Rajasthan Royals rise from dead: From 66/4 after 12 overs, Royals chase down 178-run target

Ahmedabad, April 16

West Indies batter Shimron Hetmyer unleased his full fury on Gujarat Titans as Rajasthan Royals defeated the reigning champions by three wickets with four balls remaining in an Indian Premier League match here today. With the win, the Royals have broken the jinx of not having previously beaten the Hardik Pandya-led side in three outings. They also climbed to the top of the table with eight points.

The victory will be all the more sweet considering the 2008 IPL champions were reduced to 4/2 at one stage, losing Yashasvi Jaiswal (4) and Jos Buttler (0). They were able to manage just 26 runs in the powerplay.

The 26-year-old Hetmyer turned the complexion of the game, smashing an unbeaten 26-ball 56. The knock was studded with two fours and five sixes, and came at a time when things looked uphill for the Sanju Samson-led side. Samson blazed away to 60 runs off 32 balls.

Earlier, Shubman Gill (45) and Pandya (28) came together to pull the Titans out of trouble with their 59-run partnership, and help them reach 177/7.

Brief scores: Gujarat Titans: 177/7 (Miller 46, Shubman 45; Sandeep 2/25); Rajasthan Royals: 179/7 in 19.2 overs (Samson 60, Hetmyer 56*; Shami 3/25). — PTI

Dhoni’s fitness in focus as Chennai face RCB

Bengaluru: Chennai Super Kings will look to pick up the pace in the middle overs and hope their inspirational skipper MS Dhoni takes the field despite a knee issue against fierce rivals Royal Challengers Bangalore in the IPL here tomorrow. It will be a special atmosphere at the Chinnaswamy Stadium when the two teams battle to gain momentum after inconsistent campaigns so far. Dhoni has been troubled by his knee since the start of the tournament but he ended up playing all four games so far.