On Sunday night, Rajasthan Royals (RR) suffered a 6-wicket defeat (with 8 balls to spare) against the hosts Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) at Holkar Cricket Stadium (Indore).
KXIP captain Ravichandran Ashwin forced Rajasthan to bat first after winning the toss. As their most batsmen were struggling, RR only managed to put 152 on the board after losing 9 wickets at the end of 20 overs.
In reply, KL Rahul guided safely for the victory as KXIP chased down the target successfully in 18.4 overs after losing 4 wickets.
Now, we will briefly talk about some important reasons for RR’s defeat in this game.
Massive batting failure
The RR top-orders massively failed while their middle orders also failed to handle that pressure. Apart from the opener Jos Buttler (51 runs), none of the other RR batsmen crossed the 30-run mark. However, no.4 batsman Sanju Samson (28 runs) and no.9 batsman Shreyas Gopal (24 runs) played some important knocks to secure a respected total for the team but that was not enough for victory.
Mujeeb Zadran’s spell
While RR batsmen were already struggling very much, KXIP’s young Afghan off-spinner Mujeeb Ur Rahman utilised that moment greatly to restrict the visitors for a low total. Mujeeb had a bowling figure of 4-0-27-3 while he dismissed Ben Stokes (12 runs) and the set batsman Jos Buttler before he bowled Jofra Archer for a duck.
While RR was looking to make a fightback in their innings, Mujeeb’s spell totally dashed their hopes.
Also read: (KXIP vs RR) – Turning Point of the Match
Failed to utilise KXIP’s pressure situation
From the beginning of their innings, KXIP was under pressure as they were losing wickets in regular intervals. At one stage, KXIP was at 87/4 in 12.5 overs which were looking very far from the target. But, KL Rahul put a brilliant unbroken 68 runs partnership for the fifth wicket which saved the game for the hosts.
During KXIP’s pressurise moment, RR needed to take some wickets to utilise that situation fully. But, the bowlers failed to take any wicket at that moment as KXIP slowly got their path for the victory.
KL Rahul
In-form KXIP opener KL Rahul single-handedly guided the hosts for a crucial victory. While his fellow members were struggling on the pitch, Rahul played an unbeaten 84 runs innings off 54 balls with 7 fours and 3 sixes.
Rahul played a big differential role between the teams in this game. The 26-year-old wicketkeeper-batsman was in very patience before the set batsman thrashed the RR bowlers in the end moment.
