Published: Apr 21, 2015, 09:39 PM (IST)
Edited: Jul 23, 2015, 02:57 PM (IST)
Rajasthan Royals (RR) finished with a strong score in their game against Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) in the eight edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2015 at Ahmedabad. The platform was laid by the openers again, adding 95-runs for the first wicket and setting up the big total for the hosts.
Ajinkya Rahane and Shane Watson got them to a good start, hitting the bad balls to the fence regularly. Sandeep Sharma got good swing but did not quite strike early for KXIP. Rahane was particularly good, being in supreme touch, he carried on his good form, stroking the ball to every part of the ground. Rajasthan raced away to 90 for zero after ten overs. Live updates: Rajasthan Royals vs Kings XI Punjab IPL 2015 Match 18
The KXIP bowlers struggled to put the RR batsmen under any kind of pressure. While Rahane was happy to time the ball, Watson was using brute force to find the boundaries and the bowlers wilted under the pressure of the onslaught. It was Axar Patel who got the first breakthrough when he beat Watson, coming down the track and Wriddhiman Saha did the rest. Watson missed out on his fifty but had ensured his team had a platform for the big score.
Coming in at No. 3 Deepak Hooda got going right from the word go, hitting a couple of sixes of Glenn Maxwell. Rahane also got into the hitting zone and brought up his 16th IPL fifty with a flick over mid-wicket. The KXIP bowlers were struggling, Sehwag had trouble with his fifth bowler and when he handed the ball to Shivam Sharma, having conceded 19 runs off his first over, he got the wicket of Hooda who tried to get too cute and was bowled. There were a couple of sixes in that over too though before that wicket. Hooda was out for an entertaining 19 in just nine balls. Live Scorecard: Rajasthan Royals (RR) vs Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) IPL 2015 Match 18
Steven Smith though was out for a first ball duck when he tried to hit Patel over mid-wicket but only found Maxwell at deep mid-wicket. Karun Nair though got off the mark with a superb loft over covers to signal his intents. Rahane and Nair both found boundaries at will and kept the scoreboard flowing. It was only when Rahane tried to go after Johnson that he got out missing out on his ton, getting caught behind by Saha.
KXIP did drag the game back taking wickets towards the end. James Faulkner did not make an impact as he was caught brilliantly by Maxwell at long on. Nair was out for a well made 25 in just 13 balls. Stuart Binny and Sanju Samson ended the over with a couple of lusty blows to get them to 191 for six after 20 overs. They were poor with at the start today for a change. They have a batting line-up to chase down any total but they have not clicked so far and with no George Bailey today, their task only gets tougher. Rajasthan Royals have been brilliant with the ball and they look favourites to make it six in six.
Kings XI Punjab won the toss and elected to field first. With George Bailey injured, Virender Sehwag was named captain of the side. Rahul Tewatia was the replacement for Ankit Sharma. KXIP made as many as three changes, Shaun Marsh, David Miller, Shivam Sharma came in for George Bailey, Thisara Perara and Gurkeerat Singh Maan. Indian Premier League (IPL) 2015: Complete coverage
Brief scores:
Rajasthan Royals 191 for 6 in 20 overs (Ajinkya Rahane 74, Shane Watson 45; Axar Patel 2 for 30) vs Kings XI Punjab
(Nikhil Popat is a cricket lover and a PotterHead. He can be followed on Twitter @CricCrazyNIKS)
