Rising star Yashasvi Jaiswal’s timely return to form with a sparkling fifty and fiery blows from Jofra Archer spoiled Punjab Kings’ homecoming as Rajasthan Royals’ secured a handsome 50-run win in the IPL in Mullanpur on Saturday.

Once Rajasthan built a tall 205 for four around Jaiswal’s stroke-filled 67, it was never going to be easy for Punjab and they were limited to 155 for 9. Nehal Wadhera played a lone hand with a 41-ball 62 for them.

Archer (3/25), seamer Sandeep Sharma (2/21) and spinner Maheesh Theekshana (2/26) also bowled with precision, while Kumar Kartikeya and Wanindu Hasaranga provided fine support.

In fact, Punjab’s chase never got the desired lift-off. Archer set the tone for target-defence with a ripping start, dismissing Priyansh Arya (0) and the in-form Shreyas Iyer (10) in successive overs — just when the latter looked threatening while slamming two terrific shots off the English pacer.

Arya went for a big swing but got it all wrong, exposing his stumps to be castled emphatically. The in-form Iyer, who was yet to be dismissed in the tournament with scores of 97* and 52* from two innings, looked in sublime touch.

He crunched a drive over extra cover and followed it up with another gorgeous shot through the off-side. But Archer had the last laugh, hurrying Iyer with sheer pace as the batter’s effort to go inside-out resulted in him getting bowled.

Sandeep added to the early damage by removing Marcus Stoinis (1), while left-arm spinner Kartikeya, introduced into the attack next, struck another blow by dismissing Prabhsimran Singh (17).

From a precarious 43/4 after the Power Play, Punjab Kings’ hopes were revived through a fighting 88-run fifth-wicket partnership between Wadhera and Glenn Maxwell (30 off 21) that came off just 52 balls.

Having impressed as an Impact Sub with a 25-ball 43 not out on debut against Lucknow Super Giants the other day, Wadhera continued his form with a counter-attacking 33-ball fifty.

He took the attack to Hasaranga and Kartikeya during his knock studded with three sixes and four fours, while Maxwell provided solid support as the pair brought the equation down to a gettable 85 required from the last six overs.

With Wadhera in charge, the chase was heading in the right direction until Theekshana pulled things back dismissing Maxwell (30 off 21 balls).

Wadhera soon followed, falling to Hasaranga and from there the chase fell apart and PBKS suffered their first defeat of the season.

Earlier, Jaiswal let his bat do the talking with a timely return to form, slamming a stroke-filled 67 to power Rajasthan Royals to a commanding 205 for four against Punjab Kings.

The 23-year-old, who had endured a lean patch in the opening three games with scores of 1, 29 and 4, roared back to form with a fluent 44-ball fifty (3×4, 5×6) just when the spotlight on him was shifting off the field.

He had come under the scanner for his surprise move to Goa that fuelled talk of a fallout with Mumbai cricket.

Shutting the noise around him, Jaiswal and skipper Sanju Samson (38 off 26 balls) gave RR their best start of the season with an opening stand of 89 after Shreyas Iyer opted to bowl.

Lockie Ferguson dismissed both Samson and Jaiswal against the run of play in the middle overs, and Nitish Rana (12) also got out cheaply as RR lost three wickets in the 11-15 overs’ phase.

The dangerous Shimron Hetmyer (20 off 12 balls) also could not get going after an explosive start.

But Riyan Parag (43 not out off 25 balls) provided the late fireworks with three sixes and as many fours to lift Royals past the 200-mark for the first time at this venue.

Parag and Dhruv Jurel (13 not out off 5) added 20 runs in the last seven balls as Royals plundered 55 runs in the final three overs to finish strongly after their season-best opening stand of 89.

Jaiswal weathered a testing first over from Arshdeep Singh before unfurling his full range of strokes.

Marco Jansen bore the brunt of Jaiswal’s resurgence — first with an upper-cut six over the keeper’s head and then a clean swing over deep square leg.

The duo added 53 runs in the Power Play. He danced down the track to deposit a 142-kph Ferguson delivery over cow corner and then reached his first IPL fifty of the season in 40 balls — his 10th overall — with a crisp drive down the ground off Yuzvendra Chahal.

A six over midwicket followed, before he went after Marcus Stoinis with back-to-back boundaries.

Just when he seemed set for a bigger score, Ferguson foxed him with a well-disguised knuckle ball that stayed low and rattled the stumps.

K L Rahul stroked a fluent half-century as a dominant Delhi Capitals outclassed Chennai Super Kings by 25 runs in the IPL 2025 match in Chennai on Saturday.

Rahul mixed his trademark elegance with brute force during a 51-ball 77 to steer Delhi Capitals to 183/6. The CSK batting line-up once again failed to live up to expectations as they finished on 158/5 in their 20 overs.

DC jumped to the top of the standings after winning their first three matches, while CSK are eighth with just one victory from four matches played.

