Sanju Samson had an interesting day behind the wicket. Twice, he bumped into a teammate trying to make the catch. He was successful in his first attempt sending back Atharva Tyde but missed the catch of Punjab Kings batsman Ashutosh Sharma, leading to a 19-run loss for Rajasthan Royals. But he pulled off a MS Dhoni-style run out to end Liam Livingstone's innings in the previous ball.
It wasn't exactly a no-look runout Samson Had a brief look at the stumps flicking back but it was sensible. It happened in the 18th over of the PBKS innings. RR leg spinner Yujuvendra Chahal Fires one full and straight, Ashutosh clips it towards the on-side and starts running. Livingstone, the non-striker, was down and wanted to go back for the second run but was sent back by Ashutosh.
Debutant Tanush Kotyan quickly collected the ball and fired a throw to the striker's tip. It's not exactly accurate but Samson came into the picture. He caught the throw and returned it to the stumps. Replays found Livingstone missing his crease.
A fast pacer (2/34) and a left-arm spinner Kesava Maharaja (2/23) Kings gave the batters no breathing room after Rajasthan skipper Sanju Samson chose to field first.
Ashutosh Sharma (31, 16b), Jitesh Sharma (29, 24b) and Liam Livingstone (21, 14b) tried to force the pace but Punjab needed more than those pretty little visitors.
But Kings got off to a quick start to their innings with 26 runs in the first three overs as Atharva Tide, who came in for injured skipper Shikhar Dhawan, hit a couple of boundaries to pacer Kuldeep Sen.
However, the brakes were soon applied as Tide's errant pull off pacer Avesh Khan ended up in the hands of Sen inside the circle.
After that the Punjab batsmen struggled to gather any sort of momentum on a pitch that held little grip, especially for left-arm spinner Maharaj and leg-spinner Chahal.
However, a slice of credit must go to veteran pacer Trent Boult, who conceded just 15 runs in his three power play overs, the pitch was even better for batting at this stage.
The Kings managed to score just 10 runs in the last three power play overs as they ended that run modestly at 38 for one.
In the next five overs, the hosts struggled to hit a boundary at 53 for four in 10 overs, losing Jonny Bairstow, stand-in-captain Sam Curran and Prabhsimran Singh, all due to a combination of a slow deck and accurate spinners.
Curran's dismissal is the most telling example of that.
The left-hander failed to give Maharaj power or time to his pull as the ball slowed even more after he pitched. Running from deep mid-wicket, Dhruv Jurel was caught rolling.
Their biggest hope on the day may have been the range-hitting ability of the in-form Shahshank Singh but a weak pull off Sen could not get past Jurel at mid-wicket.
To sweep back the cream of the top-order without any significant contribution, PBKS needed a little more hand for an even score from Livingstone and Jitesh.
Sharma also showed some intent, chipping Chahal for a beautiful six in the extra over, and then sending Sen for a six over the straight fence before being dismissed by Avesh.
Livingstone, who blasted Sen for a six and a boundary off successive deliveries through mid-wicket, and Ashutosh, who smacked Avesh for two sixes in the 19th over, helped PBKS add 61 runs in the last five overs, but their efforts came up short. too late
(with PTI inputs)