IPL 2020: RR Ends The Winning Streak Of KXIP

There are only six games left in the league stages and we are yet to know the three sides which can qualify for the playoffs. Tonight, Rajasthan Royals made the things a bit more interesting by winning against Kings XI Punjab by seven wickets. They have chased a massive target of 186 with ease and broke the winning streak of Punjab.

After winning the toss, Rajasthan’s captain Steve Smith chose to bowl first. They got an early breakthrough as Jofra Archer got the wicket of Mandeep Singh in the first over itself. Then, KL Rahul (46) and Chris Gayle (99) didn’t give a chance for Rajasthan to take another early wicket. They made a huge partnership of 120 runs for the second wicket. When things were going out of the hand, Ben Stokes gave a breakthrough by taking the wicket of Rahul. After that, Gayle got good support from Nicholas Pooran (22). Once again, Stokes came into break this partnership and he did the job by scalping the wicket of Pooran. Gayle was hitting some big hits and it was a delight to watch that vintage style of him. Everyone thought he would complete the century but Archer dismissed him on 99 in the last over. In the end, Punjab made a huge total of 185/4 in 20 overs.

Rajasthan also got a stunning start while chasing this total. Ben Stokes (50) played a great game from the first over itself and started hitting every ball that came to him. As a result, he completed his half-century right in the powerplay. He was dismissed right after completing his 50. Then Uthappa (32) and Samson (48) made a partnership of 51 runs and had put Rajasthan in a good position to chase the total. Finally, Murugan Ashwin broke this partnership by scalping the wicket of Uthappa. In a gap of few overs, Samson got run-out when he was looking good. But RR didn’t lose momentum as Steve Smith and Jos Buttler have completed the chase with quite comfortably. They helped Rajasthan in scoring 186/3 in 17.3 overs. Punjab will take on Chennai Super Kings and RR will face Kolkata Knight Riders in their respective last league matches on November 1.