Kings XI Punjab registered a 14 runs victory in the opening game of IPL 12 against the Rajasthan Royals after a good all-round show by the franchise. Chris Gayle struck a magnificent 79 to help Punjab post a competitive score of 184. Jos Buttler played a sensational knock for Rajasthan. However, after his dismissal, it was a great comeback which saw them winning the match by 14 runs. RR was ahead in the game for a long time but Punjab made a strong comeback to register their maiden victory of the tournament.
It was Rajasthan Royals skipper Ajinkya Rahane who won the toss and opted to field. Openers KL Rahul and Chris Gayle walked out in the middle to begin proceedings. Rahul struck a boundary of the first over but was dismissed pretty soon by Dhawal Kulkarni. Mayank Agarwal came out in the crease to join Chris Gayle.
The southpaw started off pretty slowly and scored at a run a ball. Mayank Agarwal struck a couple of sixes but was dismissed after making 22 of 24 deliveries. Gayle on the other hand built on his steady started and started smashing the Rajasthan Royals bowlers all around the park. He smashed 8 fours and 4 sixes during his exceptional knock of 79 runs of 47 deliveries.
Youngster Sarfaraz Khan played a terrific innings for the Kings XI Punjab towards the end and remained unbeaten on 46 of 29 deliveries which were studded with 6 fours and a six. He played some innovative shots during his knock and the ramp shot of Ben Stokes was simply extraordinary. Eventually, Kings XI Punjab finished on 184 in their allotted 20 overs.
Rajasthan Royals started off quite brilliantly courtesy openers Jos Buttler and Ajinkya Rahane. The skipper of RR started off brilliantly by smashing 3 fours in the very first over. Rahane and Buttler shared a brilliant stand of 78 runs for the first wicket which set Rajasthan Royals on their way. It was Ravichandran Ashwin who dismissed Rahane with a good delivery.
Buttler, on the other hand, kept smashing the Punjab bowlers all around the park. He struck 69 of 43 deliveries which included 10 fours and a couple of sixes. It was an unfortunate end to his innings when Ravichandran Ashwin ran out him out as he was backing up in the non-striker’s end. If you ask me it was an unsporting gesture by Ashwin.
Steve Smith looked in good touch but was dismissed during a crucial juncture of the game. The Kings XI Punjab bowlers made a terrific comeback in the final few overs. Wickets kept tumbling on a consistent basis as Punjab stormed their way back into the match. Eventually, Rajasthan Royals fell 14 runs short of the target.
This is what Kings XI Punjab skipper Ravichandran Ashwin said at the post-match presentation
We all know that after six overs it is going to slow down. Credit to bowlers on how they bowled. I have been working on a lot of variations, pretty happy that it came out. No real argument on that and it’s pretty instinctive. I was not even at the crease and he just left the crease. We ended on the right side of the coin, but I definitely think that those are game-changing moments.
Sam had a bad day with the ball, but he came back well. Everybody ticked their boxes. We do have a few options amongst us, but if we can have good five overs, there is nothing like it.