Punjab Kings held their nerve in a high-scoring IPL 2025 clash to beat Rajasthan Royals by 10 runs at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium on Sunday, boosting their playoff hopes with 17 points from 12 matches.
Harpreet Brar's masterful spell of 3/22 and Nehal Wadhera’s blistering 70 powered PBKS to a crucial victory, pushing them to second place on the points table behind Royal Challengers Bengaluru.
Chasing 220, Rajasthan Royals made a dream start with Yashasvi Jaiswal (50 off 25) and 14-year-old sensation Vaibhav Suryavanshi (40 off 15) tearing into PBKS’ pacers to race to 89/1 in the powerplay — their best ever in IPL history.
But Harpreet Brar's entry as Impact Player changed the game. He removed both openers and later dismissed Riyan Parag to stunt RR's momentum.
Despite Dhruv Jurel’s fighting fifty (53 off 28), Rajasthan's middle and lower order failed to sustain the early onslaught. Shimron Hetmyer’s lean patch continued, managing only 11, and the Royals eventually fell short, finishing at 209/8.
Earlier, PBKS were reeling at 40/3 before Wadhera and Shreyas Iyer steadied the ship. Wadhera’s 70 and a fiery unbeaten 59 from Shashank Singh, combined with Azmatullah Omarzai’s 21* off 9, helped PBKS post a commanding 219/5.
Rajasthan’s bowlers, despite a couple of early breakthroughs, were left chasing shadows in the death overs.
The result puts PBKS on the brink of playoff qualification, if Gujarat Titans wins against Delhi Capitals then DC, GT and RCB will be through to playoffs.
