During the 40th match of the 11th season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) between Rajasthan Royals (RR) and Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) at Jaipur, Rajasthan Royals’ Krishanappa Gowtham drew first blood in the second innings of the match.
After Ajinkya Rahane won the toss and chose to bat, Rajasthan Royals’ innings progressed on Jos Buttler’s fourth IPL half-century, the third consecutive of this season. Sans him, Royals wouldn’t have scored as much as they did eventually, i.e., 158-8 in 20 overs.
Rahane chose to open the attack with spin in the form Gowtham. Having conceded four runs in the first over, he picked up a couple of wickets in his second over to strengthen the position of his team in the match. Moreover, while defending 159 runs, someone had to take the onus of picking up wickets with the new ball.
On the first delivery of the third ball, Chris Gayle stepped out to perhaps hit the ball out of the park. However, a smart Gowtham bowled a wide delivery down the leg side. Slow on reflexes, Gayle was unable to reach back to the crease. He scored 1 (1).
Ravichandran Ashwin surprised one and all by walking in to bat at No. 3 in the third over. His decision to do the same proved to be a disaster as he was bowled by Gowtham on the second ball that he faced. Ashwin went back to the pavilion without contributing.
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