IPL 2018: Rahul's 91 in vain as RR win by 15 runs, keep playoffs hope alive

In the 40th match of Vivo Indian Premier League (IPL 2018) Rajasthan Royals beat Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) by 15 runs to keep their hopes alive in the tournament. Rahul scored 91

In the 40th match of VIVO Indian Premier League (IPL 2018), chasing 159, Kings XI Punjab lost the match to Rajasthan Royals by 15 runs, despite K L Rahul's brilliant 91-run innings. Only Stoinis could manage to get into double figures other than Rahul, rest of the batsmen were dismissed in single figures. Gayle, Nair, Ashiwn, Tiwari, all failed to score runs. Krisnappa Gowtham dismissed Gayle and Ashwin in one over. Earlier, Jos Butler powered RR to 58 with a remarkable inning of 82. With this win, they RR still have the hopes alive of making it into the playoffs. Rajasthan Royals moved to the sixth position on the VIVO IPL points table.

Earlier, Kings XI Punjab's Andrew Tye (4/34) came with a clinical bowling show to restrict Rajasthan Royals to 158/8. Bottom-placed Rajasthan would not have even crossed the 100-run mark but thanks to a blistering 58-ball 82 by opener Jos Buttler that propelled the hosts to a moderate total. Opting to bat, Rajasthan were off to a quick start, accumulating 35 runs in the first three overs. Tye drew the first blood for Punjab as his knuckleball played the trick to dismiss opener Ajinkya Rahane (9) in the fourth over. Buttler however, continued to fully utilise the powerplay to take his side past the 50-run mark in five overs. Marcus Stoinis gave the second blow to the hosts when Krishnappa Gowtham (8) misread a slower delivery and gave an easy catch to Manoj Tiwary at long on in the seventh over. Other than Tye, Afghanistan spinner Mujeeb bagged a couple of wickets conceding 21 runs in four overs while Stoinis chipped in with one wicket.

IPL 2018 Match 40 KXIP vs RR SCOREBOARD

Copy: Match 39: RCB vs SRH
Infogram

 

Kings XI Punjab innings update: Over by over

Kings XI Punjab playing XI for today's match: Lokesh Rahul(w), Chris Gayle, Akshdeep Nath, Karun Nair, Axar Patel, Marcus Stoinis, Manoj Tiwary, Ravichandran Ashwin(c), Andrew Tye, Mohit Sharma, Mujeeb Ur Rahman. Change: Akshadeep Nath and Mohit Sharma come in for Mayank Agarwal and Ankit Rajpoot.

Over 1: Gowtham to bowl, Huge appeal against K L Rahul. Turned down. Rahul steps out and wacks it for four over cover boundary. Late cut for no run. KXIP: 4-0

Over 2: Jofra Archer comes in. Gayle takes a single Good bowling. One run. Hit high in the air, no man's land. Uppercut by K L Rahul, that is six. KXIP: 13-0

Over 3: Gowtham continues, Gayle is stumped. He goes for one. Gowtham strikes. Ashwin is the new man in. And he is clean bowled. Karun Nair is the new man in. KXIP: 17-2

Over 4: Jofra Archer to Nair, one run taken. Rahul took a single off the 2nd ball. DOT ball. Nair got out off 4th ball as he tried to hit a big shot. DOT ball. another dot ball to end the over. RR: 20/3

Over 5: Jaydev Unadkat comes to the attack, Outside edge, just one. Bouncer, leading edge, just short of the man at third man. Double to Rahul. Better line, no run. Just one. Dot to finish. KXIP: 25-3

Over 6: Ben Stokes comes to the attack, Wide outside the off stump, Rahul wacks it over point for four. Good looking straight drive for no run though. Cover drive for four. Runout opportunity missed. KXIP: 33-3

Over 7: Ish Sodhi comes to the attack, appeal against Akashdeep Nath, turned down. One run. Brilliant turn. Driven for one. Nath reverse sweep, misses. KXIP: 35-3

