Sanju Samson‘s Rajasthan Royals (RR) defeated the Shikhar Dhawan-led Punjab Kings (PBKS) by four wickets in Match 66 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 to keep their hopes alive for making it to the playoffs.
It was RR’s final league stage match in the ongoing season of the cash-rich league held at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium in Dharamsala. The Jaipur-based franchise chased down the target of 188 runs in 19.4 overs with four wickets in hand. Opener Yashasvi Jaiswal continued his red-hot form and smashed yet another half-century (50), whereas Devdutt Padikkal top-scored (51) for the side.
However, the game-changing knock was played by West Indies power-hitter Shimron Hetmyer, who hammered 46 runs from just 28 balls in the middle overs. By securing a win over Punjab, the Royals kept themselves alive in the race for the remaining three spots, but their chances still depend on how the other teams perform.
Here are the qualification scenarios for Rajasthan Royals:
The Royals ended their league stage campaign with 14 points from 14 matches and a net run rate of 0.148.
If Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), Mumbai Indians (MI) and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) lose their last league stage matches with a certain margin, then RR will qualify for the eliminator. Notably, RCB will take on defending champions Gujarat Titans (GT) in their last game on Sunday. If GT beat RCB at Chinnaswamy (by a margin of 6> runs or 4> balls margin) then RR will have their chance of going further.
At the same time, Mumbai will also play their final league game on Sunday against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH). If SRH edge past MI at Wankhede then RR can fancy their chances. Similarly, KKR will lock horns with Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) on Saturday and RR will hope to see LSG winning over KKR.
However, if anyone out of MI or RCB wins, then the journey of RR in IPL 2023 will come an end.
