PBKS vs RR IPL Highlights: Jofra Archer takes 3 as Rajasthan Royals end Punjab Kings unbeaten streak, win by 50 runs, Punjab Kings 145/8

Sandeep Sharma will bowl the penultimate over of the match and starts with 2 singles. Shashank with 2 next as the game slips further away from PBKS. 5 from this one.

PBKS 150/8 after 19 overs

Theekshana in to bowl the 18th and Jansen misses the carrom ball before the bowler bowls a wide. Shashank on strike and he takes a single of his own. And that's another shot and another catch by Hetmyer!! 

Marco Jansen c Hetmyer b Theekshana 3(6)

Sandeep Sharma back and he strikes!! Suryansh Shedge reaches out and plays the wideish delivery only for Hetmyer in the deep to take a dolly. Punjab Kings sink deeper.

Suryansh Shedge c Hetmyer b Sandeep Sharma 2(4)

Hasaranga back and he has struck!! Wadhera tries to up the ante and Dhruv Jurel with a great diving catch to send back the set batter. Back to back wickets for RR.

Nehal Wadhera c Dhruv Jurel b Hasaranga 62(41)

Theekshana back in the attack and Wadhewra with back to back boundaries to start this over off.Good comeback by the bowler to bowl 2 dots. And Maxwell is gone!!! Tries for a big hit and he holes out to Jaiswal. Huge wicket!! 

Maxwell c Jaiswal b Theekshana 30(21)

Hasaranga back and Wadhera hits it straight and that looked to be going for a boundary before Jaiswal saves for just 2. Excellent fielding. Wadhera now with a six to get to his 50!! Takesa s ingle and Maxwell is on strike. 2 singles to end.

PBKS 121/4 after 14 overs

Yudhvir back and Maxwell tries to pull him but can't get anything away. Cuts the next delivery and Hetmyer with a good bit of fielding to save a four. Maxwell follows that up with a guided shot to deep backward point for a four!! Pulls and misses the next as it's called a wide. And tat's two more wides. Oh, there's an appeal from Samson. He wants to review for a caught behind chance. And a flat line when the ball passes the bat and Maxwell stays. Takes a single next nad the over ends with a single and a 4!!

PBKS 110/4 after 13 overs

Hasaranga back and Wadhera slog sweeps him off the first ball for a six!! Aftera dot, he takes a single and Maxwell is on strike. The Australian with a single as well. A little bit of fumble in the field as Punjab takes 3. 50 partnership up. 

PBKS 95/4 after 12 overs

Theekshana back and Wadhera with a single to start. Maxwell with another single to rotate the strike. Two more singles off the next three deliveries. Quiet little over. Just 5 from it.

PBKS 83/4 after 11 overs 

Kartikeya back in the attack and Maxwell slams a six off the second delivery before guiding the next ball for a boundary!! A single nextt and Wadhera sweeps hard for a six to deep midwicket!! Huge over. 19 from it.

PBKS 78/4 after 10 overs

Hasaranga in the atatck now and Wadhera takes a single to start. Maxwell with a single of his own to follow. And Wadhera reverses for a four to deep backward square. Takes a single next and Maxwell can see this one off. 9 from this one ultimately.

PBKS 59/4 after 9 overs 

Archer back in the attack and cuts Wadhera in half!! How has that missed the stumps? And the batter pumps the next ball through the off side for a four!! Back to back dots now. A single next to bring up Punjab's 50. 

PBKS 50/4 after 8 overs

Kartikeya introduced in the attack next and he has also struck!!! Oh dear dear!! Prabhsimran swings away and he holes out to Wanindu Hasaranga in the deep!! Punjab in deep trouble.

Prabhsimran c Hasaranga b Kartikeya 17(16)

Last over of the powerplay and Sandeep Sharma will bowl this one. Starts with 2 singles as the batters rotate strikes. Wadhera comes down the ground next but gets another single. Prabhsimran returns the favour with a single of his own. Just 4 from this one.

