The Punjab side had earlier made 219-5 riding on an unbeaten 59 off 30 deliveries by Shashank and Wadhera (70)
PBKS spinner Harpreet Brar celebrates a RR wicket. Pic/PTI; (right) Shreyas Iyer. Pic/AFP
Left-arm spinner Harpreet Brar bowled a match-turning spell after Nehal Wadhera and Shashank Singh made bruising fifties as Punjab Kings entered the IPL Playoff berth with a 10-run win over Rajasthan Royals here on Sunday.
Brar, who came in as a substitute for skipper Shreyas Iyer — possibly unwell due to extreme heat — was introduced in the fifth over and the left-arm spinner walked away with an impressive 3-22 in four overs, helping PBKS to restrict RR to 209-7 in the chase of 220.
The Punjab side had earlier made 219-5 riding on an unbeaten 59 off 30 deliveries by Shashank and Wadhera (70).
With this win, PBKS (NRR: +0.38) climbed to 17 points and they are third on the table.
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Brar, who mixed up his angles, trajectory, and pace with precision, played a big part in that.
His scalps included the 14-year-old sensation Vaibhav Suryavanshi (40 off 15; 4x4, 4x6) and Indian opener Yashasvi Jaiswal, who had launched a brutal assault up front with his (50 off 24).
Together they flew off the blocks with a stand off 76 runs in just 4.1 overs. Azmatullah Omarzai (2-44) then landed a double blow, sending back skipper Sanju Samson (20) and Shimron Hetmyer (11), as RR’s chase lost steam.
Dhruv Jurel (53 off 31 balls; 3x4, 4x6) hit form to score his second fifty of the season, but it went in vain as Marco Jansen (2-41 in three overs) removed him and Wanindu Hasaranga in successive balls in the last over to end their chase.
Iyer is pleased that his side displayed the right mindset after being put under the pump. “The guys were in high spirits. We showed the mindset that we wanted to win irrespective of the situation,” Iyer said.
“The body language tends to drop when the opposition plays well. Brar is consistent in the nets. Today he stepped in and delivered. His mindset has been tremendous throughout. Absolutely brilliant approach and attitude,” gushed Iyer.
The Punjab skipper revealed that he has suffered a “finger injury” but does not know the extent. “Don’t know what has happened. Yesterday, while practising, I got hit,” he said.
Brief scores
PBKS 219-5 in 20 overs (N Wadhera 70, S Singh 59*, S Iyer 30; T Deshpande 2-37) beat RR 209-7 in 20 overs (D Jurel 53, Y Jaiswal 50, V Suryavanshi 40; H Brar 3-22, M Jansen 2-41, A Omarzai 2-44) by 10 runs
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