IPL 2019: RR vs KXIP- Three reasons why KXIP won the match
Kings XI Punjab opened their account in IPL 2019 as they defeated Rajasthan Royals in a tightly contested game at Jaipur. The match was turning with every single over but at the end, the KXIP bowlers held their nerve as they won the game by 14 runs.
Ajinkya Rahane won the toss and asked KXIP to bat first. Batting first, KXIP lost KL Rahul early but then Chris Gayle put up a show as he smashed a 50 which helped KXIP reach the total of 4/184. Dhawal Kulkarni and Jofra Archer were the pick of the bowlers for Rajasthan Royals.
Chasing 185, RR started off brilliantly as Jos Buttler scored another half-century. It seemed as if he would take Rajasthan to victory but his dismissal changed the whole game. He was given out after a debatable 'Mankading' but after his wicket, most of the things went downhill for RR.
They lost wickets in clusters and as a result, fell short of the target by 14 runs. KXIP will be happy that the made a winnings start whereas RR will be disappointed that they lost a home game. So, let’s have a look at three reasons as to why Kings XI Punjab won the match.
#1 Chris Gayle’s blistering knock
Chris Gayle continued his great form as he smashed another half-century for Kings XI Punjab while opening the innings. Gayle took some time initially as he had lost his opening partner KL Rahul pretty early. After taking his time, he took on the bowlers and smashed them to all parts of the park.
He played a terrific innings as he made 79 runs off just 47 balls with eight fours and four sixes. Gayle was well supported by Sarfaraz Khan who played a good knock. Sarfaraz scored 46 runs off just 29 balls with six fours and one big hit. Both the batsmen increased the run-rate in the middle-overs and helped Kings XI Punjab reach a total of 4/184in the given 20 overs. The total turned out to be a bit too much for the Rajasthan Royals. Gayle will look to continue his great form in the upcoming matches.
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