PBKS 43/3 after 6 overs

Theekshana introduced now and Wadhera takes a single o start. Follows that with a wide as Prabhsimran tries a sweep leg side but misses. A single next and Wadhera is back on strike and he sweeps for 2 runs. And that's a drop now as the confusion between Jurel and Parag leads to it. The bowler is not happy. 

PBKS 39/3 after 5 overs

Sandeep Sharma in the attack now. Prabhsimran with a single to start. AND GONE IN THE NEXT TWO DELIVERIES!! Straight ball and Stoinis drives it straight into the hands of the bowler!!

Stoinis c and b Sandeep Sharma 1(7)

Archer will continue and Prabhsimran takes a single to start this over off. And he gives away 4 byes next as the bouncer goes over everyone to race to the third man boundary. A single by Stonis next to put Prabhsimran on strike. And Prabhsimran's shot landed behind Sandeep. 2 runs. 9 from the over.

PBKS 25/2 after 3 overs

Yudhvir Singh to bwol the second over and Prabhsimran starts his over with a boundary!! Takes a single off the next two deliveries and Stoinis will face his first ball. Nice delivery which Stoinis leaves alone. Just 5 from this one.

PBKS 16/2 after 2 overs

AND ANOTHER!!! This time it's Shreyas Iyer who had started with two brilliant boundaries. He stepped away from his stumps and Archer has rattled the stumps again!! HUGE WICKET!!

Shreyas Iyer b Jofra Archer 10(5)

Now then, we are back for the chase. Priyansh Arya and Prabhsimran SAingh in the middle, Archer to bowl the first over and HE STRIKES OFF THE VERY FIRST BALL!! Arya goes for a swing, gets it all wrong and Archer rattles his stumps.

Priyansh Arya b Jofra Archer 0(1)

Lst over of the innings now and it'll be bowled by Stoinis. Jurel with a single to start this one off. Parag on strike and he slams the next ball for a 6!!! Pace off next and Parag takes a single. And there's a six from Jurel as 200 comes up for the first time in this venue. The last highest score here was MI's 192. And Jurel uppercuts the next ball over the keeper for a boundary!! RR post 200/4 after 20 overs

Arshdeep will bowl the penultimate over. Starts with 2 runs as Hetmyer stays on strike. akes a single next and Parag will look for boundaries next. And Arshdeep keeps it down to a single. Short bll next and Hetmyer pulls it for a four!! And he's gone he next ball. tries to hit a full toss and he can't power it far enough as Maxwell takes the catch.

Hetmyer c Maxwell b Arshdeep Singh 20(12)

Jansen to bowl his final over now and Parag mishits as the first ball yields a dot. He finally gets a proper bat to the next ball as he nails it over the ropes for  SIX!! And would you know it!! he follows that up with another wristy flick over the fine leg ropes for another SIX!! And the next ball is hit high and the bowler is undearneth it but he has DROPPED IT!!! 

RR 177/3 after 18 overs

Ferguson will finish his spell with this over and starts with a dot. There's a mix-up in the middle next but Parag survives. Only 1 run. He swings and misses again!! And same ball and same choice of stroke again and that's another miss. Uff 2 wides now. It's being reviewd now by Punjab. And it stays a wide as PBKS lose a review. And that's a six by Hetmyer as the ball goes in between Chahal's palms!! He's blaming the lights. 

RR 160/3 after 17 overs 

Arshdeep back and Parag tries to guide on down third man but gets a fielder. He tries a big hit next and gets the under-edge for another dot. Follows up with another big swing and a miss. And another swing and another miss. Parag will be under real pressure now. He'll look for a huge hit now which might play right into the hands of the bowler. And after a chat with Hetmyer, Parag finds a boundary!! Wideish yorker attempt and Parag gets a lucky edge. Ends the over with a straight boundary.

RR 150/3 after 16 overs

Marco Jansen back inthe attack now. And Nitish continues his free hitting style and takes a single to start. Parag with a single off the next delivery. A wide next before Rana tries to go over the keeper's head but gets no bat to the ball. Tries a big hit again and this time, he has holed out to Maxwell!!

