Mumbai: After Yuzvendra Chahal shined once again with the ball by taking three wickets, Yashasvi Jaiswal guided Rajasthan Royals to victory over Punjab Kings by striking a half-century on her comeback to the playing eleven on Saturday.
Rajasthan Royals opened with a bang, with rookie opener Yashasvi Jaiswal leading the charge. Jos Buttler scored 20 runs in the fourth over before succumbing to the penultimate ball of the same over. Sanju Samson, the RR captain, stepped in and continued in the same spirit, with Jaiswal ensuring that the team pursues the target while maintaining a run rate of about 10. While Samson was dismissed for 23 off 12 balls, Jaiswal scored a half-century. He was finally dismissed by Arshdeep Singh, but Shimron Hetmyer capitalized on the previous hitters’ efforts to lead RR to a six-wicket victory.
Punjab Kings had earlier scored 67 runs in the last five overs, thanks primarily to Jitesh Sharma and Liam Livingstone, to achieve a total of 189/5. Livingstone and Jitesh’s partnership was worth 50 runs and came in just 26 balls. It enabled PBKS to build on the foundation laid by Jonny Bairstow, who hit his first half-century of the season.
Brief Scores:
Punjab Kings: 189 for 5 in 20 overs (Jonny Bairstow 56, Jitesh Sharma 38 not out; Yuzvendra Chahal 3/28).
Rajasthan Royals: 190 for 4 in 19.4 overs (Yashasvi Jaiswal 68, Jos Buttler 30; Arshdeep Singh 2/29).
Later in the evening, on Saturday, Lucknow Super Giants crushed Kolkata Knight Riders by 75 runs.
LSG scored 30 runs off Shivam Mavi’s 19th over to finish on 176 for 7. Quinton de Kock led the way with 50 runs off 29 balls, while Deepak Hooda hit 41 runs off 27 balls. Marcus Stonis (28 off 14 balls) and Jason Holder (13 off 6 balls) each blasted five sixes in the penultimate over to help the side to a respectable score. Avesh Khan and Jason Holder each took three wickets as KKR were bowled out for 101 in 4.3 overs.
Brief Scores:
LSG 176 for 7 (Quinton de Kock 50 off 29 balls, Deepak Hooda 41 off 27 balls, Andre Russell 2/22)
KKR 101 in 14.3 overs (Andre Russell 45, Avesh Khan 3/19, Jason Holder 3/31).
