Punjab Kings’ (PBKS) unbeaten run in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 came to an end on Saturday as they suffered a 50-run defeat at the hands of Rajasthan Royals (RR) in their first home game at Mullanpur. While RR’s bowlers, led by Jofra Archer, turned in a clinical performance, PBKS were left ruing missed opportunities–particularly in the bowling department. Speaking at the post-match press conference, PBKS spin bowling coach Sunil Joshi admitted that the team may have faltered tactically by not making full use of their spin options.
“We have a long season ahead. I think we missed the trick–we could have bowled a couple of more overs with spin, with Maxi [Glenn Maxwell] and Chahal [Yuzvendra Chahal]. So we missed the trick, and going forward, we will look into it,” Joshi said.
Chasing a challenging target set by the Royals, PBKS struggled to find momentum with the bat as RR’s bowlers consistently applied pressure. The spin duo of Maxwell and Chahal bowled just a combined total of three overs, which proved to be a talking point after the match, especially with the pitch offering grip and turn.
With this result, PBKS now sit in fourth place on the points table with two wins and one loss, while the Rajasthan Royals won two back-to-back games. With two wins from two games, RR are placed seventh.
After PBKS won the toss and elected to bowl first, an 89-run stand between Yashasvi Jaiswal (67 in 45 balls, with three fours and five sixes) and Sanju Samson (38 in 26 balls, with six fours) kickstarted things to RR. Cameos from Riyan Parag (43* in 25 balls, with three fours and three sixes) and Shimron Hetmyer (20 in 12 balls, with two fours and a six) took RR to 205/4 in 20 overs.
Lockie Ferguson (2/37) was PBKS’s top bowler. Arshdeep Singh and Marco Jansen each took one wicket.
During the run chase, PBKS was reduced to 43/4 by Jofra Archer (3/25). However, an 88-run stand between Nehal Wadhera (62 in 41 balls, with five fours and three sixes) and Glenn Maxwell (30 in 21 balls, with three fours and a six) gave PBKS hope. However, after their dismissals, PBKS lost their direction and missed boundaries dearly.PBKS was restricted to 155/9 in 20 overs, thanks to some fine bowling support from Sandeep Sharma (2/21) and Maheesh Theekshana (2/26).
Jofra Archer was awarded the Player of the Match for his exceptional bowling performance.
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