Nitish Rana c Maxwell b Marco Jansen 12(7) 

Lockie come back and Parag gets an edge but falls just short of the fielder!! But he's struck!! And that's the end f Jaiswal!! Knuckle ball stays low and Jaiswal's swing misses it and it has rattles the stumps.

Jaiswal b Ferguson 67(45)

Stoinis back and he gives away 2 singles to start this over. The next one he digs into the surface and Parag pulls for a four!! And jaiswal explodes again!! Swings and the ball sails over the wide long on boundary and into the crowd for a six!! Tries a wideish delivery next and Jaiswal somehow gets to it and finds another four!!

RR 122/1 after 13 overs 

Chahal will bowl the 12th over and starts with two singles as the RR batters keep rotating the strikes. Just 2 from the next couple of deliveries as well as the batters struggle for boundaries. And just as I was typing, Jaiswal goes staright and gets his 50 off a boundary!! It's hsi slowest half century in the IPL. Slog sweeps the next ball and that's gone over the long on boundary for a SIX!!!

Ferguson back in the attack and starts witha  half volley which Samson duly dispatches to the boundary!! AND HE'S GONE THE NEXT BALL!! Tries to go over the same region and Iyer with a catch to dismiss RR's skipper.

Samson c Shreyas Iyer b Ferguson 38(26)

Stoinis in to bowl the 10th over and Jaiswal takes 2 to start this one off. Swings at the next and gets a single. With wickets remaining, these two batters might be thinking of changing gears again. But Stoinis keeps pegging them back as they can't get boundaries. Just 6 from this over.

RR 85/0 after 10 overs

Chahal back and starts with a poor ball which drifts leg side and beats everyone to race away for the boundary! Makes it up with the next delivery as it gets a sharp turn which Jaiswal keeps out with a single. Two more singles from the next two deliveries as Chahal reins in the batters. 10 from the over.

RR 79/0 after 9 overs 

Marcus Stoinis will bowl the next one and it just misses the edge of Jaiswal's willow!! He takes a single next to put captain Sanju on strike. This was also the first wicket-less powerplay for RR in this season so that's a positive. Overpitches the 4th and Samson sends it flying to the boundary!! 7 from this over ultimately.

RR 69/0 after 8 overs

Chahal in the attack and aftera single, Sanju times the second delivery for a well-placed boundary!! Two singles off the next deliveries as the former RR man keeps things very tight. Just 1 to end. Good over.

RR 62/0 after 7 overs

Maxwell to bowl the last over of the powerplay and after a dot, Sanju slams the dragged down delivery to the boundary. 50 run partnership up between the batters. Two singles off the next two deliveries. And a dot to finish. excellent bowling to end the powerplay.

RR 53/0 after 6 overs

Ferguson introduced in the attack and he bowls a beaut that goes right through Sanju Samson to the keeper!! He takes a single next to go off strike. What can Jaiswal do? And he comes down the ground and deposited the next ball over deep mid on for a six!! 

RR 47/0 after 5 overs

Jansen to bwol this over and Samson gets the pefect length to flick the first delivery past the mid on fielder to get a four!! Takes a single next to put Jaiswal on strike. AND HE HAS A SIX!! Uses the bounce and just guides the ball over the third man boundary!! Swipes at the next ball and that has sailed over the deep backward point rope for another SIX!! How quick things change. 

RR 40/0 after 4 overs

Arshdeep continues and Jaiswal slices the first ball up and over the inner circle to take 2 runs. Swings again but gets beaten off the next ball as Arshdeep beats him with the bounce. Pulls again and that's just over Shreyas Iyer at mid on for 2. Jaiswal goes for the same shot next and at last gets a boundary. That should relax him. 2 dots to end.

