IPL 2018, RR vs KXIP: 5 reasons why Kings XI Punjab lost
On a cool evening in north-west India, Rajasthan Royals were playing Kings XI Punjab for the second time in a span of three days at Sawai Man Singh stadium in Jaipur.
Ajinkya Rahane called the right side of the toss and decided to put some runs on the board. It was a call that paid off as the home team made their way to a tough 158 on a wicket stayed on the slower side.
Chasing 159 on a tricky surface, it was always difficult for the Kings to come back after losing few too many wickets in the powerplay. However, KL Rahul with his 95* kept their hopes alive as he carried his bat once again but no support from the other end meant a loss by 15 runs for the visitors.
Let’s take a look at some of the reasons that propelled a Punjab loss:
#1 Butler’s inning of 82 from 58 deliveries
In what was just his third inning as an opener, Jos Butler was yet again instrumental in his exploits with the bat. The experienced English campaigner laid a perfect foundation for his side to capitalize later on in the innings. He got his side to a splendid start before Punjab staged a late comeback into the game.
His innings of 82 runs from 58 deliveries propelled his side to a comfortable score in the first six overs. It was some clean hitting from the wicket-keeper batsmen that pushed the opposition onto the backfoot early on in the match. It was his 3rd consecutive 50+ score as an opener in this year’s VIVO IPL.