(Cricket news) In the Indian Premier League, Rajasthan Royals defeated Punjab Kings by four wickets to maintain their tenuous play-off chances. Punjab Kings have been disqualified from the play-off competition, while Rajasthan have ousted Mumbai Indians from the fifth slot on the points chart.
Devdutt Padikkal, who had an off-season prior to Friday’s game, rose to the occasion and produced a magnificent half-century. For his 51 (30b, 5×4, 3×6), he was voted Player of the Match. In addition, Yashasvi Jaiswal, who has been in excellent form, added another strong 50 (36b, 8×4, 0x6), which may be his final of the year if RR missed the play-offs.
Aside from Mumbai Indians vs. Sunrisers Hyderabad and Royal Challengers Bangalore vs. Gujarat Titans, two additional matches will determine whether or not RR advances. Earlier, PBKS, which was given the opportunity to bat, recorded a respectable 187 for 5. Sam Curran 49* (31b, 4×4, 2×6) and Jitesh Sharma 44 (28b, 3×4, 3×6) scored 64 runs for the fifth wicket to give the innings some traction after PBKS lost wickets at regular intervals and slipped to 50 for 4 in the seventh over. Shahrukh Khan also played a vital role by scoring 40* (23b, 4×4, 2×6)
With 14 points and an NRR of +0.148 thanks to the victory over PBKS, Rajasthan Royals moved ahead of Mumbai Indians to take over fifth place on the points table. While RCB, who are now fourth in the standings, appear to be the favourites to win a spot in the playoffs. Despite having 14 points themselves, MI has slid to sixth as a result of a poor net run rate.
With a staggering strike rate of 153.94 and 702 runs from 13 innings, Faf du Plessis leads the Orange Cap standings. He has eight half-centuries to his credit. With 625 runs in 14 games, Yashasvi Jaiswal, who hit a half-century on Friday, soared to retake second place. Mohammed Shami of the Gujarat Titans, who has 23 wickets in 13 games, continues to wear the purple cap. Despite having taken just as many wickets as his teammate, Rashid Khan is ranked one rung lower.
The top three teams, in that order, are still the Gujarat Titans (18 points), Chennai Super Kings (15 points), and Lucknow Super Giants (15 points).
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