Dropped after three failures in the initial stages of the IPL, Yashasvi Jaiswal was presented with one more opportunity to justify his selection. The young southpaw grabbed it with both hands, slamming a fiery half-century to almost single-handedly help Rajasthan Royals beat Punjab Kings by six wickets and arrest a two match winless streak.
Rajasthan's chase of 190 got off to a flier with Jaiswal and Jos Buttler clobbering the new-ball duo of Sandeep Sharma and Kagiso Rabada for 46 runs off a mere 23 balls before being separated by the South African pacer.
Rabada brought the smiles back to the Punjab camp by packing Englishman Buttler for a 16-ball 30, caught by Bhanuka Rajapaksha at short-third man. But there was more misery in store for the bowling side once Jaiswal launched a counter-attack with a 41-ball 68 powered by nine hits to the fence and a couple into the Wankhede stands.
The 20-year-old knew he had one chance to impress the team management and with his skipper Sanju Samson at the other end, the stage was set for him to explode. The left-right duo added 39 runs for the second wicket before Samson once again wasted a decent start of 23 off 12 deliveries.
Jaiswal, who had raced to a fifty by then, took on the onus as Devdutt Padikkal (31 off 30) initially found the going tough. In no time, the two left-handers added 56 runs for the third wicket before Arshdeep Singh got the dangerous Jaiswal caught at the long off boundary.
Requiring 49 off 34, West Indies import Shimron Hetmyer's 16-ball unbeaten 31 was enough for Rajasthan to record their first win while chasing a total this season.
Earlier, Punjab Kings skipper Mayank Agarwal's decision to sacrifice his opening position and promote Jonny Bairstow paid rich dividends as the Englishman finally dusted off the rusty patch with a crafty half-century to help the team post 189/5 on a warm Saturday afternoon.
1/7:'SUPER' YASHASVI
<p>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. (Image credit: BCCI/IPL) </p>
2/7:RR BACK TO WINNING WAYS
<p>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. (Image credit: BCCI/IPL) </p>
3/7:EFFORT IN VAIN
<p>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. (Image credit: BCCI/IPL) </p>
4/7:SOLID START
<p>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). (Image credit: BCCI/IPL) </p>
5/7:BRILLIANT EFFORT
<p>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. (Image credit: BCCI/IPL) </p>
6/7:SOLID START
<p>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. (Image credit: BCCI/IPL) </p>
7/7:JOB DONE
<p>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. (Image credit: BCCI/IPL) </p>It took eight innings for the English right-hander to finally find his groove, as he slammed a 40-ball 56, laced with eight boundaries and a six to anchor Punjab's innings before young Jitesh Sharma added the final touches with a glorious 18-ball unbeaten 38, containing four boundaries and a couple of sixes.
For Royals, the star with the ball was Yuzvendra Chahal, who applied the brakes on the scoring with the wicket of Rajapaksha and also got Mayank and Bairstow in a span of three deliveries.
