Mohali: Rajasthan Royals’ hope of making it to the play-offs suffered a set-back as they went down to Kings XI Punjab by 16 runs at the PCA Stadium here Friday.
Chasing a target of 180, the Royals managed 163 for eight in 20 overs after a late onslaught by James Faulkner (35 not out) and Brad Hodge (31).
The loss opens up the race for the fourth spot and their next match against defending champions Mumbai Indians will effectively be a knock-out, although run rate will come into play.
What baffled many was Rajasthan skipper Shane Watson’s decision to send Hodge and Faulkner in late while chasing a big total.
They were pretty much on course thanks to brisk knocks from Ajinkya Rahane (23) and Sanju Samson (30).
But the dismissal of Rahane, Watson and Stuart Binny (7) in quick succession saw Rajasthan slump from a comfortable 56/1 to 70/4.
Pacer Rishi Dhawan (2/25) uprooted the stumps of Rahane and Watson in similar fashion in consecutive deliveries but missed out on a hat-trick.
Leg-spinner Karanveer Singh (2/16) put further brakes on the scoring as he removed Binny and Samson in his back-to-back overs that left the Royals at 83/5 in the 14th over.
Left-arm spinner Akshar Patel (3/24) then rattled the middle-order by picking up the wickets of Rahul Tewatia (16), Hodge and Faulkner.
Hodge and Faulkner’s cameo got Rajasthan close but it came too late in the match. Hodge struck two fours and two sixes in his 18-ball knock while Faulkner’s unbeaten 13-ball stay had one four and four sixes.
Early in the day, an impressive batting performance took Kings XI to 179/4.
The top order fired in unision and it was opening batsman Virender Sehwag, who gave a quick start with an eight-ball 18.
Shaun Marsh top scored with 40 from 35 balls while Manan Vohra (25), Wriddhiman Saha (27), David Miller (29 not out) and George Bailey (26 not out) came up with valuable knocks.
