Rajasthan hands Punjab its first defeat in Indian Premier League

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NEW CHANDIGARH, India (AP) — Table-toppers Punjab Kings’ unbeaten run in the Indian Premier League ended Tuesday when Donovan Ferreira struck an aggressive half-century to lead Rajasthan Royals to a six-wicket win.

Ferreira’s 52 not out off 26 balls was supported by impact player Shubham Dubey’s equally aggressive unbeaten 31 off 12 balls in Rajasthan’s chase of 228-4 in 19.2 overs.

Marcus Stoinis, who had faced just 27 balls this season, earlier struck 62 not out off 22 balls and propelled Punjab to 222-4 after Rajasthan won the toss and elected to field.

Teenage batting sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi (43) continued to inspire and provided Rajasthan a strong start by smashing five sixes and three fours inside the first four overs and Yashasvi Jaiswal made 51 off 27 balls before Punjab pulled back through Yuzvendra Chahal’s fine spell of 3-36.

Ferreira and Dubey countercharged Punjab in the last six overs before Ferreira smacked Marco Jansen for a winning six and also completed his half-century.

“We need to keep showing intent and not be predictable,” Ferreira said. “Luckily for me, Shubham took the pressure off me. It is a long tournament, we keep reminding ourselves that different guys need to put their hands up.”

Punjab pacers Arshdeep Singh (1-68) and Lockie Ferguson (0-57) bowled too many boundary balls while the third fast bowler Jansen (0-41) was also expensive. Spinners Harpreet Brar and Chahal bowled well in the middle overs, but pacers kept on leaking boundaries from the other end to ease out pressure on Rajasthan batters.

Chahal picked up three wickets in three successive overs, but Ferreira, who hit six fours and three sixes, was well supplemented by Dubey’s three boundaries and two sixes.

Earlier, opening batter Prabhsimran Singh’s (59) stellar season against the fast bowler continued before he fell to spin for the fifth time when he holed out to extra cover as he tried to play big shot against Yash Raj Punja (2-41).

Captain Shreyas Iyer (30), Cooper Connolly (30) and Priyansh Arya (29) all got good starts, but it was Stoinis’ late assault that lifted Punjab's total. Stoinis completed his half-century off 20 balls in the last over and smashed Brijesh Sharma (0-42) for 24 runs in the final over.

“This is our first loss, it definitely teaches you a lot,” Iyer said. “We have played games where we have chased and defended 200-plus. One of those days where it did not go our way. Want to be positive and optimistic.”

Punjab, which came into the Tuesday’s game with six wins and a point from its washout game against Kolkata Knight Riders, still leads the table with 13 points after eight games. Rajasthan rose to third with 12 points. Defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru also have 12 points but are ahead of Rajasthan on net run-rate.

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AP cricket: https://apnews.com/hub/cricket