GUWAHATI, India, CMC – West Indies batting enigma Shimron Hetmyer produced a flashy cameo as Rajasthan Royals won their second game in three outings with a comfortable 57-run victory over Rovman Powell’s Delhi Capitals in the Indian Premier League here Saturday.
Royals raised 199 for four off 20 overs, England’s Jos Buttler slamming 79 from 51 deliveries and 21-year-old Indian left-hander Yashasvi Jaiswal getting 60 from 31 balls.
The left-handed Hetmyer, who has not turned out for West Indies in eight months and was controversially missing for their T20 World Cup campaign last November, smashed an unbeaten 39 from 21 deliveries to energize the back end of the innings.
In reply, Capitals got a top score of 65 off 55 balls from captain David Warner, but after that, only Lalit Yadav, with 38 from 24 balls, showed any enterprise, as the innings meandered to 142 for nine.
Powell managed only two as leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal (3-27) and left-arm seamer Trent Boult (3-29) sliced through the innings with three-wicket hauls.
The Royals top the standings but are one of four teams on four points, while the Capitals are yet to win in three attempts this season.
Sent in at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium, Royals were handed a superb start, both Buttler and Jaiswal lashing 11 fours and a six in an opening stand of 98.
When three wickets tumbled for 28 runs, Hetmyer arrived to belt one four and four sixes as he put on 49 for the fourth with Buttler and 24 in an unbroken fifth wicket stand with Dhruv Jurel (eight not out).
Boult then plucked out Prithvi Shaw and Manish Pandey without scoring with successive deliveries in the first over to put the Royals in control of the contest.
Warner, who struck seven fours, added 36 for the second wicket with South African Rilee Roussouw (14) and a further 64 for the fourth with Lalit, but a swift collapse saw seven wickets go down for 40 runs.
Powell, entering at number seven, holed out to Hetmyer at deep mid-wicket off the second delivery faced, attempting to find the boundary off off-spinner Ravi Ashwin in the 16th over.
Fast bowling all-rounder Jason Holder finished wicketless from three overs which cost 28 runs.
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