NEW DELHI: Rajasthan Royals clinched a dramatic win in the penultimate ball of the match against Punjab Kings, chasing down a target of 148 with Shimron Hetmyer and Rovman Powell facing the daunting task of maintaining steep run rates.
The match, characterized by its intensity and twists, continued the trend of last-over thrillers between the two teams, marking their sixth consecutive close encounter.Initially, the game lacked momentum, but it escalated into a thrilling finish in the final five overs.
Former Australian cricketer Tom Moody, offering insights on ESPNcricinfo’s T20 Timeout show, criticized the overall quality of play, pointing out numerous errors and perplexing decisions made by both teams. He described the match as “a poor quality game” with moments of excitement in the latter stages.”It was a game with a lot of errors and a lot of puzzling decisions both from a team perspective tactically, and also from an individual perspective,” Tom Moody said.
“It was a poor quality game that gave us an exciting finish, but 90% of the game was a struggle to watch because it just didn’t flow, it didn’t sort of have any compass to it. Then suddenly we got into this back-end situation which should never have happened. That was through some unusual decisions from Rajasthan with their batting order and their approach with 148 to win,” Moody added.

Reflecting on the match, Rajasthan Royals captain Sanju Samson, while maintaining his characteristic cheerfulness, admitted to a sense of relief at securing victory in a game where neither team seemed determined to seize control.
“The games against Punjab in the last five years, I don’t know what it is. Each and every game is very close. It is a very funny feeling. It was a very funny game,” Samson said.
Despite the win, Rajasthan Royals will undoubtedly assess their performance, acknowledging areas for improvement such as haphazard catching, death-bowling woes, and a slowdown in the middle overs.