Punjab Kings failed to score four runs off the final over as Kartik Tyagi took two wickets and conceded just one run to seal a thrilling win for the Rajasthan Royals to kickstart the second leg of their Indian Premier League (IPL) season in Dubai on Tuesday.
Tyagi dismissed Nicholas Pooran (32) and Deepak Hooda (0) and gave away only one run to snatch the win for his team from the jaws of defeat.
Punjab scored 120 runs for their first wicket and were seemingly cruising to victory, but ended their innings at 183 for four, chasing 186 to win.
Sanju Samson‘s side was seemingly down and out when Mayank Agarwal (67) and KL Rahul (49) put on 120 runs in 11.5 overs.
With Aiden Markram (26 not out) and Nicholas Pooran (32) going strong, it looked like it would be only a matter of time when Punjab would wrap up the match.
With this win, the Royals moved to the fifth spot after four wins from eight matches.
Earlier, the 22-year-old Arshdeep Singh (5/32) complemented his senior pro Mohammed Shami (3/21) well as the duo shared eight wickets to help Punjab bowl out Rajasthan for 185 in exactly 20 overs after they were going strong at 169 for 5 in 17 overs.
Opener Yashasvi Jaiswal (49) and Mahipal Lomror (43) scored bulk of the runs for Rajasthan.
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Chasing the total, Mayank and KL Rahul looked in good touch. KL Rahul, who was dropped thrice, smashed 4 fours and 2 sixes in his 33-ball innings. He also crossed 3,000 IPL runs during his knock.
Mayank too produced seven hits to the fence and also clobbered two sixes in his 43-ball knock.
Once the Punjab skipper was caught off Chetan Sakariya (1/31) in 12th over, Agarwal too was removed by Rahul Tewatia (1/23).
Markram and Pooran then played some delightful shots to keep their chase on track before they were undone by a brilliant last-over by Tyagi.
Earlier, opener Jaiswal was part of two vital partnerships, adding 54 with his new opening partner Evin Lewis (36) and then sharing another 48 off 28 balls with Liam Livingstone (25).
Lomror then smashed his way to a 17-ball 43, studded with four sixes and two fours.