After a chain of disappointing performances, Jofra Archer finally found his rhythm with the ball, offering a fiery spell that helped the Rajasthan Royals (RR) to record a victory of 50 points on Punjab Kings (PBKS) in their Indian Premier League (IPL) in Mullanpur on Saturday. The Seamer of England, which had trouble containing races in previous matches, turned things with sensational figures of 3/25 in four overs. The raw archer rhythm and the precision of the details have struck the range of PBKs, triggering a collapse on which RR has capitalized.
He was skillfully supported by Sandeep Sharma and Maheesh Theekshana, who both cut crucial counters at the vital stages. The variations of Theekshana have made sure that the strikers guess, while the control of Sandeep in the PowerPlay smothered the flow of races.
Speaking at the post-match press conference, Sandeep Sharma expressed his pleasure on the return of Archer in form and praised the unique skills of the fast launcher.
“We have always known that Jofra is a world class launcher. The competence he brings to the table and in the game – very few can correspond to this,” said Sandeep.
“The whole direction and the team had confidence in him. We believed that once he will get this one, this window, perhaps two good letters, it would strengthen his confidence and now, you have seen what he can do. He is one of the most difficult loves to face. I am sure that it was only our fourth game, and with more games, he will only go better,” he added.
The Royals now seem well established, with their bowling unit clicking together, and the return of Jofra Archer in shape will undoubtedly serve a major boost because they aim for a solid IPL campaign.
After PBKS won the draw and chose to play first, an 89 -point stand between Yashasvi Jaiswal (67 in 45 balls, with three four and five) and Sanju Samson (38 in 26 balls, with six four) launched things to RR. The Camées de Riyan Parag (43 * in 25 balls, with three four and three six) and Shimron Hetmyer (20 in 12 balls, with two four and one) brought RR to 205/4 in 20 Overs.
Lockie Ferguson (2/37) was the best bowler for pbks. Arshdeep Singh and Marco Jansen obtained a counter each.
During the race race, PBKS was reduced to 43/4 by Jofra Archer (3/25). However, an 88 -point stand between Nehal Wadhera (62 in 41 balls, with five four and three six) and Glenn Maxwell (30 in 21 balls, with three four and one) gave hope for pbks. However, after their layoffs, PBKS lost their management and lacked a lot of borders. PBKS was limited to 155/9 in 20 Overs, thanks to good support from Bowling by Sandeep Sharma (2/21) and Maheesh Theekshana (2/26).
With this defeat, PBKS underwent its first defeat of IPL 2025 and started their legs at home with a reverse. They are in fourth place with two victories and a defeat, while RR is in seventh place with two victories in two games.
(With the exception of the title, this story has not been published by NDTV staff and is published from a unionized flow.)
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