Kings XI Punjab beat Rajasthan Royals by 14 runs to start their IPL campaign on a winning note.
Chasing 185 to start their season with a win, Rajasthan Royals were off to a blinder. Ajinkya Rahane and Jos Buttler fired on all cylinders right from the word go, helping Royals reach fifty in just 5.4 overs. R Ashwin then gave the visitors the much-needed first breakthrough when he dismissed Rahane for 27 to end the 78-run stand.
However, it did not bring any respite for Kings XI as Buttler kept playing the big shots. The England wicketkeeper-batsman reached his third consecutive fifty against Kings XI off just 29 deliveries. It looked like Buttler would take Royals home with utmost ease before a controversy saw him return to the pavilion.
Buttler became the first player in IPL to be given out for ‘Mankading’. The dismissal turned the course of the game as Rajasthan Royals’ chase fell off the track. They kept losing wickets at regular intervals and were eventually restricted to 170 for 9.
Earlier in the game, a Chris Gayle special fired the Kings XI Punjab to a competitive total of 184 for 4 in the allotted 20 overs. Asked to bat first, the Kings XI started poorly with their opener KL Rahul departing for just 4. Gayle and Mayank Agarwal then played with caution to bring the innings on track. The duo ditched their big shots early on to make sure that the team does not recover from the early setback.
But before they could finally start playing their shots, K Gowtham broke the 54-run by dismissing Agarwal for 22. Kings XI were precariously placed at 68 for 2 at the halfway stage. They desperately needed Gayle to start firing and he soon obliged. In the 12th over of the innings, he slammed Jaydev Unadkat for three fours and a six to get into groove. During that very over, he also completed his fifty off 33 deliveries.
In the sixteenth over of the innings, he hit Ben Stokes for two fours and a six before the latter dismissed him against the run of play. Gayle score 79 off 47 deliveries with the help of 8 fours and four sixes. Towards the end, Sarfraz Khan played a handy knock of 46 to make sure the Kings XI put up a good total.
Here is how Twitter reacted to the match:
Feel sad for #JosButtler. Hope this rule changes to give a compulsory warning first, before a bowler can go for #mankading #VivoIPL #RRvKXIP #SpiritOfTheGame!
— Pragyan Ojha (@pragyanojha) March 25, 2019
He ain’t winning any spirit of cricket awards is old ashwin
— Dale Steyn (@DaleSteyn62) March 25, 2019
All for Mankading but what Ashwin has done is wrong. He paused and waited for Buttler to leave crease which goes against the spirit of the game.
Dickwella in 2017 was fined for a similar stumping attempt. He waited for batsman to leave the crease before breaking stumps. #RRvKXIP
— Mazher Arshad (@MazherArshad) March 25, 2019
Mankading Smith would have been an epic troll. No one would have bothered to talk about Spirit of cricket. ?
— Elite Banker? (@coolhandsree) March 25, 2019
England Cricket Twitter meltdown over Mankading and Spirit of Cricket ?.
Gosh I hope things don't go out of control and we end up with Cricket team pissing on the pitch. #IPL2019— cricBC (@cricBC) March 25, 2019
1) Ashwin has gone by the rule book. His action is legitimate. Nothing disgraceful about it.
2) Warning a batsman before pulling off 'mankading' is a courtesy call. Preferable but cannot be imposed on bowler.
3) Buttler is a chronic offender. Often backs up to gain advantage.
— Navneet Mundhra (@navneet_mundhra) March 25, 2019
Boycotting water for 5 minutes if Rajasthan loses it from here ? #RRvKXIP
— Rofl Gandhi 2.0 ? (@RoflGandhi_) March 25, 2019
No rules were broken … but just not sure if Butler has gained that much distance at the other end… the bat had barely dragged out that too perhaps when Butler thought the ball’s being delivered .. #RRvKXIP
— Jatin Sapru (@jatinsapru) March 25, 2019
I can’t believe what I’m seeing!! @IPL Terrible example to set for young kids coming through. In time I think Ashwin will regret that.
— Eoin Morgan (@Eoin16) March 25, 2019
Sit back & enjoy … @josbuttler is on the March … Bloody love watching him Bat … !!! #ipl2019 … Not so sure about his helmet though … !!!!
— Michael Vaughan (@MichaelVaughan) March 25, 2019
https://twitter.com/CricAnkit_7/status/1110224076914786306
I don’t know why we bought Jaydev Unadkat again. His slower ball has been identified by everyone. He has nothing else to offer. #RRvsKXIP @rajasthanroyals
— Shlok Singhvi (@SinghviShlok) March 25, 2019
Back to back 4th IPL half-century of @josbuttler v KXIP#RRvKXIP #IPL2019
— Akhil Gupta ? (@Guptastats92) March 25, 2019
ashwin bsdk pic.twitter.com/d2MPDxpsEd
— Arun Lol (@dhaikilokatweet) March 25, 2019