IPL 6: Rajasthan thrash Kings XI to climb to second spot in table

Rajasthan Royals 147/2 (Rahane 59*) beat Kings XI 145/6 (Shaun Marsh 77, Gilchrist 42) by 8 wickets.

For scorecard and ball by ball details click here.

This was an important match for Kings XI Punjab. They desperately needed a win to stay in contention for play-offs. Gilchrist was back in the side as captain. Together with Shaun Marsh, Gilchrist added 102 runs for the second wicket in 13 overs. But Rajasthan clawed their way back following the wicket of Gilchrist as they restricted Kings XI to 145 runs and finally chased it comfortably.

This surface was completely different as it was on the slower-side. The spinners were getting lot of purchase from the wicket. Chandila, typically, got the wicket of Mandeep Singh in the first over. He bowled his four overs within the first eight overs. He was accurate with his line and kept Marsh and Gilchrist guessing. Shaun Marsh and Gilchrist counter-attacked the Rajasthan bowlers as soon as Chandila finished his spell.

Gilchrist targeted Faulkner and Shaun Marsh targeted Trivedi in their initial spells to up the ante. They paced their innings well and at one stage they looked like setting a formidable total. Cooper was outstanding in his bowling as his pace variations deceived Kings XI batsmen. Gilchrist was caught and bowled in the 13th over, and Shaun Marsh was bowled in the 19th over. The wicket of Gilchrist slowed down things for the Kings XI and they were never able to boost the run-rate. David Hussey’s poor run continued and Miller was once again required to put in a big performance. Miller didn’t make impact with the bat today as he was also deceived by a slower-delivery of Cooper. The 19th over of Kings XI yielded just 3 runs and that put the Royals on track.

The wicket was on the slower-side and it aided spinners. Kings XI spinners weren’t accurate with their line and length and as a consequence, they succumbed to a big defeat. Though Bipul Sharma got the wicket of Dravid in the second over, Kings XI were not able to control the innings. Rahane and Watson steadied the ship and made it little bit easier for Rajasthan Royals. They slowed down in the middle period as ball was gripping off the surface. But Watson’s partnership with Rahane helped Rajasthan to post a comprehensive win over Kings XI Punjab. Rahane stayed till the end and took Rajasthan to a comfortable victory by smashing the Kings XI bowlers in the last five overs. They climb to the number two spot and have eventually booked their place in the play-off.