JAIPUR, India (AP) — Nehal Wadhera hit 70 off 37 balls to lead Punjab Kings to a 10-run win over Rajasthan Royals as they resumed their Indian Premier League campaign.
Wadhera smashed five sixes and five fours in his second half-century of the season in Punjab’s 219-5 in 20 overs on Sunday. Shashank Singh’s 59 not out off 30 balls also helped the Kings cross the 200-mark.
Left-arm spinner Harpreet Brar then took 3-22 in four overs as Rajasthan’s chase lost momentum despite half-centuries from Yashasvi Jaisal and Dhruv Jurel. The Royals were restricted to 209-7 for a 10th loss this season.
Punjab climbed to second in the points’ table – level on 17 with leader Royal Challengers Bengaluru but trailing on net run-rate. Rajasthan, already eliminated, stayed ninth with six points from 13 games.
Opting to bat first, Punjab lost Priyansh Arya (9) early and then Australian Mitchell Owen was out for a two-ball duck on his IPL debut.
Prabhsimran Singh scored 21 off 10 balls before being caught in the fourth over and Punjab was down to 34-3 in 3.1 overs.
Wadhera rebuilt the innings with a 67-run partnership off 44 balls with skipper Shreyas Iyer, who scored 30 off 25.
Iyer was sedate by his standards, hitting five fours and no sixes, while Wadhera took the aggressive route and reached 50 off 25 balls.
After Iyer’s departure, just past the halfway stage, Wadhera added 58 runs off 33 balls with Shashank Singh.
Wadhera was out caught off Akash Madhwal in the 16th over, but it only enabled Punjab to step on the accelerator.
Shashank Singh hit five fours and three sixes while also finding an able partner in Azmatullah Omarzai, who scored 21 not out off nine balls. The duo added 60 runs off the last four overs.
Quick start for Rajasthan
In reply, Rajasthan made a quick-fire start. Jaiswal took 22 runs off the first over, and added 76 off 29 balls with his teenage opening partner Vaibhav Suryavanshi.
The 14-year-old Suryavanshi, who hit a breathtaking century in the Indian Premier League last month, scored 40 off 15 balls, with four sixes, before he was caught off Brar in the fifth over. Jaiswal was out for a 25-ball 50 – again off Brar, in the ninth over.
Rajasthan started losing steam afterward with Sanju Samson (20) and Riyan Parag (13) unable to keep up the momentum.
Jurel scored 53 off 31 – his second half-century of the season – to keep the chase going, but Marco Jansen and Omarzai combined for four wickets to help Punjab gain valuable points.
Fifth-placed Delhi Capitals hosted third-placed Gujarat Titans later Sunday.
Fans get to see some cricket
The IPL’s much-anticipated restart had been delayed for another day after the Royal Challengers Bengaluru-Kolkata Knight Riders game was washed out on Saturday.
The IPL was suspended for a week to Friday due to the military showdown between India and Pakistan. The Pakistan Super League resumed on Saturday.
The IPL final, originally scheduled for May 25, was moved to June 3.
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AP cricket: https://apnews.com/hub/cricket
The Associated Press