Over 8: Mahipal Lomror is the new bowler, single taken. Quick double. Nath steps out and wacks it for four. Swept for one. Rahul takes a single. KXIP: 44-3

Over 9: Sodhi continues, cuts for no run. Well defended. Dot ball. cut for one. That spun well, no run. Nath hits it high in the air and he is out. Goes for 9. RR: 45-4

Over 10: Lomror comes and greeted with a four by Rahul. Manoj Tiwari is the new man in. Tiwari takes a single. Another quick single. RR: 55-4

Over 11: Sodhi continues, Swept for two. Single. Rahul reverse sweeps, safe. Single taken. Onto the pads, no run. Pushed for one. RR: 61-4

Over 12: Stokes is back, just four from the over so far. Manoj Tiwari is gone. Played it towards the extra covers, Ajinkya Rahane takes a brilliant catch. Tiwari gone for 7. KXIP: 66-5

Over 13: The ball missed everything, Axar Patel is the new man in. 4 byes. Rahul takes a single. Another single. Axar takes single to retain strike. KXIP: 74-1

Over 14: Anureet comes to the attack, bouncer, two runs. Hits it over the infiled, goes for four. Quick double, appeal for run out. OUT, Axar is gone. He goes for 9. Marcus Stoinis comes in. Rahul picks his spot and wacks it for four. 50 up for K L Rahul. KXIP: 86-6

Over 15: Sodhi continues, one run to Stoinis. Cuts for one. KXIP: 92-6

Over 16: Unadkat is back, Quick double. Single. Bottom edge, just one. Single again. KXIP: 98-6

Over 17: Archer is back, one run. One more run. 100 up. Excellent yorker, single. Another Yorker. Slower bouncer, missed. KXIP: 102-6

Over 18: Unadkat comes back, Rahul hits a four. Single taken. Towards long-off for two. One run. Dot to finish. KXIP: 111-6

Over 19: Jofra comes to bowl, just one. Yorker. Rahul hits a pour. Four. Wow, what a four. 

Over 20: Unadkat to bowl the final over, he is out. Gowtham takes a good catch. Tye comes in and takes a single. NO BALL. SIX. DOT. Four. FOUR. RR win by 15 runs

Kings XI Punjab innings analysis after 20 overs

Chasing the modest target of 158 runs, Lokesh Rahul and Chris Gayle opened the innings for Kings XI Punjab while Gowtham came to bowl the first over and conceded 4 runs thanks to boundary hit by Rahul. Jofra Archer came to bowl the 2nd over and Gayle took a single off the ball. Archer restricted the run-flow before Rahul hit an uppercut to end the over on a high note for KXIP. Gowtham bowled the 3rd over and got the wicket off Gayle who failed to drag his back leg in the crease and got stumped. Gowtham got the second wicket for Rajasthan as he bowled Ashwin.

Jofra Archer continued to from the other end and got the third wicket for Rajasthan Royals in the form of inform Karun Nair. Rajasthan Royals looked desperate to win the match as they were not giving easy runs. Unadkat bowled the 5th over and kept the run-rate in check as he gave away only 5 runs. Stokes came to bowl the 6th over and Rahul, who took KXIP home in the previous match, hit the first ball for four over the over point. Rahul hit the 5th ball for four of the 5th ball as Stokes conceded 8 runs in his first ball. 

Ish Sodhi came to bowl the 7th over and the ball hit the pad first. Rajasthan went for a review and lost it as ball was missing the stumps. Ish Sodhi bowled brilliantly to conceded only 2 runs. Mahipal Lormor bowled the 8th over and hit for a boundary of the 4th ball as he conceded 9 runs, one of the expensive over till now. Sodhi continued from the other end and bowled with great line and length as required run-rate jumped over 10 runs per over. While trying to break free Akshdeep Nath tried to hit a big shot and get perished. Kings XI Punjab were four down under 50 runs.

