JAIPUR: Nehal Wadhera and Shashank Singh struck half-centuries, while left-arm spinner Harpreet Brar took three wickets as Punjab Kings defeated Rajasthan Royals by 10 runs to enhance their chances of making the IPL playoffs, here Sunday.
Thanks to Wadhera's 37-ball 70, Shashank's unbeaten 59 and a valuable 30 by skipper Shreyas Iyer, PBKS scored a competitive 219 for 5.
RR openers Yashasvi Jaiswal (50) and Vaibhav Suryavanshi (40) gave the home side a fiery start, scoring 76 runs in 4.5 overs.
But once Suryavanshi was dismissed by Brar (3/22) in the fifth over, wickets started tumbling at regular intervals and RR could managed 209 for 7 in the end.
Dhruv Jurel (53 off 31 balls) was the highest run-getter for RR.
PBKS pacer Azmatullah Omarzai (2/44) too played his part in the win, taking the wickets of the dangerous Shimron Hetmyer (11) and captain Sanju Samson (20).
With this win PBKS are now on 17 points, the same as leaders Royal Challengers Bengaluru, but are second on the table because of an inferior net run rate.
Brief Scores:
Punjab Kings: 219 for 5 in 20 overs (Nehal Wadhera 70, Shreyas Iyer 30, Shashank Singh 59 not out; Tushar Deshpande 2/37).
Rajasthan Royals: 209 for 7 in 20 overs (Yashasvi Jaiswal 50, Vaibhav Suryavanshi 40, Dhruv Jurel 53; Harpreet Brar 3/22, Azmatullah Omarzai 2/44).