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IPL 2022: Jaiswal, Hetmyer keep Royals in hunt for playoffs

Jaiswal's 41-ball 68 and Hetmyer's 16-ball 31 helped the Royals chase down 190 in a tense finish

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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 on Saturday.

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 with 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.

But left-handed Hetmyer smashed three fours and two sixes in his 16-ball 31 to ensure the Royals bounced back from two losses and stayed third in the 10-team table.

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.

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.