Lomror continued from the other end and Rahul welcomed him with a four followed by a double. Lomror conceded 10 runs in his 2nd over. Sodhi bowled the 10th over and Manoj Tiwary took 2 runs off the first ball followed by a single as Sodhi didn't give any freebies. Sodhi conceded 6 runs, another brilliantly over as required run-rate jumped to 10.88. Ben Stokes came to bowl the 12th over and conceded 5 runs off the first 5 balls before he got the wicket of Manoj Tiwary (7 runs 8 balls) off the last ball as KXIP were in deep trouble. Axar Patel came to the crease after the wicket of Manoj. Gowtham came to bowl the 13th over and a sharp turn went for 4 byes. Gowtham conceded only 4 runs and the required run-rate was jumped over the 12 runs per over. Anuneet Singh came to bowl the 14th over and conceded 6 runs off the first 2 balls before he got out while trying to take a double. Rahul hit the last bowl off the over for four to complete his fourth fifty of IPL 2018. 

Sodhi came to bowl the 15th over and conceded 6 runs as KXIP needed 67 runs in 30 ball with a required rate of 13.4 runs per over. The onus was on Rahul to see KXIP home.

Jaydev Unadkat came to bowl the 16th over and Rahul in desperate need to score quick run takes a double followed by a single. Stoinis tried to accelerate the run flow but failed to connect the ball as Jaydev gave away only 6 runs in his second over and required zoomed over 16 runs per over. Jofra Archer came to bowl the 17th over and bowled brilliant yorkers to choke the run-flow as required run-rate went past 19 runs per over. Jaydev Unadkat came to bowl the 18th over and Rahul hit the first ball for four but failed to repeat the same as he took a single. Stoinis also tried to use the long handle but failed to get the desired connection. Rajasthan Royals fielders were agile and not giving easy runs. Jaydev conceded 9 in his 3rd over. Jofra Archer came to bowl the penultimate over and kept mixing deliveries but Rahul tried to do his best to score the required runs as he hit 3 consecutive fours. KXIP needed 32 runs in last over. Jaydev got the wicket of Stoinis of the first ball as Gowtham took a brilliant catch. Andrew Tye came to the crease after the wicket of Stoinis. Rahul tried to see KXIP home but failed to do so as he never got a partner from the other end. Rahul scored 15 runs in the last over but that is not enough as Rajasthan Royals won the match 15 runs.

Rajasthan Royals innings update: Over by over

Rajasthan Royals playing XI for today's match: Jos Buttler(w), Ajinkya Rahane (c), Sanju Samson, Ben Stokes, Stuart Binny, Mahipal Lomror, Jofra Archer, Krishnappa Gowtham, Jaydev Unadkat, Ish Sodhi, Anureet Singh. Change: Mahipal Lomror, Stuart Binny and Ish Sodhi come in.

Over 1: Ajinkya Rahane and Jos Butler to open for RR. Marcus Stoinis to start off for KXIP. Outside edge for one. Butler pushes it towards point for a double. Stoinis misses the length and Butler glanced it for four. Beautiful straight drive for four. No stopping Butler. Dot ball. Driven, but no run. 11 runs come from the over. RR: 11-0

Over 2: Axar Patel in the attack, Rahane pushes it on the leg side for a single. Butler drives it towards long-off for one. Another single. Butler lofts it over the in-field on the off side and it goes for four. He has done it again, Axar bowls a fuller length ball and Butler lifts it for a six over covers boundary. Single to end the over and Butler will keep the strike. RR: 25-0

Over 3: Mohit Sharma is back, and into the attack. Change in attack makes no difference to Butler, short of the length, he pulls it for four. Same ball outside the off stump, just one for Butler this time. Rahane on strike. Good ball, no run to Rahane. Ajinkya drives on the off side, no run again. Mohit trying to keep it tight. Beautiful placement by Rahan between slip and gully, goes for four as there was no third man. Flicked on the leg side for one. RR: 35-1

