RR vs KXIP Highlights: Rajasthan Royals register comfortable win over Kings XI Punjab. Dream 11 IPL2020: RR vs KXIP: Rajasthan Royals register comfortable win over Kings XI Punjab.
RR vs KXIP: Ben Stokes and Sanju Samson’s brilliant wrist work guided Rajasthan Royals to a comfortable win by 7 wickets. Rajasthan Royals now have 6 wins in the bag from 13 matches. They have climbed up to no 5 in the Points Table. While Kings XI Punjab is at their same position due to a better Net Run Rate than Royals.
Earlier, Rajasthan Royals won the toss and invited Kings XI Punjab to bat first. The start wasn’t ideal for KXIP as Mandeep Singh was dismissed by Jofra Archer at the beginning of the innings. But KL Rahul and Chris Gayle stood up in the crease. KL Rahul played a sensible knock for his side scoring 46 runs off 41 balls. But the other end was not the same, Chris Gayle was smashing bowlers all over the park. He scored sensational 99 runs off 63 balls hitting 8 maximums and 6 boundaries. Chris Gayle becomes the only player to have scored 99 runs twice in the history of IPL. A little cameo from Nicholas Pooran at the end sailed KXIP to a total of 185 – 4 in 20 overs.
Rajasthan Royals were in the mood to destroy KXIP’s bowling unit. Ben Stokes continuing his last match form, scored quick half-centuries in just 26 balls with a strike rate of 192.31. Sanju Samson continuing the work scored 48 of 25 balls in quick succession. In the end, Jos Buttler and skipper Steve Smith made sure that the effort from Ben Stokes and Sanju Samson didn’t go in vain. Rajasthan Royals(RR) secured a comfortable win over Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) in just 17.3 overs.
Scorecard:
Kings XI Punjab(KXIP):
| Batsman | Runs | Balls | 4s | 6s | SR | ||
| Rahul (c)(wk) | C Rahul Tewatia b Stokes | 46 | 41 | 3 | 2 | 112.20 | |
| Mandeep | C Stokes b Archer | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | |
| Gayle | B Jofra Archer | 99 | 63 | 6 | 8 | 157.14 | |
| Pooran | C Rahul Tewatia b Stokes | 22 | 10 | 0 | 3 | 220.00 | |
| Maxwell | Not out | 6 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 100.00 | |
| D. Hodda | Not out | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100.00 | |
| Bowler | O | M | R | W | Eco | |
| Jofra Archer | 4 | 0 | 26 | 2 | 6.50 | |
| Varun Aron | 4 | 0 | 47 | 0 | 11.80 | |
| Kartik Tyagi | 4 | 0 | 47 | 0 | 11.80 | |
| Shreyas Gopal | 1 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 10.00 | |
| Stokes | 4 | 0 | 32 | 2 | 8.00 | |
| Tewatia | 3 | 0 | 22 | 0 | 7.30 |
Rajasthan Royals:
| Batsman | Runs | Balls | 4s | 6s | SR | ||
| Robin Uthappa | C Pooran b M. Ashwin | 30 | 23 | 1 | 2 | 130.43 | |
| Ben Stokes | C D. Hooda b Chris Jordan | 50 | 25 | 6 | 3 | 192.31 | |
| Sanju Samson(wk) | Run out (sub- Suchith) | 48 | 25 | 4 | 3 | 192.00 | |
| Steve Smith(c) | Not out | 31 | 20 | 5 | 0 | 155.00 | |
| Jos Buttler | Not out | 22 | 11 | 1 | 2 | 200.00 |
| Bowler | O | M | R | W | Eco |
| Arshdeep Singh | 3 | 0 | 34 | 0 | 11.30 |
| Mohd. Shami | 3 | 0 | 36 | 0 | 12.00 |
| M. Ashwin | 4 | 0 | 43 | 1 | 10.80 |
| Chris Jordan | 3.3 | 0 | 44 | 1 | 12.60 |
| Ravi Bishnoi | 4 | 0 | 27 | 0 | 6.80 |
Post Match Presentation:
KL Rahul | KXIP skipper: It was a horrible toss to lose to be honest. It did get very easy to bat later on. There was a lot of dew in the second half and that made it a bit tough for the bowlers to grip the ball. When you’re operating with two leg spinners like we are, it does make things difficult. Don’t think we bowled that badly but need to operate better with the wet ball. The dew has been unpredictable this season. You can’t prepare for it but need to adapt to it. To get to that score on a sticky wicket was nice. Chris did well to bat right through. The season has been such that nothing has come easy. We’ve had to work hard for every point. No surprise that it has come down to the last game.
Steve Smith, RR skipper: Ebbed and flowed (through the tournament). But would have been great to win a few in the middle. But it is about peaking at the right time. We still need to do our bit, We have different plans as to who goes in after who gets out. Gave Buttler a chance to bat at number 5 after he didn’t bat in the previous game. Nice to get over the line comfortably. Helps the NRR. The last two games he (Stokes) has been exceptional. Has good innovation, Hits the ball in weird areas. He is a valuable player. One of the best in the world. You are always talking to players and try to get the best of them. We know if he spends time in the middle, he will come good. Couple of games tomorrow, we will be matching them closely and then good to go day after.
Ben Stokes, Man of the Match: I think when you are in a position like we are, you have nothing to lose. We are still hanging in. That is pleasing. The sixes are always pleasing. I went in the same mentality like I did against MI. Wanted to go hard with the new ball. We had a decent break from the last game. It’s that shot you don’t expect to go to the boundary, that sort of a short gives me confidence and gives the feeling it’s going to be a good outing. We normally have a quick turnaround. I cut down on the bowling part in the break to remain fresh.
