New Chandigarh, April 29 (IANS) Rajasthan Royals (RR) match winner Donovan Ferreira emphasised the importance of self-belief and composure under pressure after his unbeaten knock of 52 runs guided the side to a thrilling six-wicket win over Punjab Kings (PBKS) at the PCA New International Stadium.

“It’s important that we back ourselves, and if we play our best game, we will come across. Luckily for me, Shubham Dubey came in and played an excellent knock over there, took a lot of pressure off me. And then, like I said, in the third or second last over, I really connected a few balls, which obviously took us over the line,” Ferreira said in a video released by IPL on X.

Chasing a daunting 223, the Rajasthan Royals found themselves under pressure midway through the innings, with the required rate climbing beyond 12 runs per over. However, Ferreira and Dubey stitched an unbeaten 77-run stand off just 32 balls, dismantling Punjab’s pace attack to complete the chase in 19.2 overs.

Earlier, the Royals got off to a flying start thanks to 15-year-old sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, who smashed 43 off 16 balls, while Yashasvi Jaiswal contributed a brisk 51. Despite a middle-order slowdown triggered by Yuzvendra Chahal’s strikes, RR stayed in the hunt before Ferreira and Dubey finished the job in style.

Reflecting on the team’s approach, Ferreira stressed the importance of staying grounded regardless of results.

“As I said, it’s just taking it game for game, putting it aside, enjoying this victory. You know, celebrating it, never too high or never too low. And then moving on, learning from it, even when you’re winning or losing, you need to take the positives and the negatives and grow as a team. Because that will keep us in good standing for the right games to come,” Ferreira concluded.

Punjab Kings had earlier posted a formidable 222/4, powered by an unbeaten 62 off 22 balls from Marcus Stoinis, while Prabhsimran Singh made 59 and Shreyas Iyer chipped in with 30.

Despite the big total, Rajasthan’s fearless finishing turned the game around, handing Punjab their first loss of the season.

–IANS

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