Over 4: Andrew Tye to Rahane, no run. Rahane took a single off the second ball. Another single taken by Butler. Rahane got out while trying to up the ante. Butler took single off the 5th ball. DOT ball to end the over. RR: 38/1

Over 5: Mohit continues, Butler blocks well. Very wide outside the off stump, WIDE given. Perfectly timed and pushed through point for four by Josh Butler. So good to see a beautiful shot. Butler hits towards mid-on for one. Bouncer by Mohit, Gowtham awkwardly directs towards third man, lucky it did not carry. Bounced well, Butler manages to put it away and takes a single. COpy book shot by Gowtham, goes for six over the bowler's head. RR: 52-1

Over 6: Tye continues, just one. Brilliantly time on the leg side, good glance for four. This time over the covers for four. He is doing his best to keep the run-rate going up. Single taken by Butler. Gowtham on strike. Gowtham plays with soft hands for single. Very quick single to end the powerplay. RR: 63-1

Over 7: Stoinis is back for another spell, Butler takes an easy single as the field is now spread out. Gowtham plays it awkwardly, almost plays it onto this stumps. Gowtham hits it, and it goes straight to the fielder at long-on. He is out for 8. Ball did not hit the middle of the bat and the timing was not right as well. Second blow for Rajasthan. Sanju Samson is the new man in. Butler on strike, takes an easy single and brings Samson on strike. Onto the pads, glanced on the leg side for one. Good yorker, Butler pushes it for a single. RR: 67-2

Over 8: R Ashwin is the new bowler, easy single. Samson plays it on the off side for one. Butler pushes it towards the fine leg that was inside the circle, takes a single and completes his 50. Dot ball. Samson takes a single. Pushed for single, Butler retains strike. RR: 72-2

Over 9: Axar is back, Dot ball. That one turned, Butler failed to read it totally. Good turn again, Butler failing to read the ball. Reverse sweeps for no run. This is very decent over. Reverse sweep again, missed this time. Just one from the over. RR: 73-2

Over 10: Mujeeb Ur Rahman to Butler, on run. Samson took quick single off the 2nd ball. Butler took a double of the 3rd ball. Butler helped the 4th ball for four in the fine leg region. DOT ball. Butler took single off the last ball to end the over. RR: 82/2

Over 11: Axar continues, Dot ball. Quick double, nice running. Brilliantly driven for four. Another mis-field. RR: 91-2

Over 12: Ashwin is back, Just one. Another single. Singles flowing easily. Another one. Five came from the over. RR: 96-2

Over 13: Mujeeb to Butler, one run taken. Samson took single off the second ball. A quick single taken by Butler of the 3rd ball. DOT ball. Butler took single off the 5th ball. Bye taken to end the over. RR:102/2

Over 14: Ashwin to Samson, six straight down the ground. DOT ball. Single is taken by Samson. Butler took a single off the 4th ball. Samson hit four of the 5th ball to complete 50 run partnership. Samson took single to end the over. RR: 115/2

Over 15: Mujeeb to Samson, single taken. Butler took a single off the 2nd ball. Samson got out while trying to accelerate the run-rate. Stokes took a single off the inside edge. Another single taken. Stokes took single to end the over. RR: 120/3

Over 16: Ashwin to Stokes, starts the over for four followed by a single. Butler took double off the 3rd ball followed by a dot ball. Butler hit the 4th ball in the air a desperate dive by a long-off field but failed to hold the catch, 3 runs taken. Stokes took single to end the over. RR: 131/3

Over 17: Mujeeb to Stokes, a single taken. Butler got stumped while trying to score big shot. Binny played two dot balls before taking a single. DOT ball to end the over. RR: 133/4 

Over 18: Andrew tye to Binny, single taken. Stokes top-edged the ball for 3 runs. Binny hit the 3rd ball for a massive six followed by a quick double, an intelligent batting, another single taken. Stokes tried to take a quick double but Binny got runout thanks to a brilliant throw. RR: 147/5

