Rajasthan chases 223, hands Punjab first loss

Rajasthan Royals chased 223 with four balls left to beat Punjab Kings by six wickets in New Chandigarh on April 28. (espncricinfo.com) Punjab Kings made 222 for 4 after Prabhsimran Singh scored 59 from 44 balls and Marcus Stoinis finished unbeaten on 62 from 22. Stoinis hit four fours and six sixes in the last surge. (espncricinfo.com) (cricbuzz.com) Rajasthan’s chase started just as hard. Yashasvi Jaiswal made 51 from 27 and Vaibhav Sooryavanshi blasted 43 from 16, taking the Royals to 51 in 3.2 overs before the first wicket fell. (cricbuzz.com) (espncricinfo.com) Punjab briefly pulled the game back through Yuzvendra Chahal, who took 3 for 36 and removed Jaiswal, Dhruv Jurel and Riyan Parag. Rajasthan were 158 for 4 after 15.1 overs and still needed 65. (espncricinfo.com) Donovan Ferreira closed it out. He finished unbeaten on 52 from 26 balls, and Shubham Dubey added 31 not out from 12 in an unbroken stand that took Rajasthan from pressure to the target. (espncricinfo.com) (cricbuzz.com) The result ended Punjab’s unbeaten start to IPL 2026. After eight matches, Punjab still led the table with 13 points, while Rajasthan moved to third with 12 points from nine games. (espncricinfo.com) It was also one of the biggest chases of the season, against a Punjab attack that included Arshdeep Singh, Marco Jansen, Lockie Ferguson and Chahal. Arshdeep conceded 68 in four overs and Ferguson 57 in four as Rajasthan scored at 11.79 an over. (espncricinfo.com) For Rajasthan, the chase kept a top-four push moving after a loss to Sunrisers Hyderabad on April 25. For Punjab, the first defeat still left them in first place, but without the perfect run they had carried into Match 40. (espncricinfo.com) The scoreline said 228 for 4, but the match turned on how calmly Rajasthan handled a target above 11 an over. Punjab finally lost; Rajasthan left with the points. (espncricinfo.com)