Yashasvi Jaiswal, Devdutt Padikkal script their four-wicket win over Punjab Kings

Dharamsala: Devdutt Padikkal and Yashasvi Jaiswal hit sublime fifties as Rajasthan Royals kept their slim playoff hopes alive with a four-wicket win over Punjab Kings in their final IPL league match here on Friday.

Sent into bat, PBKS were reeling at 50 for four but Sam Curran (49 not out) and Jitesh Sharma (44 off 28 balls) revived the innings while M. Shahrukh Khan (41 not out off) provided the late surge to power the side to 187 for 5.

A target of 188 was never going to be easy and RR needed to complete the chase in 18.3 overs to momentarily get ahead of Royal Challengers Bangalore’s net run-rate but they couldn’t.

But still RR got two points to stay afloat with Jaiswal (50 off 36) scripting the chase, adding 73 off 49 balls with Padikkal (51 off 30) and another 47 off 22 balls with Shimron Hetmyer (46) as RR romped home in 19.4 overs.

With the win, RR moved to fifth spot with 14 points, same as RCB (4th) and Mumbai Indians (6th), who both still have a match to play in the league stage.

The loss meant, PBKS are officially out of the IPL.