IPL 2018, KXIP vs RR: 5 reasons why Rajasthan lost

Rajasthan Royals' IPL campaign just went from bad to worse as they lost their third game on the trot against Kings XI Punjab. A 51 from Jos Buttler and chippings from Sanju Samson and Shreyas Gopal took them to a par score of 152/9.

In reply, Kings XI Punjab lost the wickets of Chris Gayle and Mayank Agarwal but a partnership between KL Rahul and Karun Nair brought them right back on track. Rahul went on to make 84 and got some assistance from Marcus Stoinis. KXIP won the match with 8 balls to spare.

The win brought an end to Punjab's two-match losing streak and took them up to third in the table. Rajasthan Royals on the other hand, remained at the bottom position.

Here are 5 reasons why Rajasthan Royals were humbled tonight

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#5 Failure of many of their key batsmen to deliver

D'Arcy Short who played pretty well against Delhi Daredevils, scored just 2 tonight. Skipper Ajinkya Rahane was lacklustre too, scoring just 5. Ben Stokes began well by hitting a couple of boundaries before being dismissed by a brilliant dual effort by Mayank Agarwal and Manoj Tiwary.

While 152 can be considered a pretty decent total in T20 cricket, what has to be accounted that only three RR batsmen played decently- Jos Buttler (51), Sanju Samson (28) and Shreyas Gopal (23). The others just came and departed soon.

Had these batsmen played another 30-40 deliveries combined, Rajasthan Royals could have posted a stronger total on the board.

#4 Poor bowling by Jofra Archer and Anureet Singh

Jofra Archer was extremely expensive with the ball tonight

Looking at the quality of KXIP's batting order, a lot was needed and expected from Jofra Archer tonight. The Windies bowler actually began well by conceding just 5 runs in his first over and bagging the crucial wicket of Chris Gayle in his next over.

However, his final two overs went horribly wrong. Archer conceded 16 runs in his third over and in his final over, Rahul smashed 14 runs to finish off the game for KXIP.

Another bowler who disappointed tonight was Anureet Singh. The 30-year-old was chosen in place of Dhawal Kulkarni. However, he could not deliver against his former team tonight.

Anureet conceded 8 runs in his first over and 12 runs in his second and final over in which he also got rid of Karun Nair.

Archer and Anureet were among RR's wicket-takers but there's no point of taking wickets and conceding heavily. Jaydev Unadkat did not bag a single wicket but he bowled a decent and economical spell of 0/26 in his four overs.

Archer will have to improve on his bowling while Anureet Singh may not find a place in the squad in subsequent matches.

#3 Jos Buttler's dismissal

Had Buttler stayed on, RR could have posted a much higher total

After impressing with the bat against Delhi Daredevils, Jos Buttler was playing another fine knock today.

The Englishman opened the innings and batted beautifully. Buttler hit 7 elegant boundaries and scored his second consecutive fifty of the tournament.

His timing was superb and it seemed like he would take RR to a score of over 170. Even though many overs weren't left, we all know how dangerous Buttler can get during the final overs.

However, during the 15th over, a crafty carrom ball from Mujeeb ur Rahman got a thin edge and went straight into the hands of keeper KL Rahul. He was eventually dismissed for 51 from 39 deliveries.

Had Buttler stayed on for another 15-20 deliveries, the scoreline of Rajasthan Royals would have been quite different.

#2 KL Rahul's majestic 84

Rahul scored a massive 84

Following the premature dismissals of Chris Gayle and Mayank Agarwal, KL Rahul took the batting responsibilities on his shoulders and boy did he do a good job.

Rahul stitched a partnership of 50 with Karun Nair which brought Punjab back on track. Following Nair's dismissal, Rahul began to score more quickly and reached his fifty in remarkable fashion with a six.

Rahul continued to bat aggressively and went on to score 84 from just 54 deliveries, finishing the match with a beautiful boundary on extra cover. This is Rahul's highest IPL score.

Kings XI Punjab will be hoping that Rahul continues his consistency throughout the remainder of the tournament.

#1 Brilliant bowling by Mujeeb, Tye and Patel

Mujeeb ur Rahman continued his brilliant form

KXIP's bowling was brilliant today, especially the spells by Mujeeb ur Rahman, Andrew Tye and Axar Patel.

Axar Patel bowled an economical spell of 1/21 from his 4 overs, dismissing Ajinkya Rahane.

Andrew Tye bowled an economical and wicket-taking spell of 2/24 from his four overs. He got the crucial wicket of Sanju Samson and dismissed Rahul Tripathi as well. The Aussie bowled a terrific final over, conceding just 4 runs from it.

However, the pick of the Punjab bowlers was the Afghan teenage sensation Mujeeb ur Rahman who took three wickets and conceded just 27 runs. Mujeeb got the key wicket of Ben Stokes before getting the priceless wicket of Jos Buttler. His third scalp was Jofra Archer.

The Afghan was rightfully declared the Man of the Match for his brilliant spell.

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