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Mohali: After batsmen, Royals bowlers fired in unison to help Rajasthan register a comfortable 43-run victory over Kings XI Punjab in an Indian Premier League match at the PCA stadium, Mohali on Saturday.
Chasing 178-run target, Punjab lost wickets at regular intervals against Rajasthan.
Johan Botha struck again to dismiss Gurkeerat Singh (23) to reduce Punjab to 112/6 in 16.3 overs.
Stuart Binny dismissed Azhar Mahmood (24) in the 15th over to add more misery to hosts Punjab. Mahmood hit a six and two fours in his run-a-ball innings.
Rajasthan bowlers kept the hold over the Punjab batsmen as the hosts lost four top-order wickets inside nine overs.
Johan Botha dismissed Shaun Marsh (34) in the ninth over to reduce Punjab to 59/4 in 8.3 overs. Marsh hit a six and five boundaries in his quick 27-ball innings.
Siddharth Trivedi got rid of Punjab skipper David Hussey (8) in the eighth over soon after Shaun Tait dismissed Nitin Saini (2) in the sixth as Punjab struggled to break free in their run chase.
Punjab lost opener Mandeep Singh (7) in the second over against Rajasthan. Pacer Shane Watson struck early in his first over to reduce to 8/1 in 1.3 overs.
Earlier, electing to bat, Royals batsmen fired in unison to help Rajasthan post 177/6 against Kings XI Punjab.
Punjab pacer Ryan Harris struck twice in the final over to stop the visitors from crossing the 180-run mark, which looked possible when Brad Hodge (36) was going ballistic.
Harris dismissed Stuart Binny (0) and Hodge to finish his spell with 4 for 34 runs in four overs. Spinner Piyush Chawla (2-38) was the only other successful bowler for the Kings XI.
Hodge hit couple of huge sixes and two fours in his 23-ball blitzkrieg whereas Johan Botha (14 off 8 balls) remained unbeaten for the Royals.
Rajasthan lost Ashok Maneria (34) and Rahul Dravid (46) in quick succession in the middle overs.
Earlier, Rajasthan skipper Rahul Dravid won the toss and decided to bat against Punjab.
Rajasthan brought in Shaun Tait, Johan Botha and Dishant Yagnik as they left out Owais Shah, Brad Hogg and Shreevats Goswami from the playing XI.
Stand-in skipper David Hussey will lead the Punjab side again as Adam Gilchrist is still not match-fit. One change for the home side as Gurkeerat Singh made his debut replacing Paras Dogra.
Brief scores
Rajasthan Royals 177 for 6 (Dravid 46, Watson 36, Hodge 36, Menaria 34, Harris 4-34)
Kings XI Punjab 134 for 8 (Marsh 34)
Result Rajasthan Royals won by 43 runs
MOM Shane Watson (Rajasthan Royals)
Points Rajasthan Royals 2, Kings XI Punjab 0
