Mohali: Rajasthan Royals almost assured themselves of a play-off berth in the Indian Premier League (IPL) after they defeated Kings XI Punjab by eight wickets at the Punjab Cricket Association (PCA) Stadium here yesterday.
Chasing a target of 146, Ajinkya Rahane struck a fine unbeaten 59, his second consecutive half-century, and the young Sanju Samson remained not out on 47 to guide Rajasthan Royals to 147 for two with an over to spare.
Put in, a 102-run partnership between skipper Adam Gilchrist (42) and his compatriot Shaun Marsh (77) set the foundation of a big total for Kings XI. But they suffered a batting collapse losing five wickets for 41 runs and managed 145 for six in 20 overs.
Pacer Kevon Cooper did most of the damage in the death overs with his three for 23 and was also adjudged Man-of-the-Match.
In Pune, the Kolkata Knight Riders romped home to their first away win in the IPL beating the Pune Warriors by 46 runs at the Subrata Roy Sahara Stadium yesterday. The Warriors succumbed to their eighth consecutive defeat after failing to achieve a target of 153, getting bowled out for 106 in 19.3 overs. Apart from opener Robin Uthappa (31) and Sri Lankan Angelo Mathews (40), all other Pune batsmen failed to even reach double figures.
Right arm pacer Lakshmipathy Balaji took 3/19, including a brilliant caught-and-bowled off the last ball of the match to take Parvez Rasool’s wicket. IANS
