Rajasthan Royals, RR, Steve Smith, Sanju Samson
Steve Smith and Sanju Samson [Photo-IPL]

A brutal assault by Ben Stokes, poetic violence by Sanju Samson, and 360-degree strokeplay by skipper Steve Smith has helped Rajasthan Royals [RR] trump Chris Gayle’s magnificent 99 and break Kings XI Punjab’s [KXIP] five-match winning streak on Friday.

Chasing 186, Rajasthan Royals got off to a smashing start thanks to a certain Benjamin Stokes, who looked as if he had picked up from where he had left against Mumbai Indians.

Stokes teed from right from the very outset, carting the KXIP bowling attack- pace or spin- to all corners of the ground in the powerplay.

KXIP, RR
Ben Stokes [Photo-IPLT20]
Whether it was the spin of Murugan Ashwin or the pace of Shami or Jordan, Stoked was bloody ruthless in his strokeplay as he teed his way to 24-ball 50. The party finally ended for Stokes after he smashed Jordan straight to mid-off in the 6th over, giving KXIP a much-needed reprieve.

Like Ben Stokes, Sanju Samson also picked up from where he had left in the last game. The right-hander raced his way to a 12-ball 21 with the help of two fours and a six as RR rampaged their way to 1-91 in 9 overs.

KXIP, RR
Sanju Samson [Photo-IPLT20]
Samson displayed his typical flamboyance as did Robin Uthappa, who took the score past 100 with an audacious slog-sweep in the 11th over before eventually falling on the next delivery while trying to do an encore against Murugan Ashwin.

But Samson [48 off 25 balls] continued to inflict more pain on KXIP bowlers. The stylish batsman stroked Ashwin for a four and a six in the 13th over to reduce the equation to 54 off 42 balls. Samson was looking absolutely unstoppable and ultimately, it took a special fielding effort from Suchith, who threw a direct-hit from point, leaving the batsman short of the crease.

KXIP, RR
Steve Smith [Photo-IPL]
With 40 needed off the last 30 balls, KXIP needed their pace duo of Shami and Jordan to come up with game-changing performance. Jordan bowled five brilliant deliveries in the 16th over before he pitched one right in the slot for Jos Buttler to heave it over wide long-on. Steve Smith [31 not-out off 20 balls] followed it up with an audacious lofted extra-cover drive and a nonchalant flick for consecutive boundaries on the first two deliveries of the next over by Mohammed Shami before following it with a scoop over short fine-leg for another boundary. The pain didn’t end for Shami as Buttler pulled him for the 4th boundary of the over to effectively kill the run-chase.

Chris Gayle’s record-breaking 99 helped KXIP post 4-185 in 20 overs

KXIP, RR
Jofra Archer after dismissing Mandeep Singh [Photo-IPL]

Earlier, Jofra Archer once again gave a brilliant start to Rajasthan Royals. The tearaway fast bowler struck on the sixth ball of his first over courtesy a rip-snorter of delivery to Mandeep Singh, who could only awkwardly fend at it, only to see Ben Stokes complete a brilliant diving catch at short-point.

Chris Gayle smoked Varun Aaron for a six in the 4th over. Aaron very nearly got the ‘Universe Boss’ in the same over after the latter mistimed the pull straight in the air, only for Riyan Parag to shell it. KL Rahul, on the other hand, stroked a sumptuous boundary to become the first player to stroke 600+ runs this season.

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The reprieve that Gayle got proved to be costly for Kartik Tyagi in particular as the southpaw smashed him for a couple of boundaries and a six in the 5th over. KL Rahul smoked Varun Aaron for a monstrous six over square-leg, one that would have been a six on any ground in the world. Rahul then flicked Aaron for a boundary to ensure that KXIP made full use of the powerplay, finishing it with the score reading: 1-53.

Gayle continued to tee off after the batting powerplay, smashing the likes of Shreyas Gopal, Beh Stokes for a six and a four in the next two overs to race his way to a 24-ball 41. Rahul continued to showcase his class with an audacious inside-out stroke against Kartik Tyagi for a six as KXIP reached 1-81 in 10 overs.

KXIP, RR, Chris Gayle
Chris Gayle [Photo-BCCI/IPL]
Gayle stroked his second consecutive 50 of the season with a six thanks to a slog-sweep off Tewatia before getting yet another reprieve after Tewatia made a mess of a skier only for the ball to fall in no man’s land. While Chris Gayle was teeing off at one end, KL Rahul was slightly circumspect in his approach, especially against Rahul Tewatia.

It, however, did not affect the ‘Universe Boss’ as he continued to smash sixes. KL Rahul eventually fell to Ben Stokes for a 41-ball 46 in the 15th over. Nicholas Pooran joined the crease and he and Gayle then proceeded to just hammer the RR bowlers to all corners of the ground.

Pooran teed into Varun Aaron and Kartik Tyagi for three sixes in his first nine balls before he finally holed out in the deep courtesy of a brilliant catch by Tewatia.

KXIP, RR
Chris Gayle and Jofra Archer [Photo-IPLT20]
Chris Gayle, however, continued with his merry way as he smashed a flat-batted six off Kartik Tyagi to become the first batsman in the history of T20 cricket to smoke 1000 sixes. He followed that up with another in the last over before Jofra Archer cleaned him, leaving him stranded on 99.

Here’s how Twitter reacted to the Rajasthan Royals’ victory over Kings XI Punjab:

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