On a day when 429 runs were scored and bowlers were taken to the cleaners, left-arm spinner Harpreet Brar stepped up, bowled the match-winning spell of 3 for 22, and helped Punjab Kings (PBKS) beat Rajasthan Royals (RR) by 10 runs at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur on Sunday.A 10-run win took PBKS to second place on the points table with 17 points, just behind RCB, who also have 17 points.Chasing 220, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Vaibhav Suryavanshi got the Royals off to a flying start. The young openers added 76 for the first wicket.Brar was introduced inside the powerplay by Punjab’s stand-in captain Shashank Singh, as regular captain Shreyas Iyer didn’t take the field in the second innings.After being hammered for back-to-back boundaries, Brar got rid of 14-year-old Vaibhav Suryavanshi (40 off 14 balls) as the youngster holed out to long-on.At the end of the powerplay, Royals were 89 for 1 and were cruising towards the total.But after the break, Brar derailed the Royals’ chase.The 29-year-old first dismissed the dangerous-looking Yashasvi Jaiswal (50 off 25 balls). He then cleaned up Riyan Parag with a beautiful arm ball.Azmatullah Omarzai and Marco Jansen chipped in with two wickets each. Arshdeep Singh, who was taken to the cleaners in the first over—Jaiswal smashing 22 runs—conceded 60 runs off his four overs. But Arshdeep bowled an excellent 19th over, giving away just eight runs.Dhruv Jurel slammed a half-century and kept RR in the hunt till the last over, but once he lost his wicket in the final over, it was only a matter of time for the visitors.Earlier, after opting to bat first, blistering half-centuries from Nehal Wadhera and Shashank Singh powered Punjab Kings to 219/5 in 20 overs.Prabhsimran Singh got off to a very good start yet again, smashing 3 fours and a six before Tushar Deshpande had his fellow opener Priyansh Arya and himself sent back inside the fourth over.The debutant Owen was sent up at number 3 but fell second ball without scoring, trying to smash Maphaka out of the park, ending up with a top edge. Nehal Wadhera walked in at number 4 and was joined by skipper Shreyas Iyer.The left-hand right-hand combination ensured runs flowed at a tidy pace and no damage was done in terms of wickets. Iyer played anchor and batted around Wadhera with 30 in 25 balls before Riyan Parag had him caught in the 11th over to break the 67-run stand. Iyer, who was hit on the index finger of his right hand on the eve of the match, scored a gritty 30.
Wadhera got off the mark with a boundary and added a few more, finishing with a career-best 70 in just 37 balls, smashing 5 fours and as many sixes. Shashank Singh, with an unbeaten 59, and Azmatullah Omarzai (21* off 9) put the finishing touches.Tushar Deshpande was the pick of the bowlers with 2/37. Riyan Parag bowled 3 overs for 1/26. Akash Madhwal (1/48) was expensive, with Maphaka (1/32 in 3) also claiming a wicket.Who’s that IPL player?Brief ScoresPunjab Kings: 219 for 5 in 20 overs (Nehal Wadhera 70, Shreyas Iyer 30, Shashank Singh 59 not out; Tushar Deshpande 2/37).Rajasthan Royals: 209 for 7 in 20 overs (Yashasvi Jaiswal 50, Vaibhav Suryavanshi 40, Dhruv Jurel 53; Harpreet Brar 3/22, Azmatullah Omarzai 2/44).
