Indian Premier League 2020

Jofra Archer has the last laugh after Kings XI Punjab’s banter ages poorly

by Wisden Staff September 28, 2020 - 2:29pm 2-minute read

You just don’t mess with Jofra Archer, be it on the cricket pitch or on Twitter – Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) learnt it the hard way after their defeat to Rajasthan Royals (RR) in IPL 2020.

In the KXIP-RR run-fest on Sunday, in which there was a whopping 449-run match aggregate, bowlers understandably had a forgettable day, with only three of the 12 bowlers from either side managing an economy rate of less than 10.

Archer was one of Rajasthan’s most expensive bowlers – he conceded 46 runs off his four overs at the Sharjah venue where boundaries are notoriously short. Only Rahul Tewatia’s one-over spell, which went for 19 runs, was more expensive.

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With 223 runs in the bag at the end of 20 overs, KXIP must have fancied themselves to defend the total – the KXIP handle went as far as digging up an Archer tweet from September 17, quote-tweeting it with “4-0-46-0: You don’t see something like this from someone like Jofra so often.”

4⃣-0⃣-4⃣6⃣-0⃣

You don't see something like this from someone like Jofra so often 🎁#SaddaPunjab #IPL2020 #RRvKXIP #KXIP https://t.co/zXX2znIBG7

— Kings XI Punjab (@lionsdenkxip) September 27, 2020

However, just like several takes on Twitter, KXIP’s dig at Archer didn’t age well. A stunning counter-attack by Tewatia brought them back into the game – after which Archer, the batsman, wrapped things up.

While he is yet to completely hit the strides with the ball, Archer has been remarkable with the bat down the order – he’s hit six out of the 11 deliveries he’s faced in IPL 2020 for sixes. Two out of those came in Rajasthan’s incredible win, where he ended unbeaten on a 3-ball 13.

After the game, Archer took to Twitter to remind Punjab who ended up on the winning side eventually.