IPL 2020 Highlights, KXIP vs RR Match, Full Cricket Score: Royals win by 7-wickets, keep playoff hopes alive

Man of the match: Ben Stokes

“I think when you are in a position like we are, you have nothing to lose. We are still hanging in. That is pleasing. The sixes are always pleasing. I went in the same mentality like I did against MI. Wanted to go hard with the new ball. We had a decent break from the last game. We normally have a quick turnaround. I cut down on the bowling part in the break to remain fresh.”

Steve Smith, Rajasthan Royals captain: It would’ve been nice to have a few more wins in the middle, but I think we’re peaking at the right time. We still need to do a bit to make it to the playoffs. We are starting to play some good cricket. We do different plans for who gets out and that went well today. Gave Jos a chance to bat in the middle at five and score some runs, so that’s a positive. (On Stokes) The last two games, he’s been exceptional hasn’t he. He’s a class player. Did a great job with the ball tonight. One of the best in the world. Sanju started off well in the tournament, but didn’t get going in the middle. I thought he played really well tonight. Couple of games tomorrow, and we’re going to watch those results closely.

Post-match talk: KXIP skipper KL Rahul

“It was a horrible toss to lose with the amount of dew later on. It did get very very easy to bat on. The wrist spinners want the ball to be dry and get some grip off the surface but with the dew it got really difficult. On a sticky wicket, as it was when we batted, this was not a bad total. We didn’t bowl badly, but we need to learn to bowl better with the wet ball. The dew has been unpredictable. We spoke to the groundsman, and he said there was no dew last game. You can’t prepare for it, but you have to be able to adapt to that. It has been the kind of season where nothing has come easy. We have had to work hard for every point. No surprise that it has come down to the last game.”

After 17.3 overs,Rajasthan Royals 186/3 ( Steven Smith (C) 31 , Jos Buttler 22)

Rajasthan Royals win by 7 wickets with 15 balls to spare! Buttler smashes the ball straight over the bowler’s head for a maximum off the second, and brings the equation down to just one with a brace off the third. Jordan then concedes a wide off the fourth to bring the match to a rather anti-climactic end, as Steve Smith’s men keep their campaign alive!

SIX! Straight as an arrow! That’s Jos Buttler at his lethal best! Full from Jordan, and his England teammate times his hit perfectly! RR 183/3; need 3 to win off 16

After 17 overs,Rajasthan Royals 175/3 ( Steven Smith (C) 30 , Jos Buttler 14)

Shami returns to the attack, but is hammered for runs as Smith brings the equation down to less than run-a-ball with three hits to the fence off the first four delivery. The skipper nearly gets run out off the fifth while scampering off for a quick single. Buttler ends the over with a heave towards the vacant midwicket boundary for a four. 19 off the over, with Rajasthan nearly at the finish line now, needing 11 off 18.

FOUR! Full from Shami, and Buttler heaves this towards the vacant midwicket fence to end the 17th over with a boundary! RR 175/3

FOUR! Paddle over short fine leg, has Smith! The Aussie is toying with Shami in this over! RR 170/3

FOUR! Back-to-back hits to the fence for the RR captain, and he’s brought the equation down to run-a-ball now, smacking the ball towards the square-leg boundary this time! RR 164/3

FOUR! Full from Shami, Smith lofts this over mid off for a boundary! RR 160/3

After 16 overs,Rajasthan Royals 156/3 ( Steven Smith (C) 15 , Jos Buttler 10)

Jordan returns to the attack as the match enters its business end. Buttler punches the ball through extra cover for a brace off the first delivery. The England all-rounder gives away just two runs off the next four deliveries, and just when it seems he’ll walk away with a superb over, Buttler sends the ball sailing over long on for a maximum. RR need 30 off 24.

SIX! Buttler ruins what was turning out to be a superb over for Jordan, the hoick off the slower delivery sending the ball flying over long on! RR 156/3

Another timeout signalled at the end of the 15th over.

After 15 overs,Rajasthan Royals 146/3 ( Steven Smith (C) 15 , Jos Buttler 1)

Punjab keep their chances in this game alive as a direct hit by substitute fielder Suchith results in Samson falling short of his half-century by just two runs. Rahul, however, caves in to a request for a review from Bishnoi after an unsuccessful appeal for lbw against Buttler. Wasted one, as the ball’s pitching outside leg, with the captain never looking convinced with that one. Good over from Bishnoi to close out his quota though, giving away just two runs for the runout to sign off with 0/27. Rajasthan need another 40 off 30 with seven wickets in hand — what should still be an easy chase for them.

