IPL 2023: Dropped catches cost us the game, says PBKS skipper Shikhar after loss to RR

Dharamshala (Himachal Pradesh) [India], May 20 (ANI): Following his side's four-wicket loss to Rajasthan Royals which ended their campaign in Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023, Punjab Kings (PBKS) skipper Shikhar Dhawan on Friday expressed disappointment with his side's fielding performance, saying that dropped catches cost his team the match.
Dhruv Jurel's final over six clinched the victory for Rajasthan Royals and ended Punjab Kings' hopes of sealing their place in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 playoffs at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium on Friday.
"We lost too many wickets in the powerplay and that put us on the back foot, but Curran, Jitesh and Shahrukh got us back in the game, the bowling was good (in patches), but the fielding was not great, the dropped catches cost us the game. I feel 200 should have been a good total on this pitch. We could have done better in all the areas I think. Sometimes the batting was clicking, and sometimes the bowling was clicking, we could not put up those performances together," Dhawan said in a post-match presentation.
The skipper said that he has a young side and has learnt a lot in this season.
"But it is a young group, so we have learnt a lot of things this season. I knew I had to take the game deep, so I wanted my best bowlers to bowl early, so Rahul had to bowl the last over. In the last game, I gave Harpreet the final over, it depends on the surface and the situation," Dhawan said.
After being put to bat first by RR, PBKS scored 187/5 in their 20 overs. They struggled against RR bowlers initially, losing their four wickets for just 50 runs in 6.3 overs. Then Jitesh Sharma (44 in 28 balls, with three fours and three sixes) and Sam Curran stitched a 64-run stand for the fifth wicket to bring PBKS back into the game. Then in death overs, Curran (49* in 31 balls, with four boundaries and two sixes) and Shahrukh Khan (41* in 23 balls, four boundaries and two sixes) joined forces to up the run rate, taking PBKS to a competitive total. They scored 46 runs in the final two overs.
Navdeep Saini (3/40) was the pick of the bowlers for RR. Trent Boult and Adam Zampa took a wicket each.
In the chase of 188, RR lost Jos Buttler early for a duck, his fifth this season. Then Yashasvi Jaiswal (50 in 36 balls, with eight fours) and Devdutt Padikkal (51 in 30 balls, with four boundaries and three sixes) stitched a 73-run stand for the second wicket, helping RR fight back. Later on, cameos from Shimron Hetmyer (46 in 28 balls, four boundaries and three sixes), Riyan Parag (20 in 12 balls, with one four and two sixes) and Dhruv Jurel (10* in four balls) helped RR clinch a last-over thriller win by four wickets.
Kagiso Rabada (2/40) was the pick of the bowlers for PBKS. Sam Curran, Nathan Ellis, Deepak Chahar and Arshdeep Singh took a wicket each.
Padikkal got the 'Player of the Match' award for his fifty.
With this, RR is in the fifth spot in the points table with seven wins and seven losses. They have a total of 14 points. They can still climb up to the top four spot if Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) lose their last match against Gujarat Titans by a huge margin and Mumbai Indians lose their last match against Sunrisers Hyderabad too.
PBKS's IPL 2023 campaign is over. They end in the eighth position with six wins and eight losses. They have a total of 12 points. (ANI)