Rajasthan Royals on Saturday brought up their fourth victory of the IPL 2024 campaign when they got the better of Punjab Kings at the Mullanpur Cricket Stadium. Sanju Samson’s team sit at the top of the table courtesy the win. Shimron Hetmyer and Keshav Maharaj, the two architects of the RR victory, caught up for a chat on the sidelines after the match.
Bowling first, RR restricted PBKS to just 147 courtesy of some miserly bowling. Keshav Maharaj was the standout bowler for RR, giving away just 23 runs and taking two wickets in 4 overs. Chasing the total, RR were in a spot of bother but Hetmyer played a blazing innings of 27 runs from 10 balls to take RR home.
Here to learn: Maharaj
Talking about his feelings at playing for RR, Maharaj said, “It has been amazing. I’m very grateful to be here, I’m here to learn. Very fortunate enough to put in a good performance to help the team, restrict the opposition to a low total. It is really good to get into the wickets column but I just try to keep my job simple, hit the area and make it uncomfortable for the batters. Also, some good catching by you (Hetmyer) and Dhruv Jurel on the boundary there. But it has been really nice to take wickets and contribute to the team.“
‘You are one of the best in the T20 format’
Keshav also lauded Hetmyer, saying he is one of the best players of T20 cricket.
“You are one of the best in the T20 format and I love feeding off your energy, you’re a positive guy and I hope the friendship continues. Still waiting for my bat though,” Keshav joked.
“Yeah yeah you’ll get the bat, no worries. I’ll get the bat for you,” Hetmyer replied.
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Wanted to understand the wicket first: Hetmyer
Hetmyer once again proved his worth as finisher by keeping his calm when it mattered.
“I was just thinking ‘Let me just see how the wicket is playing first’. I just wanted to check how the ball is coming on to the bat on one side and then I’ll check the other side. Then I could plan it on how to go about. It actually helped when Rovman Powell came in and he hit two boundaries as well and then you did the same. It’s really nice to have people on the other side that you could feed off of the energy as well,” Hetmyer said.
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