KXIP have taken 37 wickets in death overs in IPL – the most by any team.

OUT! Sanju Samson falls short of the crease at the striker’s end after responding to a call from Smith for a quick single as Rajasthan lose a wicket against the run of play! Superb throw by substitute Suchith at point that results in a direct hit. RR 145/3

Samson run out (sub (Suchith)) 48(25)

After 14 overs,Rajasthan Royals 144/2 ( Sanju Samson (W) 47 , Steven Smith (C) 15)

A dot and a single off the first two deliveries of the over as Jordan returns to the attack. The ball deflects off Samson’s pad off the third, but is signalled a boundary by the umpire as the batsman. Fine save by Arshdeep near deep backward point off the fourth to restrict Samson to a brace. Single off the fifth, followed by a boundary to Smith off the last ball. RR need 42 off 36 with eight wickets in hand.

FOUR! Low full toss from Jordan, and Smith gets an outside edge that sends the ball racing away to the third man fence. Too quick even for an agile Arshdeep standing a little square at the third man fence. RR 144/2

FOUR! Nudged away through the gap between the keeper and short fine leg by Samson as he inches closer to his half-century. RR 137/2

After 13 overs,Rajasthan Royals 132/2 ( Sanju Samson (W) 40 , Steven Smith (C) 10)

Single off each of the first two deliveries as Ashwin enters his final over. Smith edges the ball wide of the keeper, with Arshdeep doing well at short third man to save a run or two — or even three — for his side with a dive to his left. There is little the fielders can do in the last two deliveries of the over as Samson muscles the ball over deep midwicket and through cover to collect a six and a four respectively. Ashwin signs off with figures of 1/43, as Rajasthan are left with 54 off 42.

FOUR! And now a boundary off the very next delivery, guiding the ball towards the cover fence, as Samson brings the required run-rate down with the last two hits. RR 132/2

SIX! Stand-and-deliver from Samson as he rocks back and launches the half tracker from Ashwin over deep midwicket! RR 128/2

After 12 overs,Rajasthan Royals 119/2 ( Sanju Samson (W) 29 , Steven Smith (C) 8)

Smith works the ball behind square on the leg side for a brace off the first delivery, and follows it up with a well-timed slog-sweep down the ground to collect a boundary off the next. Bishnoi keeps it tight thereafter, giving away just a single off the remaining four deliveries. RR need 67 off 48.

FOUR! Smith gets into the act right away! Gets down on one knee and slaps the ball down the ground towards the wide long on fence! RR 118/2

After 11 overs,Rajasthan Royals 112/2 ( Sanju Samson (W) 29 , Steven Smith (C) 1)

Ashwin back into the attack. Excited appeal for caught-behind by Rahul after an attempted reverse-hit by Uthappa off the third, but the umpire’s not interested. Uthappa crouches low and smacks the ball over cow corner off the fourth to collect his second six, but perishes off the next delivery while attempting to make it consecutive hits over the fence, this time getting caught by Pooran at deep midwicket to depart for 30. Skipper Steve Smith walks out to bat next with his side needing 74 off 54 with 8 wickets in hand.

OUT! Uthappa looks to make it back-to-back hits over the fence, but this time he fails to get the distance as Pooran collects an easy catch at deep midwicket. RR 111/2

Uthappa c Pooran b Ashwin 30(23)

SIX! Uthappa crouches forward and smacks the ball clean, clearing the cow corner fence! RR 111/1

After 10 overs,Rajasthan Royals 103/1 ( Robin Uthappa 23 , Sanju Samson (W) 28)

Bishnoi starts off his second over with a wide down the leg side. Samson brings up the team hundred with his second six of the innings, launching the ball into the orbit off a loopy delivery from the leg-spinner off the third ball. 10 off the over. Rajasthan are coasting at the halfway mark in what was supposed to be a challenging run chase.

SIX! Loopy delivery from Bishnoi along off, and Samson launches the ball high in the air over long off, getting enough distance to comfortably clear the fence. RR 101/1

After 9 overs,Rajasthan Royals 93/1 ( Robin Uthappa 21 , Sanju Samson (W) 21)

Arshdeep given another shot in the middle-overs phase, although he starts off on an expensive note as a back-of-length delivery is smashed over the midwicket fence by Samson. Single off each of the next four delivery, before the Rajasthan keeper-bat steers a full delivery towards the third man fence for his second four. Timeout signalled at the end of the over.

