand-in captain Curran.
Punjab scored just 147, but the bowlers fought to keep the table toppers on the backfoot.
However, RR won the game by three wickets to register their fifth victory in IPL 2024. In a recent video uploaded by the IPL, Maharaj and Hetmyer are involved in a fun conversation. Maharaj demanded a bat from him after the latter’s innings.
“You are one of the best in this format of the game, and I love feeding off your energy. You’re a positive guy, and I hope our friendship continues. I am still waiting for my bat,” Maharaj told Hetmyer.
“Yeah yeah, you’ll get the bat from me, no worries. I’ll get the bat for you, surely,” Hetmyer replied.
Maharaj shared his experience of taking two wickets. “I am grateful to be here and very fortunate to put in a good performance for the franchise. I tried to keep things simple and got two wickets. Also, good catching by you (Hetmyer) and Dhruv Jurel. It was nice to contribute to the team,” Maharaj said.
KKR will now play against Kolkata Knight Riders on April 16.
