Key Baneya

  • Rajasthan Royals stay in the hunt with 15-run win over Kings XI Punjab
  • With 4/34, Tye picked his best figures of the season and the Purple Cap
  • Lokesh Rahul picks up the Orange Cap with another half century
Photo credit: BCCI/IPLT20.com

Kings XI Punjab went down to Rajasthan Royals by 15 runs at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur on Tuesday despite Lokesh Rahul's gritty knock of 95* that failed to lift his side from an early collapse. An inspired performance by Andrew Tye, ably supported by Kings' bowling, had held back Royals' batting but the total proved just too much. 🏏 SCORECARD

Put in to bowl first on a decent batting wicket, KXIP were subject to some power-packed batting by Jos Buttler who went hammer and tongs. Andrew Tye did what he does best in the fourth over as he dismissed Ajinkya Rahane cheaply for a single digit score. 📷 PHOTOS

The home side’s ploy of sending Krishnappa Gowtham up the order as a pinch hitter did not come off well, as he holed out at long on off Marcus Stoinis’ medium pace for just 8 runs, but they still ended up with 63/1 from the Powerplay overs – their best in this season so far.

The middle overs progressed quickly, and the wheels started to come off the RR batting line-up here. The spinners got through their overs quickly, and Buttler too, who was swashbuckling at the start seemed to lose some steam after the field restrictions were lifted.

Unha-da Sher
Jos Buttler’s ascension to form since his promotion as an opener continued, as the Englishman stroked his third successive half century. With 9 fours and a six, Buttler helped his side on their way to a respectable score while scoring his IPL career best.

Buttler’s wicket for 82(58) started a domino effect, as RR lost 5 wickets in the final 4 overs. Mujeeb Ur Rahman was brilliant yet again, bowling an economic spell and picking 2 wickets, while Andrew Tye’s 4 wickets got him back the Purple Cap. In the end, the Royals posted a competitive score of 158/8.

Sadda Sher
Effective with the cherry yet again, Andrew Tye was a key figure in helping KXIP restrict RR to 158/8. Picking 4 wickets with the help of his pace variations, Tye raced to the top of the Purple Cap list yet again, with a total tally of 16 wickets.

Chasing a target on a wicket which proved to have a lot of spin in it was never going to be an easy proposition, and KXIP’s start would not have helped. Gowtham opened the bowling, and in just his second over managed to get Chris Gayle stumped for just 1 run. Ashwin promoted himself up the order to No. 3 as a surprise move, but the ploy failed as Gowtham rattled his stumps for a duck just two balls later.

It all went pear shaped for KXIP from here on, as no batsman was able to settle in and score runs. Rahul was the lone warrior on the day with an IPL career best of 95*(70), which fetched him the Orange Cap again, and Marcus Stoinis was the only other batsman to pass a single figure score.

Turning Point
KXIP were in the ascendency after restricting RR to a decent total despite the quick start. However, they lost quite a bit of momentum in the third over of their chase when Gowtham dismissed Gayle and Ashwin for 1 and 0 respectively. The visitors were never really able to recover from these blows.

Gowtham and Ish Sodhi were the pick of the bowlers, with returns of 3-0-12-2 and 4-0-14-1 respectively. Jofra Archer and Ben Stokes chipped in too, with a wicket apiece. In the end, the Royals sealed a victory by a margin of 15 runs.

Key Chalda Hai?

The KXIP boys are still in a strong position despite the loss and are in third position in the standings with 12 points from 10 games. They will face Kolkata Knight Riders next on Saturday, 12th May at the Holkar Cricket Stadium in Indore. 🗓 FIXTURES