RR 21/0 after 3 overs

The lanky Marco Jansen in the attack now and Jaiswal takes a single to start. Samson returns the favour with a single of his own. Beats Jiaswal off the next with extra bounce. Two more dots off the next couple as the South African keeps it tight. Over ends with a single. Excellent over.

RR 13/0 after 2 overs

Arshdeep steams in and gets swing straightaway but that's gone too wide as he gives away an extra to start. Jaiswal pokes at the next ball to go off the mark with a single. Sanju flicks the next one off his pads to deep backward point for aboundary!!Great fielding by Maxwell next as he saves a boundary. 1 run to end.

RR 10/0 after 1 over

So then, in the other match, DC have beaten CSK and zoomed on top of the points table with an unbeaten record. PBKS, who, are the second unbeaten team in the league will now hope to do the same. Yashasvi Jaiswal and Sanju Samson in the middle for RR and Arshdeep has the ball in his hands.

Rajasthan Royals: Kunal Singh Rathore, Shubham Dubey, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Kumar Kartikeya, Akash Madhwal

Punjab Kings: Priyansh Arya, Harpreet Brar, Praveen Dubey, Vishnu Vinod, Vyshak Vijaykumar

Prabhsimran Singh(w), Shreyas Iyer(c), Marcus Stoinis, Nehal Wadhera, Glenn Maxwell, Shashank Singh, Suryansh Shedge, Marco Jansen, Arshdeep Singh, Lockie Ferguson, Yuzvendra Chahal

Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sanju Samson(c), Nitish Rana, Riyan Parag, Dhruv Jurel(w), Shimron Hetmyer, Wanindu Hasaranga, Jofra Archer, Maheesh Theekshana, Yudhvir Singh Charak, Sandeep Sharma

Shreyas Iyer: We'll bowl first. Looking at the last game, we were playing on a new wicket and we want to see how the pitch plays. Same mindset here as well. We need to stabilise the rhytmn from game one and that's happened. Important to steady the ship from here, boys are in high spirits. Need to maintain composure and calmness throughout the season. We've played the practice games here so we know how the wicket will play. We played our last two games on red soil so hopefully we can adapt early.

Sanju Samson: Pretty happy to bat first and put on a decent total. I could feel what the coaches would be going through, a bit restless and helpless. But excited to be back now. It is a new team and team management, we have got to know each other now and it takes a bit of time. We are geling better now, last game we pretty much had the perfect game. We have a small niggle for Tushar Despande, so he's out for today and Yudhvir comes in for him.

Here come the two captains in the middle. The coin goes up and PBKS win the toss and opt to bowl first against RR.

"It is very cool tonight. It is 65m to the off side and 68m to the leg side for a right hander. The straigther boundaries are longer. There is some live grass but not too much in the middle. These wickets stay consistent for 40 overs, it is pretty hard and the surface hasn't changed too much from last season. It is pretty windy so there won't be much of dew as well. 170-180 would be a par score on this surface," say Ian Bishop and Michael Clarke

There have been 5 matches played at the Mullanpur Stadium with the team batting first winning 40% of times as opposed to teams chasing winning 60% of the matches. The highest runs scored in this match is 192 by Mumbai vs Punjab last year while the lowest is Punjab Kings' 142 vs Gujarat Titans, also in 2024.  

After playing purely as a batsman and impact player in the first three games of the season, Sanju Samson will return as Rajasthan Royals captain for the match against Punjab Kings at Maharaja Yadavindra Singh PCA International Stadium at Mullanpur on Saturday. Samson, who suffered a finger injury and underwent surgery, was cleared by the National Cricket Academy to play as wicket-keeper in the IPL.

“To be very honest, I was a bit surprised. I was like ‘Ho jayega teen match bahar baithna hai’ (I was thinking it will pass quickly as it’s only a matter of three games). But missing three games, I was just holding myself back and seeing the game from a different perspective. So, it was a bit of a different learning experience… to sit in the dug-out and see my brothers fighting it out there. So to be honest, I am pretty excited to be back and to be fully fit to keep wickets and to bat,” Samson said on Friday.

