Unheralded off-spinner Ajit Chandila recorded the first hat-trick of the Indian Premier League season and Shane Watson smashed a telling half century as the Rajasthan Royals defeated Pune Warriors by 45 runs on Sunday.
Half centuries by Ajinkya Rahane (61) and Australian Watson (58) propelled the Royals to 4-170 before Chandila’s hat-trick polished off the Warriors’ top order in the space of his first seven deliveries, limiting the opposition to 9-125.
Bowling with the new ball, Chandila took the wickets of Jesse Ryder (1), captain Sourav Ganguly (1) and Robin Uthappa (0) to finish with figures of 4-13.
“I was waiting for a chance for a long time,” Chandila said. “The pressure was on me … this is just the start, there is still a way to go to complete my dream.”
Chandila, playing in only his second game, took pace off the ball from the outset to frustrate the Warriors batsmen.
Ryder tried to hammer the off-spinner only to see Watson taking a skier at mid-on and Ganguly was smartly stumped by Shreevats Goswami off the next delivery. Uthappa was beaten in the flight and was also stumped to give Chandila the hat-trick.
The off-spinner then knocked the Warriors further off track when he accounted for Anustup Majumdar to reduce Ganguly’s men to 4-26.
Earlier, Watson smashed six fours and four towering sixes before he was bowled by Ashish Nehra in the 15th over. Rahane anchored the innings well with seven crisp boundaries and ensured Royals had a healthy total to defend.
The victory kept the Royals in the hunt for a playoff place with 14 points from seven victories and as many losses. It was the eighth straight loss for the Warriors who are second from the bottom on eight points with just four wins from 15 games.
Delhi Daredevils lead the table with 18 points, followed by Kolkata Knight Riders (17) and Mumbai Indians (16).