IPL 2018, KXIP vs RR: Hits and Misses from the Kings XI Punjab - Rajasthan Royals game

In the second game at Indore, Kings XI Punjab skipper Ravichandran Ashwin won the toss and inserted Rajasthan Royals into bat who lost D’Arcy Short in the first over of the game.

Jos Buttler who opened the batting for the second consecutive time was looking in very good touch.

But RR lost wickets at regular intervals and despite Buttler’s 51, the visitors could only manage 152 in their 20 overs.

Mujeeb Ur Rahman was the star with the ball as he picked up 3/27 and all the other KXIP bowlers put in a disciplined effort.

Chasing 153, RR bowlers did well to get a couple of early wickets. Chris Gayle failed for the first time this season while Mayank Agarwal’s disappointing season continued.

But KL Rahul batted superbly and scored a brilliant unbeaten 84 and took KXIP home. Karun Nair and Marcus Stoinis complimented the Karnataka opener well as the hosts registeredtheir sixth win of the season and climbed to the third place in the points table.

---

#5 Hit: Jos Buttler

Jos Buttler scored his second consecutive half-century as he top-scored for RR

Jos Buttler had an underwhelming start to this IPL. But the move to the top of the order has worked very well for both Buttler and RR. In the last game, he opened the batting and scored a blistering 67 off 26 balls in the chase of 151 in 12 overs against Delhi Daredevils.

Looking at the success in the last game, Buttler once again opened the batting as Ajinkya Rahane decided to drop himself to No. 3. He struck a beautiful boundary off his second delivery and that showed he was in prime form.

It was just a back of length delivery from Ashwin as Buttler punched it off the back-foot to the cover boundary. He then struck three boundaries off Ankit Rajpoot in the next over.

He had raced off to 22 off 12 deliveries but with wickets falling around him, he slowed down and looked to bat through.

He got to his second consecutive fifty off 37 balls as he looked good for a big score. But he was dismissed by Mujeeb Ur Rahman as soon as he reached the milestone.

But it was his effort at the top of the order that helped RR get to 152 on what was a disappointing batting performance.

#4 Miss: Ajinkya Rahane

Ajinkya Rahane has not been able to have a big impact with the bat

In this IPL, Ajinkya Rahane has been getting starts and hasn’t been able to convert them. He has scored just one fifty in this IPL which came in a losing cause against Sunrisers Hyderabad.

He’s gone past the 30-run mark on four other occasions but threw it away every time after getting set.

The Rajasthan Royals skipper didn’t bat in the last game as Jos Buttler opened the batting alongside Short in a truncated game. He continued the same opening combination in this game and dropped himself to No. 3.

He strode out to bat in the first over as Short fell on the third ball of the innings. Rahane had the chance to bat through and play the sheet anchor’s role.

However, that didn’t happen the 29-year-old batsman could manage only five off seven balls.

With Buttler going very well at the other end, the RR skipper tried to rotate strike but didn’t last long. He fell to a short ball as he tried to slash hard and found Gayle at short third-man.

#3 Hit: Mujeeb Ur Rahman

Mujeeb Ur Rahman has been brilliant for KXIP this season

Rahman has been a revelation for Kings XI Punjab this season. Before today’s game, he had nine wickets in eight games at an economy of 6.87.

The highlight was the wicket of Virat Kohli where this 17-year-old Afghanistan spinner castled the RCB skipper with a beautiful wrong’un.

In this game, Rahman registered his best-ever figures in a T20 game. He took 3/27 in his four overs as the Afghanistan mystery spinner played a big part in restricting RR to an under-par total.

He bowled a couple of overs in the powerplay and did well giving away just 13 runs as he was tight with his line and length.

He came back in the 13th over and dismissed Ben Stokes as Mayank Agarwal and Manoj Tiwary combined to produce an excellent catch.

But it was in his fourth over that Mujeeb turned the game. Buttler was the looking RR’s best batsman and Rahman sent the England wicket-keeper back to the pavilion as soon as the latter got to his fifty.

He then dismissed Jofra Archer the next ball with a very good wrong’un to leave RR in trouble at 106/6.

It was an excellent second spell from the 17-year-old spinner as he took three wickets and gave away only 14 runs in his last two overs.

#2 Miss: Mayank Agarwal

Mayank Agarwal has failed to replicate his domestic success in the IPL

There were a lot of expectations from Mayank Agarwal when this IPL started. He came into the tournament with a plethora of runs in all three formats in domestic cricket.

However, he hasn’t quite fired in this IPL. He’s got these good-looking starts where he hasn’t been able to build on the good start.

In this game, Agarwal produced an excellent catch where he paddled back at the long-off boundary and took a superb catch before relaying it to Tiwary while he was off balance. But he once again failed with the bat.

He walked out to join his Karnataka team-mate in the fourth over after Gayle had fallen for his first single-digit score in this IPL.

Agarwal had a couple of singles before he nailed a pull shot straight into the hands of deep square-leg.

It was disappointing for the Karnataka youngster since he had struck that well and if he had managed to get it either side of the fielder he would’ve got four.

But it was not to be as it gave Stokes his second wicket of the tournament.

#1 Hit: KL Rahul

Rahul was magnificent in this game as he scored an unbeaten 84 and helped KXIP chase 153 with ease

Rahul has been in tremendous touch in this season of the IPL. He started off the tournament with the fastest IPL fifty ever and has never got out for a single-digit score in this season.

Chasing 153 in this game, Rahul began watchfully. He then smashed Krishnappa Gowtham for three boundaries in one over to get going.

However, with KXIP losing Gayle and Agarwal, Rahul put his head down and batted through as he played the role of sheet anchor to perfection.

He shared a couple of crucial stands. First with Nair for the third wicket where the latter scored 31 and complimented his Karnataka mate beautifully.

It was then Stoinis who combined well with Rahul and took KXIP home. But it was really Rahul who played a brilliant innings where he changed gears beautifully.

He was batting on 48 off 43 balls before he decided to switch gears and change the course of the chase.

With 43 runs required in four overs, the 26-year-old Karnataka batsman struck the ball beautifully and finished off the chase with eight balls to spare.

He ended with an excellent 84 as he took KXIP to their sixth win of the tournament.

---

Our tournament homepage has IPL live score, Match Analysis, Detailed Stats, Fantasy Tips, Controversies, Match Predictions and much more. Bookmark it now!