FOUR! Full outside off, Samson simply uses the pace on offer to redirect it wide of the keeper towards the third man fence. RR 93/1

SIX! Back-of-length from Arshdeep, and Samson’s happy to send the ball sailing over the midwicket fence with a solid pull! RR 85/1

After 8 overs,Rajasthan Royals 79/1 ( Robin Uthappa 19 , Sanju Samson (W) 9)

Spin from both ends now as Ravi Bishnoi is brought into the attack. Uthappa reverse-sweeps the ball through the gap between backward point and short third man off the last delivery to somewhat ruin what was turning out to be a fine over for the young leg-spinner.

FOUR! Reverse-swept into the gap between backward point and short third man by Uthappa off Bishnoi! Superb placement by the veteran! RR 79/1

After 7 overs,Rajasthan Royals 71/1 ( Robin Uthappa 13 , Sanju Samson (W) 7)

A much better over for Murugan Ashwin after going for 16 runs in his first, giving away just six off this one as Uthappa and Samson keep the scoreboard ticking through singles after the field spreads out.

After 6 overs,Rajasthan Royals 66/1 ( Robin Uthappa 10 , Sanju Samson (W) 5)

Chris Jordan introduced into the attack. Stokes brings up his 2nd IPL fifty off just 24 balls with his third six of the innings, clearing long off this time. Jordan, however, gets rid of his England teammate two balls later as a Stokes miscue results in a simple catch to Hooda at mid off. Samson walks out to bat next, and collects his first boundary off the last delivery of the over. Solid start for Rajasthan as they collect 66 runs from the powerplay.

FOUR! Samson was offered the width, and he responds with a well-timed cut behind point! RR 66/1

Chris Jordan this IPL:

First four matches: 1 wicket
Next four matches: 7 wickets (Including Stokes’ wicket)

OUT! Stokes departs just two balls after bringing up his half-century as he England teammate Chris Jordan gets the breakthrough! Looks to clear another full delivery over mid off, but doesn’t get any timing, resulting in a simple catch for Hooda inside the circle. RR 60/1

Stokes c Hooda b Jordan 50(26)

SIX! What a way for Ben Stokes to bring up his second IPL half-century, taking just 24 deliveries to get to the milestone! Jordan bowls full and along off at the start of his spell, and Stokes has no problem lofting this over long off! RR 60/0

After 5 overs,Rajasthan Royals 54/0 ( Robin Uthappa 9 , Ben Stokes 44)

Different end for Shami now. A single to Uthappa at the start of the over before Stokes drives the ball through the extra cover region to bring up the fifty partnership with Uthappa off just 26 deliveries. Uthappa nearly perishes in the last delivery as the ball lands just short of Jordan at mid on after a mistimed pull. Six from the over.

FOUR! Creamed through the gap between extra cover and mid off! Stokes brings up the fifty stand with Uthappa in the process! RR 53/0

After 4 overs,Rajasthan Royals 48/0 ( Robin Uthappa 8 , Ben Stokes 39)

Spin brought into play by Rahul in the fourth over as he brings Murugan Ashwin into the attack. The leg-spinner starts off with two dots, appealing loudly for an lbw in the first. It is a very forgettable over from thereon, from the bowler’s perspective that is, as Stokes collects a four before smashing consecutive sixes!

SIX! Slog-swept over deep midwicket this time! Back-to-back maximums for Stokes now in addition to the four earlier! RR 48/0

SIX! Full, and in the slot, and Stokes obliges by clearing long on with another majestic strike! RR 42/0

FOUR! Having missed the reverse sweep earlier in the over, Stokes makes up for it this time by guiding the ball over point with impeccable timing. RR 36/0

After 3 overs,Rajasthan Royals 32/0 ( Robin Uthappa 8 , Ben Stokes 23)

Full toss from Arshdeep misses Stokes’ inside edge off the first delivery of the third. He, however, doesn’t miss while pulling a short ball towards the square-leg, nor when nudging a low full toss wide of short fine leg, collecting a boundary on both occasions. 11 from the over. Positive start for Rajasthan.

FOUR! Low full toss angling down leg, Stokes nudges this wide of short fine to collect his second boundary of the over. RR 31/0

FOUR! Majestic pull towards the square-leg fence by Stokes! The England all-rounder got on top of the bounce on that occasion! RR 25/0

After 2 overs,Rajasthan Royals 21/0 ( Robin Uthappa 7 , Ben Stokes 13)

Mohammed Shami, one of the leading wicket-takers this season, bowls from the other end. Leg bye conceded off the first followed by a boundary to Stokes off the second. Stokes tries scooping the ball off the third, but ends up inside-edging the ball onto his helmet grille. Shami switches to round the wicket off the fourth, the angle nearly fetching him a wicket as a mishit by Stokes lands just short of a diving Maxwell at mid on. Single and a six off the last two deliveries.

