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PHOTOS: Rajasthan Royals invincible at home!
The Pepsi Indian Premier League match between Rajasthan Royals and Pune Warriors went down to the wire as Royals lost some quick wickets after the second strategic time-out was taken but Stuart Binny's unbeaten 13-ball 32 ensured that 'Fort' (Sawai Man Singh Stadium) wasn't breached.
-Royals stay in hunt for knock-out berth with 5-wkt win
The hosts defeated Pune Warriors by five wickets in a thriller.
The win propelled Rajasthan to fourth position
Ajinkya Rahane struck a scintillating 67.
The win propelled Rajasthan to fourth position in the league table with 14 points from 11 matches while Pune Warriors suffered their seventh successive loss in the tournament with no chances of them making the play-offs.
Treat to watch Dravid
Rahul Dravid produced an age-defying innings to maintain Rajasthan Royals' impeccable 'home' record.
It was a treat to watch Dravid of old as he matched the pace of the Twenty20 cricket with utmost ease.
By the virtue of this win, Royals also exacted a 'sweet revenge' on their opponents, having tasted defeat on the previous occasion when the two sides met in Pune on April 11.
Warriors posted a challenging 178
Earlier, Robin Uthappa struck a fluent half-century and shared 97-run opening stand with skipper Aaron Finch as Pune Warriors posted a challenging 178 for four in 20 overs.
Finch and Uthappa made full use of the field restrictions
Warriors were off to a dream start as Finch and Uthappa made full use of the field restrictions and plundered runs at will. Uthappa continued from he had left against the RCB and put on display his vast repertoire of stroke-play.
Bowlers did well for Royals
For Rajasthan, James Faulkner, Kevon Cooper and Siddharth Trivedi picked up a wicket apiece.
Good total couldn't change Warriors' fortunes
Royals skipper Rahul Dravid used as many as four bowlers inside the mandatory power-play but the move yielded no result as Finch and Uthappa went about their business in style.
In the end however, a good total couldn't change Warriors' fortunes.