Rajasthan Royals kept their hopes alive to reach the playoffs stage defeating Kings XI Punjab by 15 runs in the 40th match of VIVO IPL 2018 played at Sawai Man Singh Stadium, Jaipur. RR captain Rahane batted first; apart from Buttler none of the batsmen scored runs. While chasing, despite KL Rahul 95, KXIP lost the match in the first few overs losing early wickets.
Rajasthan Royals captain Ajiyanka Rahane won the toss and elected to bat first. Jos Buttler who came to bat looked in positive touch smashing Kings XI Punjab bowlers. Captain Rahane was dismissed cheaply scoring just for 9 runs. Buttler continued his aggressive style of play. At the end of first 6 overs, Rajasthan Royals scored 63 for 1.
After the powerplay overs, K Gowtham who was sent at number 3 could only contribute 8 runs. Buttler reached his half-century off 27 balls to put pressure on Kings XI Punjab bowlers. It was his third successive fifty for Jos Buttler while opening. Kings XI Punjab bowlers stopped the run flow of Rajasthan Royals batting line up. Buttler and Sanju Samson added 53 runs for a 3rd wicket.
Buttler was dismissed for 82 runs and then Rajasthan Royals lost wickets at regular intervals. Ben Stokes again failed to contribute many runs. Kings XI Punjab restricted Rajasthan Royals to 158 for 8. For Kings XI Punjab, Andrew Tye was the pick of bowlers with 4 for 34 runs.
Chasing 159, K Gowtham picked 2 wickets of Chris Gayle and R Ashwin in the same over. Karun Nair also went cheaply for 3 runs. KL Rahul was looking good with some good hitting while other Kings XI Punjab batsmen struggled to time the ball. At the end of 6 overs, Kings XI Punjab scored 33 for 3. Wickets fell at regular intervals which stalled the progress of Kings XI Punjab.
KL Rahul continued his impressive form in IPL 11 reaching his half-century off 48 balls. He remained not out on 95 runs. Rajasthan Royals won the match by 15 runs to keep themselves alive in the tournament.
RR 158 for 8 in 20 overs ( Jos Buttler 82, Sanju Samson 22, Andre Tye 4/34) beat
KXIP 143 for 7 in 20 overs ( KL Rahul 95*, K Gowtham 2/12) by 15 runs.
KXIP captain R Ashwin said: We lost too many early wickets. We could have bowled better in the powerplay overs. As the ball got older, it was tough to hit big shots. Trying to fix number 3 position and have limitations, are doing best to solve it.
RR captain Rahane said: Really happy with the way we played today. Thanks to Jos Buttler we got a great start. While chasing 159, it was important to get 2-3 early wickets and keep attacking fields always. It was an important victory and continues to move ahead.
Man of the match Jos Buttler said: Opening helped me to pace my innings better. After the first 6 overs, we thought 180-200 was a par score. With KL Rahul no score is a safe score. We are still in the tournament and love to continue the winning momentum.
Last time these two teams met at Indore, Kings XI Punjab defeated Rajasthan Royals by 6 wickets. Mumbai Indians will face Kolkata Knight Riders at Eden Gardens in tomorrow’s match.
