The narrow loss against Rajasthan Royals at Dharamsala spelt doom for Punjab Kings, who became the third team to be eliminated in the season thanks to the Royals chasing down 187. This is the ninth successive season since Punjab advanced to the final in 2014 that the northern franchise has exited IPL at the league stage.
The pitch at Dharamsala has been friendly to batters. So, Rajasthan Royals fancied their chances of overhauling the total. While the early departure of Jos Buttler doesn’t help their cause, Devdutt Padikkal led the initial charge, hitting two sixes and a four off Kagiso Rabada inside the PowerPlay. Yashasvi Jaiswal too notched up a 36-ball fifty as Rajasthan Royals inched closer to the target.
Caribbean swashbuckler Shimron Hetmyer’s neat ball-striking through the offside stood out as RR applied the finishing touches to their pursuit, with Dhruv Jurel quashing the jitters in the camp with a six.