IPL 2020, Match 50, Kings XI Punjab vs Rajasthan Royals - Rajasthan Royals won by 7 wickets
Friday, Oct 30, 2020, Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi
It needed a lot of brilliance with the bat from Rajasthan Royals (RR) to put an end to Kings XI Punjab's (KXIP) five-match winning streak in the ongoing IPL 2020! Royals hardly break a sweat during the big chase of 186 against in-form KXIP's bowing line-up!
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| Image Credits: IPL / BCCI |
After being sent into bat first, Kings XI Punjab lost their opener Mandeep Singh for a Golden Duck! Then KL Rahul and Chris Gayle shared a huge 120-run stand for the second wicket to get them off to a flier. Rahul's (46 off 41) departure in the 15th over came as a blessing in disguise for Punjab as he was failing to score runs quickly. Gayle held one end tight as he scored 99 runs off 63 deliveries including 6 fours and 8 sixes.
In the process, Gayle became the first player ever to hit 1000 sixes in the T20 format! He got to the milestone when he hit his seventh six off Kartik Tyagi in the 19th over! Nicholas Pooran (22 off 10) played a little cameo in the death overs as Kings XI Punjab finished with 185/4 in 20 overs. Among RR bowlers, Jofra Archer and Ben Stokes bagged two wickets apiece.
Rajasthan Royals came out with a positive intent during the chase in this must-win game! Royals needed only five players to chase this huge target down and each of them had a strike rate of at least 130! Robin Uthappa scored 30 runs off 23 balls (SR: 130.43) while Ben Stokes (50 off 26, SR: 192.31) and Sanju Samson (48 off 25, SR: 192.00) batted at a different level in this high run chase!
Both Steven Smith (31* off 20, SR: 155.00) and Jos Buttler (22 off 11, SR: 200.00) then remained unbeaten to take Rajasthan home with 7 wickets in hand in just the 18th over! For a team who looked out of sorts at times during this season, this was a clinical run-chase in a must-win game against KXIP! On a lighter note, Punjab were at least 30 to 35 runs short in this game because of poor batting from KL Rahul and Glenn Maxwell (6 off 6)!
Rajasthan Royals opener Ben Stokes had been adjudged as the 'Player of the Match' for the superb start he provided with the bat in this huge run-chase.
Brief Scores: Rajasthan Royals - 186/3 in 17.3 overs (Ben Stokes - 50, Sanju Samson - 48, Murugan Ashwin - 1/43, Chris Jordan - 1/44) defeated Kings XI Punjab - 185/4 in 20 overs (Chris Gayle - 99, KL Rahul - 46, Jofra Archer - 2/26, Ben Stokes - 2/32) by a margin of 7 wickets
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