Jaipur: Left-arm spinner Harpreet Brar bowled a match-turning spell after Nehal Wadhera and Shashank Singh made bruising fifties as Punjab Kings edged closer to an 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 — who suffered a finger injury — 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 for five riding on an unbeaten on 59 off 30 deliveries (5×4, 3×6) by Shashank and Wadhera (70, 37b, 5×4, 5×6).
With this win, PBKS (NRR: +0.38) climbed to 17 points and they are second on the table behind leaders Royal Challengers Bengaluru (17 points, +0.48) on net run rate difference.
The Ricky Ponting-coached side needs just one more point to secure a playoff berth for the first time since 2014.
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; 4×4, 4×6) 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 off 16) and Shimron Hetmyer (11 off 12), as RR’s chase lost steam.
Dhruv Jurel (53 off 31 balls; 3×4, 4×6) 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.
Jaiswal was in explosive form from the outset, smashing four fours and a six off Arshdeep Singh’s first over.
Suryavanshi matched him stroke for stroke, cracking two sixes and a four off Jansen.
RR raced to 51 for no loss in just three overs — 50 of those runs coming in boundaries, and one via a wide.
Suryavanshi continued his fireworks with back-to-back sixes off Arshdeep, helping RR storm to 76 in just 29 balls.
However, Brar’s introduction proved decisive, as he first removed Suryavanshi and then dismissed Jaiswal, who fell immediately after completing his sixth fifty of the season.
It saw the required rate jumping to 12 from under 10, and the Royals couldn’t recover.
Earlier, fiery half-centuries from Wadhera and Shashank powered PBKS to a commanding total.
Opting to bat, PBKS started briskly but lost opener Priyansh Arya in the second over, caught by Hetmyer off Tushar Deshpande (2/37). Prabhsimran Singh briefly kept the momentum going, striking Maphaka for a four and a six, but wickets continued to tumble.
IPL debutant Mitchell Owen fell for a two-ball duck, holing out to Samson off Maphaka. Prabhsimran (22 off 12) followed soon after, edging Deshpande to Samson, who reviewed successfully after the on-field umpire turned it down.
Skipper Iyer (30 off 25, 5x4s) and Wadhera then stitched a quick 67-run stand off 44 balls for the fourth wicket. Iyer looked fluent but fell against the run of play, slicing a Riyan Parag delivery to Jaiswal at long-off.
Wadhera, dropped on 47 by Hasaranga off his own bowling, made the most of the reprieve.
He brought up his fifty in just 25 balls and was particularly dominant on the leg side.
His knock ended when he attempted back-to-back sixes off Akash Madhwal, only to find Hetmyer in the deep.
Omarzai provided the finishing touch with an unbeaten 21 off just nine balls, helping PBKS cross the 200-run mark.