Over 19: Mohit to bowl, NO BALL WAIST HIGH. Lomror to face the free hit, Swing and a miss. Lomror pulls and there is a close call for run out. NOT OUT. Swing and a miss again. RR: 152-5

Over 20: Tye to finish it off, Stokes hits it with the toe end of the bat, and Ashwin takes the catch. He goes for 14. Just one. Jofra Archer hits high in their and is caught. Golden duck for him. Good scoop by Lormor and goes over fine leg for four. Pulled for one. Jaydev Unadkat is on strike and Tye gets his fourth wicket. RR: 158-8

Rajasthan Royals innings analysis after 20 overs

Rajasthan Royals skipper Ajinkya Rahane won the toss and elected to bat first against Kings XI Punjab. Jos Butler and Ajinkya Rahane opened the innings and Marcus Stoinis came to bowl the first over, Rahane took single to open the account for Rajasthan Royals. Jos Butler flicked the 3rd ball from his pad to bring first four followed by a jab for four straight down the ground. Stoinis gave away 11 runs in his 1st over. Axar Patel bowled the 2nd over and conceded only 3 runs of the first 3 balls before Butler unleashed his class to collect 10 runs of the next two balls thanks to a four and six. Axar Patel conceded 13 runs in his first over. Mohit Sharma came to bowl the 3rd over and Butler welcomed him with a four over the mid-wicket fielder followed by a single. Rahane too joined the party after facing two dot balls and hit a four in the third man region. Mohit Sharma conceded 10 runs in his first over.

After the end of 3 over Rajasthan Royals scored 35 runs with Ajinkya Rahane (8 runs off 7 balls) and Jos Butler (27 runs off 11 balls) at the crease. 

Andrew Tye came to bowl the 4th over and got the wicket of Rahane (9 runs off 10 balls) who got out while trying to up the ante. Gowtham came as a pinch hitter after the wicket of Rahane as Tye conceded 3 runs and got a prized wicket of Rajasthan captain. Mohit Sharma bowled the 5th over and Butler looked in sublime touch as he scored four of the 2nd ball in the backward point region. Gowtham hit the last ball 5th over for six as Mohit conceded 14 runs. Tye continued from the other end and Butler continued to find the gaps as he hit the 2nd ball between mid-on and mid-wicket fielder followed by the brilliant cover-drive for four. Tye conceded 11 runs in his 2nd over as RR was scoring over 10 runs per over.

After the end of the powerplay Rajasthan Royals were 63 for 1 with Jos Butler(45 runs off 22 balls) and K Gowtham (8 runs off 4 balls)on the crease.

In a bid to put breaks on the scoring rate, KXIP appeared to be relying on the slower deliveries. For this task, Stoinis was brought back in the 7th over. Bowling consistent slower deliveries, mostly below 130 Kmph, Stoinis managed to get a breakthrough for KXIP when he got the wicket of Gowtham who attempted a lofted drive only to get caught by Manoj Tiwary at long-on. The turn on the ball which the KXIP bowlers seemed to have lost after the first over, reappeared in the eighth over when Ashwin came to bowl. Ashwin finished a rather decent over which saw Buttler reaching his fifty in 27 balls. Axar Patel came in to bowl the ninth over and the turn continued. This made even Buttler, who was settled on the crease, struggle to score runs. Getting restless he even tried a reverse sweep but in vain. Patel conceded only 1 run in this over. RR was 73/2 after 9 overs.

Notwithstanding the restriction put up suddenly by the spinners, Rajasthan batsmen managed to return on the track and went on scoring runs, or at least stealing them whenever the chance came. Rajasthan was approaching the 100-run mark, Punjab needed to use a different weapon from their arsenal. After 12 overs, Rajasthan were 96/2.

