A strong clinical performance by Punjab Kings resulted in their victory over Rajasthan Royals in Jaipur, bringing them nearer to securing a playoff position. PBKS set an impressive total of 219, thanks to half-centuries from Nehal Wadhera and Shashank Singh. Although RR’s opening batsmen began with a remarkable start, Harpreet Brar’s exceptional bowling performance (3-22) halted their momentum, leaving the home team to recover too late in the match.
Punjab Kings setup a high scoring target
The initial ball following the resumption of IPL 2025 was struck for a boundary as Priyansh Arya, who had faced the last delivery prior to the suspension, skillfully directed a ball bowled down the leg side for a four. Prabhsimran Singh, in exceptional form, quickly got into his stride, but Arya fell in a rather unremarkable manner, chipping one to depart in just the second over. Kwena Maphaka, replacing Jofra Archer, was greeted with a four and a six in his opening over, yet the young pacer redeemed himself by dismissing Mitchell Owen for a duck on his IPL debut. The Royals then gained the upper hand by claiming another wicket off the very next delivery when Tushar Deshpande struck again, this time successfully reviewing to send Prabhsimran back to the pavilion. Shreyas, coming in at No.5, partnered with Wadhera to rejuvenate PBKS with a series of boundaries.
The middle phase of the innings was characterized by one-way traffic as Shreyas and Wadhera, in particular, consistently increased the pressure to ensure PBKS maintained their advantage despite the early challenges. Wanindu Hasaranga was introduced to the crease, where Wadhera greeted him with two boundaries, while Shreyas targeted Akash Madhwal at the opposite end. Against the flow of play, Riyan Parag bowled a wide delivery that induced a miscue from Shreyas, thus ending the partnership of 67 runs. However, this wicket did not deter Wadhera, who slog-swept Hasaranga for a six in the very next over before achieving a remarkable half-century off just 25 balls. Shashank Singh, at the other end, then prepared himself to make a significant impact towards the end.
During the concluding phase, PBKS enjoyed a plethora of boundaries despite losing Wadhera early on after his impressive 36-ball 70. Shashank took charge at this juncture, hammering Fazalhaq Farooqi for 18 runs in a single over. Meanwhile, Azmatullah required just two balls to settle in before targeting Maphaka with a couple of boundaries and a six. Madhwal executed several wide yorkers flawlessly in a commendable penultimate over, but Shashank compensated with crucial runs in the final over, reaching a fifty and steering his team towards nearly 220.
Rajasthan Royals fell short by 10 runs
4,0,4,4,6,4 – This is how Jaiswal initiated the run chase against Arshdeep Singh. Shashank, who was leading the team with an ailing Shreyas substituted out, faced challenges as Suryavanshi subsequently targeted Marco Jansen for a 17-run over, resulting in 39 runs being scored in merely 12 balls. The team reached fifty runs in just 2.5 overs as Jaiswal and Suryavanshi delivered an impressive performance that astonished the bowling side. Upon Arshdeep’s return, the 14-year-old hit him for consecutive sixes, necessitating the introduction of spin during the PowerPlay to finally secure a wicket. Harpreet Brar dismissed Suryavanshi, who scored 40 runs off 15 balls, but Jaiswal continued to find the boundaries, allowing the Royals to achieve their highest score ever during this phase.
Following the PowerPlay, equilibrium was restored as the spinners from PBKS managed to regain control. This brief period of calm even led to a wicket, as Jaiswal fell right after reaching his fifty, granting Brar his second wicket. Sanju Samson, attempting to accelerate the scoring, misplayed a delivery from Omarzai and was caught out, as the required run rate began to rise. Although Dhruv Jurel and Parag briefly ended the boundary drought, Brar returned to claim another wicket, this time off Parag, which dealt a blow to the Royals. Jurel’s six in Chahal’s final over provided some hope for RR as they approached the slog overs.
With 66 runs needed from 30 balls, and Shimron Hetmyer alongside a well-set Jurel, the Royals were certainly still in contention. The two batsmen each struck a boundary in the 16th over, and a wide that resulted in a boundary in the subsequent over kept their hopes alive. However, the following two overs saw the Royals manage only 19 runs, with the hosts also losing Hetmyer. This left them needing 22 runs off the final over, with RR’s aspirations largely resting on half-centurion Jurel. Jansen, assigned the task of closing out the match, accomplished this in the first three deliveries, conceding only two runs before claiming the crucial wicket of Jurel. Jansen also managed to add another wicket to his tally when Hasaranga got a thick outside-edge before Maphaka reduced the margin of defeat with back-to-back boundaries.
SCORECARD: 219/5 in 20 overs (Nehal Wadhera 70, Shashank Singh 59*; Tushar Deshpande 2/37) beat Rajasthan Royals 209/7 in 20 overs (Dhruv Jurel 53, Yashasvi Jaiswal 50; Harpreet Brar 3/22) by 10 runs
