On Tuesday night, Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) suffered a 15-run defeat against the hosts Rajasthan Royals (RR) at Sawai Mansingh Stadium (Jaipur).
Rajasthan captain Ajinkya Rahane decided to bat first after winning the toss. With the help of opener Jos Buttler’s superb batting performance, RR put a fighting total of 158/8 in 20 overs.
In reply, KXIP opener KL Rahul single-handedly tried hard to secure a victory for the team while other batsmen failed to score minimum runs. As a result, KXIP only managed to score 143/7 at the end of 20 overs.
Now, we will briefly talk about some important reasons for KXIP’s defeat in this game.
Also read: (RR vs KXIP) – Turning Point of the Match
An expensive Powerplay
KXIP bowlers were very expensive in the powerplay as RR scored 63/1 at the end of 6 overs. Opener Jos Buttler himself scored 45 runs off just 22 balls during that powerplay while other batsmen were almost silent in that period.
While it was not an easy batting pitch, that start was too expensive for the visiting side. Despite the Punjab bowlers came back into the game later, that start provided a great base in that innings which resulted in a good fighting total for the hosts.
Buttler knock
While other Rajasthan batsmen struggled on that pitch, opener Jos Buttler scored a brilliant 82 runs off 58 balls with 9 fours and only six. After scoring 45 runs off 22 balls in the powerplay, the right-handed wicketkeeper completed his half-century in just 27 balls. He stretched that innings longer and secured for a good total on the board before getting stumped out in 17th over.
The 27-year-old scored more than 50% runs in that innings, while the second highest knock in that innings was 22 by Sanju Samson. Buttler’s superb batting effort rescued his team massively in the game.
Also read: Match 40 (RR vs KXIP) – Hits and Flops
Massive batting failure
Apart from the opening batsman KL Rahul, none of other KXIP batsmen provided any minimum fight during chasing the 159-run target. While KL Rahul batted brilliantly and remained unbeaten till the end by scoring 95 runs off 70 balls with 11 fours and 2 sixes, no.8 batsman Marcus Stoinis was the only other KXIP batsman to reach the double-digit mark as he scored non-effective 11 runs off 16 balls.
As a result, KXIP’s wickets were falling regularly as their only solid partnership was 46-run for the seventh wicket between Rahul and Stoinis. Slowly and steadily KXIP was moving away from their target as Rahul didn’t get enough help from the other end.
