Chandila hat-trick lifts Royals

Jaipur - Unheralded off-spinner Ajit Chandila recorded the first hat-trick of the Indian Premier League season as the Rajasthan Royals defeated the Pune Warriors by 45 runs on Sunday.

Half centuries by Ajinkya Rahane (61) and Shane Watson (58) propelled the Royals to 170-4 before Chandila's hat-trick polished off the Warriors' top order in the space of his first seven deliveries, limiting the opposition to 125-9.

Bowling with the new ball, Chandila took the wickets of Jesse Ryder (1), Sourav Ganguly (1) and Robin Uthappa (0) to finish with figures of 4-13.

The victory kept the Royals in the hunt for a playoff place with 14 points from seven victories while it was the eighth straight loss for the Warriors who are second from the bottom on eight points.