Padikkal, Hetmyer keep Royals in the hunt with latest win

Rajasthan Royals 189 for 6 (Padikkal 51, Jaiswal 50, Hetmyer 46, Rabada 2-40) Punjab kings 187 for 5 (Curran 49*, Jitesh 44, Saini 3-40) with four wickets

Things got quite jittery in the end, but Rajasthan Royals finished on the right side of the result in Dharamsala, beating and eliminating Punjab Kings in a four-wicket win while also keeping their outside playoff chance alive.

Jaiswal and Padikkal dragged Royals out of a difficult position – with Jos Buttler and Sanju Samson failing – while Hetmyer kept the run rate from getting out of hand at the back.

Royals now have their sights set on Sunday’s action. To qualify, they need Mumbai Indians to lose to Sunrisers Hyderabad and also Royal Challengers Bangalore to lose to Gujarat Titans by at least six points in the final match of the league stage.

Disappointing start Kings

Shikhar Dhawan said at the coin toss that the Kings didn’t mind batting first in Dharamsala, but their top order was blown away early, leaving them reeling 50 for 4 in 6.3 overs.

Adam Zampa then closed out the power play sweeping Dhawan lbw’s wicket and Saini added a second when he rattled Liam Livingstone’s stumps as the batsman swung wildly over the line.

That the Kings batsmen continued for their shots despite losing wickets was understandable. To have any outside chance of qualifying for the playoffs, they had to go hard in the power play to aim for a big total. This time, however, they failed.

A resurrection of the middle order

Then came the rebuild, started by Jitesh Sharma and Sam Curran. Together, they hit only two fours and two sixes by the time they completed a fifty-run stand. Back then, their partnership run rate of 7.69 didn’t do justice to the good batting conditions, but they were forced to play that way because of clean spells from Zampa and Yuzvendra Chahal.

That all seemed to change though, as Jitesh ripped into the 14th over a bowling from Saini. Jitesh hit 4, 6, 4 at the start, but it turned out to be an anticlimax with the batter out on 44 next ball. Nevertheless, their partnership of 64 in 7.2 overs gave Kings hope for a respectable total.

Chahal, Boult is leaking

With Kings on 141 after 18 overs, Chahal took the bowl. But the purple cap holder’s over proved to be the costliest of the innings as both Shahrukh and Curran beat him all over for 28 runs.

Then the Kings duo rode on the back of some streaky shots to add 18 more in Boult’s final. Together they added 46 in the last 12 balls, Kings scored 70 in their last five overs and Royals were left with a tricky 188.

Padikkal clicks no. 3

After Buttler registered his third duck in a row, Padikkal and Jaiswal collected boundaries through the punt area with the Kings bowlers attempting to bowl wide. They didn’t let Arshdeep Singh, Curran or Kagiso Rabada relax, adding a combined 73 runs and 8.1 overs.

While Padikkal dominated, Jaiswal appeared to build up his innings while also keeping the required run rate in check. However, Padikkal and Samson fell in quick succession and the Royals slipped from 85 for 1 to 90 for 3.

Hetmyer, Parag, Jurel seal the deal

Hetmyer was quick off the block with two sixes, allowing Jaiswal to keep playing his part. Although Jaiswal fell shortly after turning 50, Hetmyer continued to blitz 46 from 28 and Riyan Parag also joined with two sixes on Rabada to play a 20 out of 12 cameo.

However, neither could bring the team home and fell late in the game. The responsibility for that fell to Jurel, who kept his nerve in Boult’s company to seal the match with a six in a row over Rahul Chahar in the final.