IPL 2019: RR vs KXIP - 3 mistakes that cost Rajasthan the game

In the last set of opening matches, we had the roaring Kings XI Punjab facing the mighty Rajasthan Royals. The match started off with KXIP losing a quick wicket of K.L. Rahul but, this was just the silence before the thundering Gayle storm.

That, coupled with Sarfaraz's late flurry at the back end of the innings helped the visitors to a commendable total of 184. Although it was above par, it could have easily been 15-20 runs more, had Gayle been there.

In the second innings, the brilliant opening pair of Rahane and Buttler set up the tempo with a 78-run opening stand. The Punjab skipper, Ravi Ashwin, came to the team's rescue when they needed it the most by bowling an astounding spell of 4-0-20-1. In the end, Rajasthan lost seven wickets in the space of four overs, and lost the match which was at one point, in their hands.

On that note, let's take a look at where RR missed the trick.

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#1 The bizarre dismissal of Jos Buttler

Buttler's wicket was the turning point in the game

The in-form stylish batsman of the Royals, Jos Buttler, who was batting on 69 runs would have never in his wildest thoughts imagined the way he would lose his wicket.

He was Mankaded, which is when a bowler who is about to bowl, catches the non-strike end batsman outside the crease, and dislodges the bails. Buttler displayed a lack of presence of mind on the field when the score at the time was 108-1 at 12.4 overs. This started the string of wickets that fell.

The wicket would have mattered less if it had been any other batsman, but for RR's misfortune, it had to be him. The pair of Rahane and Buttler had set the momentum by an excellent opening knock, but after Rahane's wicket on Ravichandran Ashwin's carrom ball, the team started to struggle and things became worse even as Buttler, Smith and Samson left the pitch for the pavilion early. This left the team, who had the complete match in its grip on a weak stance, giving the opposition time for rectifying their bowling unit's low points. This had a great effect on the outcome of tonight's game.

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#2 Improper batting order

Ben Stokes came to bat too late in the batting order

The Rajasthan Royals had started off on a high note but failed to carry on the same winning mindset and momentum till the last ball. This is where team management comes under the scanner. After a good opening partnership of Rahane and Jos Buttler, the team management made some errors with respect to the batting line up which turned out to be a major game-buster for them.

Promoting a big hitter up the order was the need of the hour. However, they sent an out of touch Steve Smith up the order.

Smith took his own comfortable time to settle, whereas a batsman like Stokes in those conditions would have been the perfect choice. Also, with the wickets toppling, the batsmen lost their cool and gave away their wickets hastily on average looking deliveries.

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#3 Mistakes in bowler selection and lower batting order

Rajasthan need to work on their fielding

After managing to scalp KL Rahul's wicket after just 4 balls, it was expected from the side to carry on the same spirit. But instead, it went the other way round and they gave away 16 runs in extras. Their inefficiency to get timely wickets had them on a low.

This continued even further when the skipper chose Jaydev Unadkat who was proving to be quite expensive at the moment and didn't complete the spell of Shreyas Gopal, the right arm all-rounder.

Then came the batting department, which couldn't have started off any better. With an amazing partnership of 78 runs, the Royals looked well settled, but losing wickets in quite an unfortunate manner led to the temperament of the batsmen taking quite a hit. Most importantly, the batsmen lost their patience to wait for the right opportunity to hit a shot- worthy ball. In the death overs, the batsmen seemed disturbed and confused at that moment, resulting in the wickets to fall like pearls from a broken necklace which further lowered the hopes, costing them the match.

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