Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) faced Rajasthan Royals (RR) in the 50th match of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020 at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi on Friday (October 30).

Asked to bat first, KXIP posted 185/4 in 20 overs on the back of Chris Gayle’s 63-ball 99. KL Rahul (46 off 41 balls) and Nicholas Pooran (22 off 10 balls) also made notable contributions with the bat.

Jofra Archer was the stand-out bowler for RR, claiming 2 wickets by conceding 26 runs in his four overs. All-rounder Ben Stokes (2-32) also chipped in with a couple of scalps.

In reply, Royals got off to a flier as Stokes smashed 50 in just 26 deliveries and forged a 60-run opening stand with Robin Uthappa.

After Stokes’ dismissal, Sanju Samson stepped up to the plate and added 51 runs for the second wicket with Uthappa to put RR in a commanding position.

Even though Uthappa (30 off 23 balls) and Samson (48 off 25 balls) got out in quick succession, Rajasthan didn’t lose the plot as the experienced duo of Steve Smith and Jos Buttler were there to guide them.

Smith (31* off 20 balls) and Buttler (22* off 11 balls) stitched an unbroken 41-run partnership off 19 balls to take Rajasthan over the line with 7 wickets in hand and 15 balls to spare.

Cricket experts lauded the resolve of Rajasthan Royals batsmen while chasing a daunting total.

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