Rajasthan Royals and Punjab Kings met for their opening fixture
in the second half of the Indian Premier League 2021. The Royals’ put up a
mammoth total of 185 on the scoreboard in the twenty over format.

In a match full of big moments where Arshdeep Singh took a five-wicket
haul, Yashasvi Jaiswal just missed out on his half century and Elvin Lewis
smashed a memorable knock. Our favourite highlight is of Mahipal Lomror
smashing Deepak Hooda for 24 runs in a single over.

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Deepak Hooda was handed the ball in the fifteenth over to
try and contain Rajasthan’s growing total on the scoreboard and he simply
failed in his task.

Lomror smashed the very first ball of the over for six runs,
making his intentions clear. He hit a Ganguly-esque shot over the bowler’s
head.

The second ball did not wield a better result and was
smashed out of the park yet again for another six. The good length delivery was
flicked off the waist.

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Hooda didn’t learn from the first two deliveries and bowled
a wide full-toss which was sent for four runs with an inside out cover shot from
Lomror’s bat.

On the next two deliveries Lomror settled for quick doubles,
much to Hooda’s relief.

But Mahipal wasn’t done yet and sent the last ball of the
over for four runs.

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Hooda proved to
be expensive and KL Rahul’s gamble did not pay off.

Mahipal Lomror is a 21-year-old who made his first-class
debut playing for Rajasthan in the 2016-17 Ranji Trophy. He is a huge fan of Australian
cricketing legend Adam Gilchrist. He is a left-hander who loves to play with
the opposition’s bowler. His quality was on full-display in this IPL fixture. He
finished his knock on 43 runs in just 17 balls with a strike rate of 252.94.

Will he cement his place in the Rajasthan Royals’ batting
line-up? Let us know in the comments.