Yashasvi Jaiswal’s 68 and an unbeaten 31 by Shimron Hetmyer guided Rajasthan Royals to a six-wicket victory over Punjab Kings in the Indian Premier League yesterday.
Jaiswal’s 41-ball knock lay the foundation for the Royals’ chase of 190 before Hetmyer steered the team home with two balls to spare in a tense finish in Mumbai.
England’s Jonny Bairstow made 56 - his first fifty of this IPL season - to guide Punjab to 189 for five after electing to bat first on another hot afternoon.
The left-handed Jaiswal combined with opening partner Jos Buttler (30) to give the Royals a quick start to their chase and then kept up the charge with skipper Sanju Samson (23).
Left-arm pace bowler Arshdeep Singh returned figures of 2-29 and gave away just three runs in the 19th over, which included the wicket of Devdutt Padikkal, who made 31, to test the Royals. Earlier Bairstow smashed New Zealand quick Trent Boult for two boundaries in the first over to signal his intent as he helped Punjab to 48-1 in the first six overs.
But left-handed Hetmyer smashed three fours and two sixes in his 16-ball blitz to ensure the Royals bounced back from two losses and stayed third in the 10-team table.
He lost his opening partner Shikhar Dhawan to a stunning catch from Buttler, who backpedalled from mid-on and then timed his jump to pluck the ball one-handed.
Ravichandran Ashwin was the bowler.
Bairstow put on key partnerships including a 42-run second-wicket stand with Bhanuka Rajapaksa before he fell lbw to Yuzvendra Chahal, who returned figures of 3-28. Wicketkeeper-batter Jitesh Sharma kept up the attack and found Liam Livingstone’s company as the duo added 50 off 26 balls for the fifth wicket.
Livingstone was bowled by Prasidh Krishna for 22 off 14 balls, but Sharma finished with a flourish as he hit a six and two fours in a 16-run 20th over.
The effort was not enough as the Royals won their first match chasing this season.

Lucknow crush Kolkata to go top
Fast bowlers Avesh Khan and West Indies white-ball star Jason Holder took three wickets each to propel Lucknow Super Giants to the IPL summit with a thumping 75-run win over Kolkata Knight Riders yesterday.
Quinton de Kock, who made a 29-ball 50, and Deepak Hooda, who hit 41 off 27 deliveries, put on 71 runs to the lay the foundation of Lucknow’s 176 for seven after being put in to bat first in Pune.
Bowlers then combined to help Lucknow, who replace fellow newcomers Gujarat Titans at the top of the 10-team table, bundle out Kolkata for 101 in 14.3 overs.
Kolkata were never in the chase after they lost their top four including skipper Shreyas Iyer, for six, and Aaron Finch, for 14, early. They fell to 25-4.
West Indies big-hitter Andre Russell gave them some hope during his 19-ball 45 but the innings fell apart after his departure.
Russell attempted to turn the tide with three fours and five sixes but was caught at third-man off Avesh who finished with figures of 3-19. Holder wrapped up the Kolkata innings with two successive wickets and a run out.
The left-right batting pair of De Kock and Hooda set up victory after they took the attack to the opposition bowlers following skipper K L Rahul’s run out for nought in the first over.
Marcus Stoinis, who hammered 28 off 14, and Jason Holder, who made a four-ball 13, also added to the total with their breezy cameos and hit five sixes between them in a 30-run over from Shivam Mavi.

BRIEF SCORES
Punjab Kings 189/5 (Jonny Bairstow 56; Yuzvendra Chahal 3 for 28) lost to Rajasthan Royals 190/4 (Yashasvi Jaiswal 68; Arshdeep Singh 2 for 29) by 6 wickets (with 2 balls remaining)
Lucknow Super Giants 176/7 (Quinton de Kock 50; Andre Russell 2 for 22) beat Kolkata Knight Riders 101 (Andre Russell 45; Avesh Khan 3 for 19) by 75 runs