Watch: Ravichandran Ashwin’s magical delivery sends Sikandar Raza back to pavilion

Ravichandran Ashwin produced a magical delivery with the ball as he sent Sikandar Raza back to the hut in the ongoing IPL match between Rajasthan Royals and Punjab Kings. Ashwin bowled  the first ball of the 17th over of the innings, which hit the stumps and Raza went back to the pavilion after scoring 1 run from two balls.

Watch the video here:

Rajasthan Royals won the toss and decided to bowl at the Barsapara stadium. Batting first, Punjab Kings had a great start as the skipper Shikhar Dhawan and Prabhsimran Singh put up a partnership of 90 runs in 9.4 overs. Prabhsimran got out after scoring 60 runs off 34 balls hitting seven fours and three sixes.

Dhawan remained unbeaten on 86 runs off 56 balls including nine fours and three sixes. Jitesh Sharma also scored 27 off 16 as PBKS posted a total of 197 runs for the loss of 4 wickets. For RR, Jason Holder took 1 wicket, while Ashwin and Yuzvendra Chahal shared a wicket each.

Guwahati finally hosted its first-ever IPL match

This is the first-ever IPL match that is being played in Guwahati, which is also the second home ground of Rajasthan along with the SMS Stadium in Jaipur. The Royals will be playing another match here against the Delhi Capitals on April 8.

The Barsapara stadium was scheduled to host an IPL match in 2020, but the tournament was shifted to UAE due to the pandemic. Now with normalcy returning, the teams will be playing home and away matches, and Rajasthan have elected Barsapara Stadium as their second home ground.

With this, Rajasthan Royals also shows a commitment to promoting cricket in the Northeast part of India. The franchise is also focused on creating opportunities for aspiring cricketers to showcase their skills on a global platform.

“The focus will be on cricket, definitely, but the spectators will also get to see some quality entertainment on the match day,” said Devajit Saikia, the joint secretary of the Indian Cricket Board.