Kings XI Punjab returned to winning ways after registering a 12 runs victory against the Rajasthan Royals in the 32nd match of Vivo IPL 12. It wasn’t one of the best performances from Punjab but they won’t mind after winning their 5th clash of the tournament. It was a good all-round effort from the team as they eventually survived some close shaves to win the match.
The Turning point of the match
It was the three quick wickets of Rajasthan Royals during the chase which proved to be the decisive factor for Kings XI Punjab in the match. Rahul Tripathi was dismissed at a crucial juncture of the game and then came the wicket of Ashton Turner who was playing his first IPL match in Steve Smith’s place. Stuart Binny did wage a valiant effort but it didn’t prove to be enough in the end.
Kings XI Punjab vs Rajasthan Royals- 2nd innings
The skipper decided to drop himself down the order and accommodate Rahul Tripathi at the top of the order. It proved to be a masterstroke as Tripathi utilized his opportunity at the top of the order. Jos Buttler struck some hefty blows, to begin with, but was dismissed on 23 of 17 deliveries which included a four and a couple of sixes.
Debutant Arshdeep Singh after conceding a few boundaries to Jos Buttler bagged the prized wicket. It was a big blow in the context of the game as Buttler has the capability to take the match away from the opposition within a blink of an eye.
Sanju Samson also looked good for his knock of 27 of 21 deliveries. He was dismissed by Ravichandran Ashwin as Samson attempted an expansive sweep shot.
Captain Ajinkya Rahane came in at No 4 and never managed to find any flow to his innings. Meanwhile, Ashton Turner who made his IPL debut was dismissed off the very first delivery of Murugan Ashwin. A couple of wickets fell in quick succession but Stuart Binny kept them in the match with some exceptional hitting.
He started of with a four an a six of Mohammed Shami and added a couple of sixes more in the next over. With 23 required of the final over, you had to go with the experience of Mohammed Shami and the pacer didn’t disappoint his skipper.
He bowled in the perfect lines which eventually helped Punjab win the match by 12 runs.
Kings XI Punjab vs Rajasthan Royals- 1st innings
It was Rajasthan Royals skipper Ajinkya Rahane who won the toss and opted to field. In came openers, Chris Gayle and KL Rahul, to begin proceedings. They hoped to get Punjab off to yet another good start.
The southpaw started off with some delightful blows as Gayle raced to 30. However, KL Rahul at the other end took up several deliveries which built the pressure on Gayle.
He was eventually dismissed by a great delivery from Jofra Archer, In came Mayank Agarwal and started belting the Rajasthan Royals bowlers all around the park.
He scored a breezy 28 of 12 deliveries before falling to Ish Sodhi. David Miller who wasn’t slated to play this match got a surprise call up after Moises Henriques sustained an injury at the last moment.
The southpaw did a good job and scored a fluent 40 of 27 deliveries which were studded with a couple of fours and sixes each.
Kings XI Punjab was looking towards a total of 170 but it was the skipper Ravichandran Ashwin who struck a quickfire 17 of 4 deliveries which propelled Kings XI Punjab to a more than competitive score of 182 in their allotted 20 overs.
Jofra Archer was simply superb and was the pick of the bowlers for the Men in Pink grabbing 3 wickets for just 15 runs.