Can you imagine a player scoring an unbeaten 95 during the run chase of 159 before ending up on a losing side? Yes, it did happen on May eight (Tuesday) during the between Rajasthan Royals (RR) and Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) when KL Rahul produced one of the greatest knocks in Twenty20 that came in a losing cause.
Rajasthan Royals – Jos Buttler wreaks havoc but Punjab bowlers take honours:
Surprisingly, the home side, skipper Ajinkya Rahane opted to bat first after winning the toss. Justifying the toss, Buttler once again came to the party by smacking a blistering 82 off just 58 deliveries on a surface which has played a great assistance for the bowlers.
Punjab bowlers were smart enough to put Buttler off strike and bag the wickets from one end.
Despite, Buttler’s gutsy knock, none of the Rajasthan batsmen stood up to the party thus being on the wrong side of the things.
The fantastic piece of death bowling from Punjab bowlers, especially, Andrew Tye and Mohit Sharma restricted the opposition to a below par total of 158 runs on the board.
The wily customer, Andrew Tye finished with four wickets to his name at the expense of 34 runs while Mujeeb ur Rahman scalped a couple. Stoinis chipped in with a wicket while the others bowled economical spells.
Kings XI Punjab – KL Rahul tried his best but Rajasthan seals the show:
In reply to the chase, Punjab got one of the worst starts they would ever be dreamt of. 1, 0 3,9,7,9 are the scores of the number two to number seven batsmen of Punjab which tells the story of Punjab’s chase.
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Despite, the other batsmen found it hard to knock the ball, KL Rahul played the game cautiously by hanging at one end of the innings.
But, it was never going to be okay for the visitors as the game of cricket always demands partnerships to secure a victory.
Unfortunately, Punjab never found the partner for Rahul thus asking Rajasthan to seal the victory. If not Rahul’s knock, it would have been an awful scorecard for Punjab.
Stoinis tried to give his helping hand to Rahul but the run-rate turned out to be something which wasn’t under the control thus being on the receiving end.
The spinners in the form of Krishnappa Gowtham and Ish Sodhi did a terrific job as they both in tandem to give only 26 runs in their seven overs and scalped three crucial wickets.
However, the win ensured Royals to stay alive in the tourney while the loss for Kings XI Punjab shrank their chances to top the points table.
Currently, Punjab has 12 points in their kitty while Rajasthan has bagged eight points in 10 outings.
Brief scores:
Rajasthan Royals – 158/8; Buttler 82, Andrew Tye 4/34, Mujeeb 2/21
Kings XI Punjab – 143/7; KL Rahul 95*, Gowtham 2/12, Ish Sodhi 1/14.
Also read: IPL 2018: 40th Match, RR vs KXIP – Royals Players Rating