Krunal Pandya was caught by Shahrukh Khan off Rabada’s bowling. Shahrukh’s catch at deep mid-wicket was exceptional as the ball was hit towards the shorter boundary. Although he was well-positioned inside the ropes, he realized that he was about to step on the advertisement skirtings, so he lobbed the ball in the air and repositioned himself to take the catch on the rebound.
The TV umpire reviewed the catch several times and confirmed that it was a clean catch. With Krunal’s dismissal, his innings, which was struggling to gain momentum, came to an end.
Yudhvir Singh was caught by Shahrukh Khan at long-on off Sam Curran’s bowling. Once again, Shahrukh displayed exceptional fielding skills and took the catch right in front of the ropes. To avoid stepping onto the skirtings, he lobbed the ball up, went over the ropes, and came back to take the catch on the rebound.
However, there was a question whether his feet touched the rope while completing the catch. The 3rd umpire reviewed the footage closely and confirmed that Shahrukh did not touch the rope. This was another wicket for Curran, and he was on a hat-trick. Curran’s delivery was a slower short ball, and Charak had to drag the pull shot, hitting it straight down to long-on. Curran’s hard length proved to be the undoing for Charak.
The Punjab Kings will be taking the momentum with them as they head back to the dug-out. While the pitch was not easy to play on, their score of 159 may still prove to be challenging for the opposition, especially with Dhawan no longer at the crease. KL Rahul’s innings of 74 was the anchor of their batting performance, but with him and Krunal out in the middle, questions may be raised on their intent.
Mayers made the most of the powerplay, but the innings did get stuck for a while. Pooran and Stoinis did not contribute much, but on a dry wicket, they believe they have the bowlers to defend their total. Sam Curran, the stand-in captain for the night, took three wickets, KG took two, and the others chipped in. Shahrukh Khan’s outstanding performance in the field made him the star of the show, and he noted that there was quite a bit of dew on the ground.