Today at Chandigarh, two old friends, Rahul Dravid and Ricky Ponting, will be in rival dug-outs. And, like always, they will fiercely guard the interest of the IPL teams they coach or mentor. But be brave to bet your heirloom, on TVs capturing the eventuality of Ponting walking up to Dravid to check on his fractured leg and the two sharing a laugh.

The coaching corner of the Punjab Kings vs Rajasthan Royals IPL game has a backstory with more grace and gravitas, than any match-plot a T20 game can ever throw up. (READ MORE)

April 6: Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Gujarat Titans at 7:30 PM in Hyderabad

April 7: Mumbai Indians vs Royal Challengers Bengaluru at 7:30 PM in Mumbai

April 8: Kolkata Knight Riders vs Lucknow Super Giants at 3.30 PM in Kolkata

April 8: Punjab Kings vs Chennai Super Kings at 7:30 PM in New Chandigarh

April 9: Gujarat Titans vs Rajasthan Royals at 7:30 PM in Ahmedabad

April 10: Royal Challengers Bengaluru vs Delhi Capitals at 7:30 PM in Bengaluru

April 11: Chennai Super Kings vs Kolkata Knight Riders at 7:30 PM in Chennai

April 12:  Lucknow Super Giants vs Gujarat Titans at 3:30 PM in Lucknow

April 12: Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Punjab Kings at 7:30 PM in Hyderabad.

The weather for this match is expected to be cooler than the average day's weather where the temperature will shoot up to 30 degrees. Closer to the match, it is expected to come down to 27 degrees and lower as the night wears on.

Apr 8 at 7:30 pm vs Chennai Super Kings in New Chandigarh

Apr 12 at 7:30 pm vs Sunrisers Hyderabad in Hyderabad

Apr 15 at 7:30 pm vs Kolkata Knight Riders in New Chandigarh

Apr 18 at 7:30 pm vs Royal Challengers Bengaluru in Bengaluru

Apr 20 at 3:30 pm vs Royal Challengers Bengaluru in New Chandigarh

Apr 26 at 7:30 pm vs Kolkata Knight Riders in Kolkata

Apr 30 at 7:30 pm vs Chennai Super Kings in Chennai

May 4 at 7:30 pm vs Lucknow Super Giants in Dharamsala

May 8 at 7:30 pm vs Delhi Capitals in Dharamsala

May 11 at 3:30 pm vs Mumbai Indians in Dharamsala

May 16 at 7:30 pm vs Rajasthan Royals in Jaipur

Apr 9 at 7:30 pm vs Gujarat Titans in Ahmedabad

Apr 13 at 3:30 pm vs Royal Challengers Bengaluru in Jaipur

Apr 16 at 7:30 pm vs Delhi Capitals in Delhi

Apr 19 at 7:30 pm vs Lucknow Super Giants in Jaipur

Apr 24 at 7:30 pm vs Royal Challengers Bengaluru in Bengaluru

Apr 28 at 7:30 pm vs Gujarat Titans in Jaipur

May 1 at 7:30 pm vs Mumbai Indians in Jaipur

May 4 at 3:30 pm vs Kolkata Knight Riders in Kolkata

May 12 at 3:30 pm vs Chennai Super Kings in Chennai

May 16 at 7:30 pm vs Punjab Kings in Jaipur

Insisting that sharing the dressing room with him is a ‘privilege’, Yashasvi Jaiswal hailed the role of former India and current Rajasthan Royals coach Rahul Dravid in shaping his career, saying he ‘instills confidence in players and provides ‘the right guidance’.

Speaking ahead of Rajasthan Royals’ match against the Punjab Kinds in the Indian Premier League (IPL) on Saturday, the opener said there was a lot to learn from Dravid’s ‘grace and composure’.

Meanwhile, in the other match of the day, Delhi Capitals posted 183/6 against Chennai Super Kings at the Chepauk, thanks to 77 runs by KL Rahul. Chasing, CSK are 15/1 after 2 overs.