The Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) now has 10 points in the IPL 2019 points table as they defeated the Rajasthan Royals (RR) by 12 runs. Ravi Ashwin‘s 17-run fireworks made the difference in the end and though Stuart Binny flamboyant innings of 33 off 11 balls, wasn’t enough for the Royals to go over the line. The Royals have now lost six matches and need to win all the remaining matches to have any chance of qualifying for the playoffs.
During the chase of 183 runs, Rajasthan started well Jos Buttler was firing from the word go, but he was dismissed by the debutant Arshdeep Singh in the fifth over. RR also surprised everyone by sending Rahul Tripathi to open the innings and he didn’t disappoint. After Buttler’s dismissal, Sanju Samson and Tripathi kept the team in the game. But it was tough to hit big sixes on a big ground in Mohali. Both of them got out while attempting to go big.
WATCH – Pooran Takes A Blinder To Complete Arshdeep’s Maiden Wicket
Ashwin got both the wickets while Ajinkya Rahane batted at four and his role raised a lot of questions for the team management. He failed to carry forward the momentum and despite Binny’s blitz of 33 runs off 11 deliveries, in the end, the Royals fell short of the target by 12 runs.
Earlier, the KXIP got to a cautious start with Chris Gayle smacking a couple of sixes. But their opening duo of KL Rahul and Gayle is played too many dot balls in the powerplay. Despite the Universe Boss scoring 30 runs in the powerplay, he took 22 balls for that and KXIP could only score 39 runs in the first six overs.
WATCH – R Ashwin Smashes 17 Runs Off the Final Over
Mayank Agarwal then batted dominantly and raced through to 26 but once again he couldn’t carry on and was snaffled by Ish Sodhi. David Miller and Rahul upped the ante at the right time and were set for a grand finish in the last three overs. But the Royals bowled superbly in the death overs to pick four wickets and the KXIP looked set to finish at 170.
However, there was a twist in the tale. R Ashwin came out to bat to smack 17 off just four balls in the final over and helped his team to 182 runs for the loss of six wickets. The KXIP bowled well and those runs from their skipper turned out to be match-winning in the end as the home side won the match by a narrow margin.
Brief Score:
Kings XI Punjab – 182/7 in 20 overs (KL Rahul: 52, D Miller: 40; J Archer: 3/15) defeated Rajasthan Royals – 170/7 in 20 overs (R Tripathi: 50; R Ashwin: 2/24, A Singh: 2/43) by 12 runs
Here’s how Twitter reacted to another defeat of RR:
This is unexpexted perfomance by the skipper @ajinkyarahane88 . I don’t understand if the skipper is not in form, is it necessary to play a game. He is struggling a lot in the middle overs.
— Prasad Velugoti (@VelugotiPrasad) April 16, 2019
https://twitter.com/pankajulhas/status/1118215716065423360
https://twitter.com/SaneAngle/status/1118215728568487936
Was that really Stuart Binny? I hadn't thought in my wildest dreams that Binny could bat so well! #KXIPvRR
— Vivek Raj Singh (@iVivekRajSingh) April 16, 2019
https://twitter.com/BeLikeDhoni/status/1118215630144958465
As usual, @rajasthanroyals has shown weird tactic, this time around holding Stuart Binny until late into the chase while sending Rahane, who has been below average in this ipl, up the order. Fascinating. #IPL2019 #KXIPvRR
— Abhishek Shiwakoti (@abhishiwakoti) April 16, 2019
Are you mental? @ajinkyarahane88
Remember you're just a powerplay player not a finisher r huge hitter…i don't how you pulled into middle order and #stuartbinny jnto lower order…poor captaincy today from @rajasthanroyals pic.twitter.com/3ltT03j2Mn— Rakesh Emani (@rakeshemani) April 16, 2019
https://twitter.com/Kohli_RohitBro/status/1118215262568730625
https://twitter.com/Anupam183/status/1118214991096635393
https://twitter.com/lost_boy23/status/1118214953641504768