It was a disappointing performance from the CSK batters, as Vijay Shankar top-scored with an unbeaten 69 from 54 balls, while Dhoni made a sedate 30 not out from 26 balls.

Earlier, Rahul, opening the batting in place of the injured Faf du Plessis, struck six fours and three sixes to anchor DC’s innings after they opted to bat first. 

Tristan Stubbs chipped in with an unbeaten 12-ball 24 before Matheesha Pathirana (1/31) bowled a brilliant final over to prevent DC from finishing their innings on a high.

DC suffered a jolt at the start of their innings thanks to an excellent first over from Khaleel Ahmed (2/25), who had big-hitting opener Jake Fraser-McGurk caught after putting him under pressure with four dot balls.

Credit to Khaleel for plotting Fraser-McGurk’s dismissal by banging the ball on the good length. Notwithstanding the early jitter, DC managed to score 51 runs in the Powerplay and that was largely because of the enterprise shown by Abhishek Porel (33 off 20 balls), who collected 19 runs from left-arm fast-medium bowler Mukesh Choudhary’s first over.

Playing this game in place of Rahul Tripathi, Choudhary struggled to get his length right and was bowling either too full of too short, and Porel took full advantage of some wayward bowling. 

Khaleel returned to bowl another fine over and Choudhary too did much better in his second over.

K L Rahul broke the shackles with a six over deep square leg off Khaleel before CSK skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad introduced spin in the form of the seasoned Ravichandran Ashwin in the sixth over, hoping for a wicket.

The much-needed breakthrough, however, came in the next over as Porel ended up giving an easy catch to Matheesha Pathirana after driving Ravindra Jadeja uppishly in the left-arm spinner’s first over.

K L Rahul broke the shackles with a six over deep square leg off Khaleel before CSK skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad introduced spin in the form of the seasoned Ravichandran Ashwin in the sixth over, hoping for a wicket.

The much-needed breakthrough, however, came in the next over as Porel ended up giving an easy catch to Matheesha Pathirana after driving Ravindra Jadeja uppishly in the left-arm spinner’s first over.

On either side of Axar’s dismissal, Rahul struck two sixes off Noor Ahmad and Jadeja respectively, before reaching his 38th IPL fifty off 33 balls. 

Rahul found an able ally in Sameer Rizvi (20 off 15 balls) as the duo added 56 runs for the fourth wicket in quick time.

Digvesh Singh Rathi’s ability to consistently hit an immaculate length with subtle variations, like the off-break and carrom ball, makes him a dangerous bowler, feels former Australia white-ball great Shane Watson.

The 25-year-old rookie Delhi leg-spinner is the break-out star this IPL season for Lucknow Super Giants. He has already taken six wickets at an economy rate of 7.62, with his skipper, Rishabh Pant, completing his quota in all four games.

“It seems like he was born to perform on this IPL stage. He wasn’t reserved; he was out there, beating his chest, showing confidence and executing beautifully,” Watson told JioHotstar after LSG defeated Mumbai Indians by 12 runs and Rathi got the ‘Player of The Match’ award for his 1 for 21 in four overs which included eight dot balls.

Rathi brought LSG back into the game when Naman Dhir (46 off 24 balls) was looking ominous. He breached Dhir’s defence with a carrom ball delivery that turned like an off-break.

“What stands out about Digvesh is how simple he keeps his game. He runs in, uses his variations — the carrom ball and off-spinner — but his control over length is what makes him so dangerous. When a bowler gets the length right, it’s tough for batters to step out or go on the back foot,” Watson explained.

“To think that in a high-scoring game, where nearly 200 runs were posted, he conceded just 21 runs in his four overs, that’s something very, very special.”

Rathi mentioned that his passion for spin bowling grew watching Sunil Narine bowl.

Watson also found shades of Narine in the Delhi lad who sports a flowing mane.

“It’s the kind of impact we usually see from Sunil Narine. That’s why he was the Man of the Match. Performances like this don’t happen often. But that’s the beauty of the IPL. Every season, new talents like Digvesh burst onto the scene and showcase their incredible skills.”

Watson was all praise for Shardul Thakur, whose crucial 19th over, in which he conceded only seven runs, made it easier for Avesh Khan to defend 22 runs in the final over.

“Shardul executed brilliantly. He knew he had to commit to his yorker. Typically, bowlers rely on changes of pace early on, but that just wasn’t working tonight. So, he focused on nailing his yorkers, especially against an in-form Hardik Pandya.”

The performance would be a morale booster for Shardul, who wasn’t originally picked by any franchise, said Watson.

“Bowling a seven-run over at such a crucial stage, with Hardik at the crease, was special. That’s a big confidence booster for him. Given that Shardul went unsold in the auction and then got picked up as a free agent, you can see how determined he is to prove himself. He’s now delivered two strong performances, and this one played a major role in LSG getting over the line.”