Yashasvi Jaiswal registered his maiden fifty of this IPL. Captain Sanju Samson and Riyan Parag also contributed with the bat before the Jofra Archer-led bowling group backed it up with incisive spells in Mullanpur on Saturday.
Result: Rajasthan Royals broke little sweat to record their second win this season, an emphatic 50-run victory over Punjab Kings, restricting them to 155/9 after posting a formidable 205/4. With back-to-back wins, the Royals have moved up to seventh in the standings, while the Kings are at No.4.
The Kings dropped a couple of catches at critical phases that allowed the Royals some extra runs on what wasn’t a 200-plus wicket. Yuzvendra Chahal, ordinary with the ball too, dropped Shimron Hetmyer in the 17th over at fine leg off Lockie Ferguson, who could have finished with better figures.
In the next over, Riyan, on 32, was let off by Marco Jansen off his own bowling.
Solid upfront
Jaiswal, who went into the game with few runs under his belt, and Samson were a little slow to get off the blocks before accelerating from the fourth over. The 89-run opening stand laid the foundation for the batters coming in later. Riyan did so with assistance from Hetmyer and Dhruv Jurel, which propelled the Royals past 200.
Archer ace
A probing spell of 1/13 in three overs in the Royals’ previous game against Chennai Super Kings had hinted at Archer gradually finding his feet. On Saturday, against an explosive top order, Archer did his job in the first over of the run chase.
Fast and accurate, he moved the ball just a shade away to rattle Priyansh Arya’s stumps off the first ball. The in-form Kings captain Shreyas Iyer greeted Archer with two boundaries thereafter.
Archer then responded with a short ball and a back-of-a-length delivery, pushing Shreyas deeper into the crease. Expecting another short one, Archer pitched it fuller, which crashed into Shreyas’ stumps as he aimed to whack it.
Archer’s first spell had flattened the Kings before Impact Player Kumar Kartikeya’s accounting for Prabhsimran Singh had practically shut the door on the hosts, who were then reeling at 43/4 in the seventh over. If not for Nehal Wadhera and Glenn Maxwell’s 88-run fifth-wicket stand, the Royals would have won by a bigger margin.
