Led by KL Rahul, Kings XI Punjab bags an essential win by six wickets against Rajasthan Royals on Sunday in Indore. The win meant they now have 12 points from nine games and are a step closer to qualifying for the playoff spots.
Having won the toss and chose to field first, Kings XI Punjab were on top at the beginning. They dismissed both D Arcy Short and Ajinkya Rahane inside the power play overs. However, Jos Buttler and Sanju Samson countered the bowlers and took Rajasthan Royals to a good position.
Once Sanju Samson was removed, things got complicated. Ben Stokes was dismissed to a stunning catch by Manoj Tiwary at the boundary. Soon the downfall continued, as the batting team lost wickets consistently.
A quickfire knock by Shreyas Gopal at the end had propelled Rajasthan Royals to a commendable 152/9 in their 20 overs. Mujeeb Ur Rahman was the star in the bowling picking out three wickets, while others contributed handsomely to the cause.
Asked to chase 153 on a tricky wicket, Kings XI Punjab lost Chris Gayle and Mayank Agarwal quickly. But Lokesh Raul and Karun Nair held the innings together and took the odd risks. Soon after Nair and Axar Patel went back to hut, Rahul upped his game with increasing run rate.
He along with Marcus Stoinis helped Kings XI Punjab to win an important win against Rajasthan Royals.
Rahul scored an impressive 84* runs from just 54 balls and accelerated incredibly in his last ten balls to take his side to a comfortable win.
Here is how Twitter Reacted to the game
Just Chris Gayle things at backward point.#IPL2018 #KXIPvRR pic.twitter.com/2DAkSMg2wz
— Cricbuzz (@cricbuzz) May 6, 2018
KL Rahul has been class apart today!
— Ashwin (@AshwinR94) May 6, 2018
https://twitter.com/CricketGuru15/status/993187628081070085
Indore crowd seem to be booing. Most likely stadium food vendors have run out of Sev and Namkeen. #IPL
— cricBC (@cricBC) May 6, 2018
Well played KL Rahul when the team needs blazing start he can score 14 balls half century and when the team needs responsible innings he can score 44 balls half century…
— Broken Cricket (@BrokenCricket) May 6, 2018
The surprise element of this IPL… pitches. Even the Indore track hasn't been a road!! It has helped SRH.
— Bharath Ramaraj (@Fancricket12) May 6, 2018
The thing about that catch is that it will go down in the records as ‘Caught Manoj Tiwary’.?#IPL2018
— Sanjay Manjrekar (@sanjaymanjrekar) May 6, 2018
3rd umpire has been acting like your significant half deciding what to wear when she has to meet her old friends. #ipl
— cricBC (@cricBC) May 6, 2018
Attacked with spinners against overseas batsmen. Ashwin’s captaincy is all about an expert trusted to do his job…that’s what you get in Mutual Funds too. Expert Advice. #FundaSahiHai #KXIPvRR #IPL @MFSahiHai
— Aakash Chopra (@cricketaakash) May 6, 2018
Mayank Agarwal did all the hard work to convert that catch to wicket…
But scorecard says
One catch to Manoj Tiwary
— Broken Cricket (@BrokenCricket) May 6, 2018
The amount of faith shown in Darcy makes for interesting reading…I strongly feel that if they’d shown the same faith in Klassen, he would’ve given better results. #KXIPvRR #IPL
— Aakash Chopra (@cricketaakash) May 6, 2018
Will batters be able to pick Mujeeb? Doesn't look it will happen in this #VIVOIPL2018 #KXIPvRR
— Lisa Sthalekar (@sthalekar93) May 6, 2018
Great bowling @Mujeeb_Zadran @IPL ?? pic.twitter.com/upnuzXkMzs
— Mohammad Nabi (@MohammadNabi007) May 6, 2018
3 Wickets In 4 Balls. That's A Game Turning Performance. Mujeeb Ur Rahman Has Snatched This Game From Rajasthan Royals Into Kings XI's Den. ??#KXIPvRR #KXIPvsRR
— Sir Jadeja fan (@SirJadeja) May 6, 2018
Poor Stokes. He was finally looking in fine touch today and then he succumbs to such brilliance from Mayank Agarwal.
— Shubh Aggarwal (@shubh_chintak) May 6, 2018
#KXIPvRR
You might not see another such thing forever in life "Gayle dive in to take the catch" pic.twitter.com/nx5AqA9Du7— Ye Koi ***** Hai Kya? (@intolerant_monk) May 6, 2018