Rajasthan Royals v Kings XI http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Punjab-c833 – Indian Premier League 5 – Match recap – Royals clinch 31-run win
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Rajasthan-c837 Royals to an easy 31-run win against the Kings XI Punjab in the 4th match of the Indian Premier League, season 5, at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur on April 6.
The Kings XI won the toss and chose to field, enabling the Royals to establish the match-winning partnership between captain http://www.senore.com/Cricket/R-Dravid-c2229 (28) and the brilliant Rahane, who scored a spectacular 98 off 66 deliveries. The 77-run opening stand in 10 overs put
the Royals comfortably in the lead, and the loss of the skipper off http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Harmeet-Singh-c1533 was fairly inconsequential, as his 23-year-old partner proved to be the rock that anchored the Royals’ innings.
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Brad-Hodge-c1184 (21) joined Rahane for a 3rd wicket 75-run partnership, which saw their side to 162 before the 37-year-old right-hander was eliminated
by http://www.senore.com/Cricket/James-Faulkner-c1643.
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Kevon-Cooper-c71194 provided an extra burst at the end, scoring 11 off a mere 3 deliveries
before the 20 overs came to an end, with the Royals setting their opponents a stiff target of 192.
The Kings XI bowling attack was insipid and ineffective, with Faulkner remaining the highest wicket-taker – he claimed two scalps, but at the expense of an astonishing 41 runs in just 4 overs, registering a dismal economy rate of 10.25. Chawla and Harmeet
Singh managed one scalp each, while http://www.senore.com/Cricket/P-Kumar-c2143 was particularly disappointing, conceding 42 runs in 4 overs, without a single wicket to his name.
Skipper http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Paul-Valthaty-c2170 (13) stepped up to open the Kings XI’s innings, but only managed to bring their side up to 36 before the captain fell in the 5th over, off a delivery by Amit Singh.
The remaining bating lineup crumbled in disarray as Cooper struck thrice in the early overs, demolishing the rest of the top order. Valthaty was dismissed in the 6th over, followed swiftly by http://www.senore.com/Cricket/SE-Marsh-c2470, who managed to contribute only 7 runs
before a slower delivery by Cooper forced the 28-year-old Aussie to play a flick shot which was comfortably caught by Dravid. http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Abhishek-Nayar-c902 was also dismissed in the 8th over by the 23-year-old pacer from Trinidad, after a contribution of a mere
10 runs.
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Siddharth-Trivedi-c2526 in the 12th over, the Kings XI found themselves at a precarious 86
for 5.
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Ankeet-Chavan-c1051, leaving their side at 127 for 7.
The tail-enders were unable to rise to the challenge, and after Chawla (10) and Kumar (10) were sent back to the pavilion by Cooper (the former clean-bowled and the latter run out), the Kings XI found themselves at 160 by the end of 20 overs, with Faulkner
(11) and Harmeet Singh (1) not out at the crease – 31 runs short of the target.
Cooper remained the deadliest element of the Royals’ bowling attack, taking 4 for only 26 in 4 overs. Chavan claimed 2, while http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Amit-Singh-c44048 and Trivedi took one wicket each.
Rahane was awarded Player of the Match for his brilliant innings, and the Royals’ victory earned them two points.
The Royals will be playing their next match against the Kolkata Knight Riders on April 8 at the same venue, while the Pune http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Andrew-Symonds-c44611 Sahara Stadium on the same date.
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