The spin was doing the trick was KXIP and Ashwin brought Mujeeb ur Rahman to bowl the tenth over and continued with Axar in the 11th one. Both the batsmen, Buttler and Samson, were playing it safe. The batsmen continued to depend mostly on singles and going for boundaries at regular intervals. The scoring rate had come down to a 8.00 rpa from a 10.35 rpa in the powerplay. Ashwin continued with the spin attack in the 12th over and both the batsmen comfortably kept rotating the strike. RR stood at a decent 96/2 after 12 overs. 

Ashwin brought Mujeeb-ur-Rahman in the 13th over. The partnership of Buttler and Samson, up until now was adding runs at a rate of not more than run-a-ball. nothing much came in this over apart from singles and doubles. Samson looked to change gears in the 14th over, bowled by Ashwin. He hit Ashwin for a six and a four. The over brought the fifty partnership for Samson and Buttler. RR was 115/2 after 14 overs.

The pace battery of KXIP came back into the attack for the last three overs, relying again mostly on slower deliveries. Batsmen were struggling to score big runs in the death overs. Stuart Binny, who replaced Buttler, hit a six against Tye but got run-out soon after. RR kept losing wickets at regular intervals and failed to make the most of the last two overs as well. RR fell like a stack of cards losing four wickets in the last three overs in an attempt to add some quick runs. Mahipal Lomror, who was struggling throughout his short inning which lasted nine balls, managed to hit a boundary towards fine-leg, courtesy of a reverse sweep in the last over. RR ended their innings at a below-par score of 158/8.

 
Here are a few things to know about the Kings XI Punjab vs Rajasthan Royals (KXIP vs RR) match to be played at Sawaiman Singh Stadium in Jaipur, the two teams' players who could prove handy, and who has said what before the clash:
 

What Lokesh Rahul said after playing match winning knock against RR in Indore: Opener Lokesh Rahul, who helped Kings XI Punjab outplay Rajasthan, said he is satisfied with his unbeaten 84-run knock at the Holkar Cricket Stadium. "For me personally I think this is the first knock I am really satisfied with because I won the game for the team and stayed till the end," Rahul said after the match. "I always try to back my cricketing shots and don't try to slog much. Playing in this way is what will make me consistent. "I trust myself and trust my instincts to finish the game. I knew if I stay till the end I'll finish the game today. Karun played well and supported me. Stoinis played well and ran well too. I got lucky and that's what happens in this format," he added.
 
Ashwin's leadership is helping Mujeeb evolve, says KXIP coach Hodge: Leadership plays an important role in a player's development and young Afghanistan spinner Mujeeb ur Rahman's improved performance has a lot to do with playing under the wings of Ravichandran Ashwin, Kings XI Punjab chief coach Brad Hodge insisted. All of 17, Mujeeb has played in KXIP's all seven games with seven wickets at an economy rate of 6.51. Ashwin, in fact, wanted the teenager to defend 17 runs against Delhi Daredevils at Kotla and he responded to his captain's call by restricting the opposition to 12 runs. "Mujeeb has shown a great level of composure. At such young age, he has confidence in his abilities. I would also give credit to Ashwin's leadership skills. He has been very encouraging. Good leaders help talented players get to the next level," Hodge said.
 
How 'out-of-cash' KXIP almost lost Gayle at IPL auction: Chris Gayle has proved to be quite a bargain buy for Kings XI Punjab in the ongoing Indian Premier League but co-owner Ness Wadia revealed that the team almost lost the destructive opener at the auction, thinking it had run out of cash. "We had only Rs 2.1 crore left and if we had bid for Chris earlier (at the auction) and another team came up with a counter bid, we did not have the money to buy him. Luckily, no other team bid for him and we were more than happy to get third time lucky," Wadia said.

The team Head to Head ahead of IPL today’s match Kings XI Punjab vs Rajasthan Royals (KXIP vs RR)
 
Overall:

Matches – 17, Rajasthan Royals won – 10, Kings XI Punjab won – 7
 
At the Sawai Mansingh Stadium:
 
Matches – 7, Rajasthan Royals won – 4, Kings XI Punjab won – 3

with agency input