Dharamsala: After half-centuries by Devdutt Padikkal (51) and Yashasvi Jaiswal (50), Shimron Hetmyer’s 46 runs helped Rajasthan Royals beat Punjab Kings by four wickets in the Indian Premier League T20 match here on Friday with agar-magar. The hopes of reaching the playoffs have been maintained. Batting first, Punjab scored 187 runs for five wickets but Rajasthan achieved the target by losing six wickets with two balls to spare. With this win, Rajasthan’s team is fifth in the table with 14 points from 14 matches, while Punjab are out of the title race with their eighth defeat in 14 matches.
Along with Rajasthan, Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bangalore also have 14-14 points and both these teams have to play their last league match on Sunday. If both these teams face defeat in these matches, then the team with a better net run rate will qualify for the playoffs. Padikkal hit five fours and three sixes in 30 balls and laid the foundation for the victory by sharing 73 runs in 49 balls with Jaiswal for the second wicket.
Jaiswal hit eight fours in his 36-ball innings and shared a 22-ball 47-run partnership with Hetmyer. Hetmyer hit four fours and three sixes in his 28-ball innings. For Punjab, Kagiso Rabada took two wickets for 40 runs while Sam Curran, Arshdeep Singh, Nathan Ellis, and Rahul Chahar took one wicket each. In addition to Sam Curran’s unbeaten 49-run innings, Punjab scored 64 runs in 44 balls with Jitesh Sharma (44) for the fifth wicket and 73 runs in 37 balls with Shahrukh Khan (41 not out) for the sixth wicket. Kings put up a challenging score.
The Punjab team was in trouble after losing the fourth wicket for 50 runs in the seventh over, but with the fearless batting of these three, the team was able to post a big score. The team scored 46 runs in the last two overs. England all-rounder Curran hit four fours and two sixes in his unbeaten 31-ball knock, while Jitesh hit three sixes and as many fours in his 28-ball innings. Shahrukh hit four fours and two sixes in his 23-ball unbeaten innings.
Navdeep Saini was the most successful bowler for Rajasthan. He took three wickets for 40 runs. Trent Boult and Adam Zampa got one success each. Chasing the target, Jaiswal hit a hat-trick four against Curran in the first over but Rabada dismissed Jos Buttler in the second over without opening the account. Padikkal hit fours and sixes against Rabada and then Arshdeep as soon as he came to the crease. He hit sixes and fours in consecutive balls against Rabada in the sixth over, taking the team’s score to 57 for one in the power play.
Jaiswal then focused on running and taking runs, while Padikkal from the other end completed his half-century by taking two runs after hitting Arshdeep for a six in the 10th over after hitting fours against Ellis and Rahul Chahar. On the next ball, Harpreet took a brilliant catch to end his innings. Rahul Chahar gave a big blow to Rajasthan by dismissing Sanju Samson (two runs) in the next over.
Hetmyer hit sixes against Arshdeep in the 12th over, Ellis in the 13th over and Kurne in the 14th over, while Jaiswal hit a four in these overs. Jaiswal completed his half-century in the 15th over with one run. In the same over, however, Ellis showed him the way to the pavilion. Riyan (20 runs) hit Arshdeep for a four in the 16th over but was dropped by Harpreet Brar off Curran in the next over.
Parag celebrated this life-giving by hitting two consecutive sixes against Rabada. However, he could not add any more runs in this over and got out on the last ball. Hetmyer hit two fours against Curran in the 19th over but was dismissed before taking his team past the target.
Shikhar Dhawan took his brilliant catch. Rajasthan needed nine runs in the last over and Dhruv Jurel (10 not out) hit a six off Rahul Chahar’s fourth ball to give the team the win. Earlier, Bolt got Rajasthan off to a great start by dismissing Prabhsimran Singh (two runs) in the first over. After this, captain Shikhar Dhawan (17) and Atharva Tayde (19) hit consecutive boundaries to hit 16 against Sandeep Sharma in the second over and 12 against Boult in the third over. Saini, playing the second match of the season, broke the partnership of 36 runs in 21 balls by dismissing Tayde. Boult and Zampa then conceded just three runs in the next two overs, putting the pressure on Dhawan to increase the run rate.
Jampa trapped Dhawan in his spin. In the next over, Liam Livingstone became Saini’s second victim, leaving Punjab four for 50. Jitesh Sharma hit two sixes against Sandeep in the ninth over to increase the momentum. He hit two fours and a six against Saini in the 14th over but was dismissed on the fifth ball of the same over. After this, Shahrukh and Curren were having trouble getting big shots from the 16th to the 18th over.
Rajasthan captain Sanju Samson gave the ball to Yuzvendra Chahal in the 19th over in which Punjab scored 28 runs. While Shah Rukh started the over with sixes and fours, Curren hit two sixes and a four in the last three balls. After this, Shahrukh also hit six and two fours against Bolt in the last over.
