In Mullanpur (Punjab) [India] on April 6 (ANI), following their victory against Punjab Kings (PBKS), Rajasthan Royals' captain Sanju Samson praised the fast bowling pair of Jofra Archer and Sandeep Sharma, describing them as "lethal." He expressed complete confidence in these bowlers during crucial moments of the game.
RR notched up their second victory in the IPL 2025, bouncing back from an uncertain beginning with a triumph over Shreyas Iyer’s PBKS side at Mullanpur. They managed to hold off a challenging pursuit led by Nehal Wadhera and Glenn Maxwell when defending a target score of 206 runs.
Following the match’s conclusion, Samson commented on the fast-bowling pair who together claimed five wickets: “This is quite an impressive combination—one bowler delivering at approximately 150 km/h and the other at roughly 115 km/h.” When informed that Sandeep had reached speeds of up to 130 km/h during this game, he added jokingly, “Perhaps we ought to celebrate that achievement with some cake” (followed by laughter). “I have full confidence in their ability to handle crucial moments under pressure. Everyone enjoys watching him (Archer) unleash his rapid deliveries. For several matches now, Sandy (Sandeep) has consistently performed well for us; he ranks among the top players in India both in the power play and towards the end of innings."
Regarding his squad’s performance at bat, Samson commented, “Our start during the power play seemed somewhat lacking. However, considering our caliber of batting and the challenges we faced, I believed others would struggle too. We managed an impressive total nonetheless. Despite being relatively young, this batting lineup has accumulated substantial experience through numerous matches, enabling them to read situations effectively. Overall, I think we handled ourselves quite adeptly.”
Following their victory in the coin toss, Punjab Kings chose to field first. An opening partnership of 89 runs between Yashasvi Jaiswal (scoring 67 off 45 deliveries, including three boundaries and five maximums) and Sanju Samson (contributing 38 off 26 balls, featuring six fours) set the stage for Rajasthan Royals. Later innings by Riyan Parag (notching up 43*, hitting three fours and three sixes in just 25 balls), along with Shimron Hetmyer’s aggressive knock of 20 (with two fours and one six in 12 balls), propelled Rajasthan to a total score of 205/4 within their allotted twenty overs.
Among PBKS's bowlers, Lockie Ferguson emerged as the best with 2/37. Arshdeep Singh and Marco Jansen both claimed one wicket each.
While chasing, Punjab Kings (PBKS) slipped to 43/4 due to Jofra Archer’s impressive performance of taking 3 wickets for just 25 runs. Nonetheless, an essential partnership of 88 runs formed between Nehal Wadhawa, who scored 62 off 41 deliveries including five boundaries and three maximums, and Glenn Maxwell, contributing 30 off 21 balls featuring three fours and one six, which brought PBKS back into contention. Despite this effort, once they were dismissed, PBKS struggled to regain momentum and lacked crucial boundary hits. Eventually, PBKS managed only 155/9 in the allotted twenty overs, largely attributed to commendable bowling contributions from Sandeep Sharma, securing two wickets at a cost of 21 runs, along with Maheesh Theekshana claiming two scalps for 26 runs. (ANI)