Chandigarh (Punjab) [India], April 5 (ANI): Left-hand batter Yashavi Jaiswal’s exceptional fifty and right-hand batter Riyan Parag’s unbeaten cameo powered the Rajasthan Royals (RR) to a mammoth total of 205/4 in their 20 overs against the Punjab Kings (PBKS) team at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium in Mullanpur, Chandigarh, on Saturday.
The PBKS skipper won the toss and opted to bowl first in this encounter. Skipper Sanju Samson and Yashasvi Jaiswal came out in the middle to open the innings for the visitors.
The RR touched the 50-runs mark on the second ball of the sixth over as Samson slammed a boundary on the bowling of off-spinner Glenn Maxwell.
Samson and Jaiswal put on a fiery 89-run stand. But a fine catch from Iyer removes Samson for 38 in 26 balls, with six fours. Lockie Ferguson got the breakthrough. After the end of 10.2 overs, RR were 89/1.
Following Samson’s dismissal, right-hand batter Riyan Parag came out to bat in the middle to bat along with Jaiswal. The Sanju Samson-led side crossed 100 runs in the 12th over. In the same over, Jaiswal completed his first half-century in the ongoing 18th edition of the cash-rich league.
The second wicket of the innings fell in the 14th over as Jaiswal was sent back to the pavilion after scoring 67 runs off 45 balls, which came with the help of three fours and five sixes.
After Jaiswal’s wicket, left-hand batter Nitish Rana came out to bat in the middle along with Parag, but he was sent back to the dressing room after scoring just 12 runs in the 15th over on the bowling of left-arm seamer Marco Jansen when the team score was 138 runs.
Left-hand batter Shimron Hetmyer came out to the crease next to bat, along with Parag in the middle.
The batting side completed the 150-run mark on the penultimate ball of the 16th over as Parag smashed a boundary on the bowling of left-arm fast bowler Arshdeep Singh.
Hetmyer was the fourth one to fall in Rajasthan’s innings. The southpaw was removed in the 19th over. He was dismissed on the bowling of Arshdeep when the side was at 185.
The Rajasthan-based franchise finished the first innings at 205 runs with the loss of four wickets after the completion of 20 overs, with Riyan Parag and Dhruv Jurel unbeaten on the crease.
For the Punjab side, two wickets were snapped by Lockie Ferguson (2/37 in 4 overs) and one wicket each was grabbed by Arshdeep Singh (1/35 in 4 overs) and Maco Jansen (1/45 in 4 overs) in their respective spells.
Brief Score: Rajasthan Royals 205/4 in 20 overs (Yashasvi Jaiswal 67, Riyan Parag 43*; Lockie Ferguson 2/37) vs Punjab Kings. (ANI)
