IPL 2018: Rajasthan Royals stay alive despite KL Rahul’s 95*
HIGHLIGHTS
- Rajasthan Royals posted 158/8 thanks to Buttler’s 82 in Jaipur
- In reply, Kings XI Punjab could only manage 143/7 in 20 overs
- KL Rahul scored an unbeaten 95 but couldn’t take his team over the line
NEW DELHI: KL Rahul continued his excellent form to score an unbeaten 95 but failed to take his team over the line as Rajasthan Royals kept their playoff hopes alive after beating Kings XI Punjab by 15 runs in an Indian Premier League match at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium on Tuesday night. Chasing 159, Rajasthan kept Punjab to 143/7.
SCORECARD | AS IT HAPPENED | POINTS TABLE
Spinner K Gowtham landed twin blows in his second over that included the big wicket of Chris Gayle (1) and captain R Ashwin (0) who promoted himself to No. 3 and from thereon, KXIP continued to struggle in their chase. The pitch was slow and offering turn which the home spinners, led by Gowtham, took full advantage of. – Rajasthan Royals stay alive despite KL Rahul’s 95*
KXIP manged 33/3 in their Powerplay overs and found themselves in trouble but with Rahul and the likes of Marcus Stoinis still to bat, were still in the contest. However, Ish Sodhi (1/14) bowled a tight spell, building pressure and the mounting run-rate got the better of the visiting team. – Rajasthan Royals stay alive despite KL Rahul’s 95*
By the time 12 overs were bowled, KXIP had lost half of their side and needed 93 runs from 48 deliveries. Jofra Archer and Jaydev Unadkat mixed their pace well and used the yorker cleverly in the death overs to ensure a comfortable win for RR who climbed up to sixth in the points tally. – Rajasthan Royals stay alive despite KL Rahul’s 95*
Earlier, Jos Buttler led the way with a 58-ball 82 before KXIP bowlers fought back and restricted Rajasthan Royals to 158 after Ajinkya Rahane opted to bat. Pacer Andre Tye was the most successful KXIP bowler, returning figures of 4/34, while young prodigy Mujeeb Ur Rahman picked up 2/21 in four overs.
Opening the innings, Buttler began Royals’ innings in earnest, hitting Marcus Stoinis for two successive boundaries in the first over. The Englishman looked in rampaging form as he smashed Axar Patel for a six over over extra cover before going inside out to collect a boundary.
Skipper Rahane was dismissed by Tye, who fooled the batsman with a knuckle ball, inducing an edge to extra cover. But Buttler continued his onslaught on the Rajasthan bowlers as he picked two consecutive boundaries off Tye.
Gowtham, too, fell quickly as he was sent back by Stoinis in the seventh over. A half-century stand then ensued between Buttler and the talented Sanju Samson (22) but the run-rate dropped as the Royals batsmen, including Buttler, struggled to find the boundaries.
After the brisk start, there was a period in the middle overs when RR failed to hit a boundary for 25 balls. Buttler finally managed a boundary off Mujeeb and then got a four off the bowling of Axar, thanks to poor fielding by Tye.
But that was it as RR again went without a boundary for 14 deliveries before Samson produced a flat-batted six off Ashwin, sending the ball over long-off.
Samson brought up the fifty partnership by playing Ashwin for another boundary, but Mujeeb struck for KXIP when he had the batsman who struggled to play freely during his 18-ball stay in the middle.
Finally, Buttler’s innings came to an end when Mujeeb had him stumped with Royals’ score reading 132 for four in the 17th over. He stuck nine fours and a six.
Stuart Binny hit Tye for a six but Rajasthan simply lost their after a flying start.
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