Why Ashwin Opened The Inning Against PBKS? the question becomes one of the most discussed topics right after Rajasthan Royals lost the match by 5 runs.
Why Ashwin Opened The Inning Against PBKS
As per IPL schedule 2023, Rajasthan Royals were scheduled to play against Punjab Kings on April 5 in Barsapara Cricket Stadium, Guwahati. Rajasthan Royals won the toss and opt to bowl. With Dhawan’s aggressive impressive 86 runs, Punjab Kings scored 197 runs for 4 wickets loss.
While everyone was dazzled by Dhawan’s inning, what happened next left the fans to raise their eyebrow. To the surprise, Yashasvi Jaiswal opened the inning along with Ashwin instead of Buttler.
The decision, however, backfired as RR was reduced to 26/2 inside the first four overs. Buttler came to bat at no.3 but was later dismissed on 19 (11) by Nathan Ellis. Later Rajasthan Royals’ batting side collapsed and ended up scoring 192 runs and lost the match by just 5 runs.
Speaking at the post-match press conference, Samson revealed that suffered an injury scare while fielding.
“Jos wasn’t fully fit. He had a stitch on his finger,” Samson said during the post-match press conference.
On the decision to send Ashwin, ahead of Devdutt Padikkal, the RR captain said: “The thinking behind Devdutt Padikkal at No. 4 was we knew that they had a left-arm spinner (Harpreet Brar) and legspinner (Rahul Chahar) who would be bowling in the middle overs. So, it was important for us to have a left-hander.”
Rajasthan Royals will play their next match against Delhi Capitals on April 8 in Barsapara Cricket Stadium, Guwahati. While Punjab Kings will play their next match against Sunrisers Hyderabad on April 09 in Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad.
