IPL 2020: Rajasthan’s Incredible Chase

Fans got a chance to witness one of the greatest chases in T20 cricket tonight. Rajasthan Royals pulled off an incredible chase against Kings XI Punjab and won their second match of the tournament. They made 226 in 19.3 overs while chasing a total of 223. This is the highest ever total chased in the history of IPL.

After winning the toss, Rajasthan Royals elected to bowl first. Punjab banked on the decision and went berserk right from the beginning. Openers Mayank Aggarwal (106) and KL Rahul (69) looked in great touch and smacked the boundaries in every over. It was a delight to watch them bat. It looks like they are the best opening pair of this season.

Especially, Mayank played brilliant innings and scored his first-ever century in the IPL. Both of them batted for more than 16 overs and made a partnership of 183. Mayank fell in the 17th over and Rahul went back to the pavilion in the 18th over. Punjab then got good little cameos from Maxwell and Nicholas Pooran. By the end of 20 overs, Kings XI Punjab scored a huge total of 223/2.

Rajasthan needed a crazy start to chase this total. However, they got an initial blow as opener Jos Buttler fell in the third over. But Steve Smith (50) and Sanju Samson (85) played an aggressive innings and kept the scoreboard going.

Smith finished his half-century in 26 balls and got out in the bowling of Jimmy Neesham. It then seemed like RR made a huge mistake by sending Rahul Tewatia instead of Robin Uthappa. Tewatia failed to get going and struggled a lot in the crease. This made Samson take a risk and hit the shots all the time. When he looked dangerous, Shami removed him with a thumping delivery.

Once Samson got out, Tewatia (53) gave a sudden shock to Punjab by hitting five sixes in the 18th over. That over changed the match and then Rajasthan cruised to the victory by scoring 226/6 in 19.3 overs. Rajasthan will next face Kolkata Knight Riders on September 30. KXIP will take on MI on October 1.