SIX! Pulled away behind square by Uthappa off Shami! The veteran batsman makes Shami pay the price for erring in line. RR 21/0

FOUR! Second boundary for Ben Stokes in as many overs as he cracks this through cover point with superb timing! RR 14/0

After 1 over,Rajasthan Royals 9/0 ( Robin Uthappa 1 , Ben Stokes 8)

Nine off the first over. Uthappa gets off the mark with a single off the second delivery, which then is followed by back-to-back doubles for Stokes, who ends the over with a four. Meanwhile, Jimmy Neesham and Jagadeesha Suchith have taken the field in place of Chris Gayle and Mandeep Singh, the former having batted till the last over of the Punjab innings.

FOUR! Stokes takes a couple of steps forward and lofts the ball over mid on to collect the first boundary of the innings! RR 9/0

Gayle’s 6s each year in T20s:

2006 – 4
2007 – 11
2008 – 10
2009 – 21
2010 – 28
2011 – 116
2012 – 121
2013 – 100
2014 – 60
2015 – 135
2016 – 112
2017 – 101
2018 – 73
2019 – 74
2020 – 35

Ben Stokes, who smashed an unbeaten 107 to setup an eight-wicket win for RR over MI in their last outing, walks out to open the innings alongside Robin Uthappa as Rahul gets the KXIP players in a quick huddle before they take their positions on the field. Arshdeep Singh, Punjab’s hero in their come-from-behind victory over SRH, has the ball in hand for the first over.

Putting Gayle’s 1001 T20 sixes into perspective

After 20 overs,Kings XI Punjab 185/4 ( Glenn Maxwell 6 , Deepak Hooda 1)

Kings XI Punjab have scored 185/4 from 20 overs. Chris Gayle departs for 99 runs from 63 balls in the final over and needed a spot-on yorker from Jofra Archer to get the job done in the end. 9 runs from the final over with Maxwell being dropped and Gayle collecting yet another six. Gayle now has two 99 run dismissals – one tonight and one against RCB last season

BOWLED!

Archer comes back with a spot-on yorker and Gayle is bowled. Turns around and notices he’s been castled and throws his bat away in frustration. Or did that bat get out of his grasp. Walks on and shakes hands with Archer. Maxi fetches the bat and Gayle walks away on 99. Good show for 99 from 63 balls

Gayle b Archer 99 (63)

SIX NUMBER EIGHT FOR CHRIS GAYLE! Not the cleanest of strikes. Not off the middle of the bat. But it is enough for Gayle to convert a bouncer from Archer into a maximum. He’s on to 99….

After 19 overs,Kings XI Punjab 176/3 ( Chris Gayle 92 , Glenn Maxwell 5)

Glenn Maxwell is the new batsman in for KXIP and he wastes little time to get among the runs. Welcomed with a beamer by Tyagi, the Aussie guides it to the boundary rope with a well played shot. Gayle, continues with the onslaught, and adds another six to his tally. Bouncer and Gayle powers it to clear the rope with ease. 1000 sixes for Gayle in T20 cricket. 6000 runs in T20s just from sixes. Wow. 14 runs from the over and Tyagi finishes with 0/47

Chris Gayle has now hit 1000 sixes in T20 cricket.

Glenn Maxwell is the new batsman in. And he capitalises on the no ball with a four. Above waist delivery and Maxwell guides it to the short fine leg boundary. Maxi looked to have taken his eyes off the ball there!

After 18 overs,Kings XI Punjab 162/3 ( Chris Gayle 84 , )

14 runs from the Ben Stokes over. A six, a four, a wide and it finishes with a Nicholas Pooran wicket. All happening in that over. Stokes finishes his quota with 2/32

GONE!

Soft decision from the middle is out. Umpires go upstairs as Rahul Tewatia takes a catch on the boundary rope and Pooran walks back. Confirmed. That is a clean catch on the boundary rope and that is a key wicket at the right time. 

Pooran c Rahul Tewatia b Stokes 22(10)

This time Gayle connects and connects well. Stands up tall to a ball that only gets to his waist height and battered towards the deep mid-wicket boundary. Almost finds the fielder, too. And the camera person stationed there needs to move away to stay safe

Rajasthan Royals have only picked up 16 wickets in death overs this IPL — the least among all the teams.

Touch full from Ben Stokes and Gayle capitalises on it. Slog shot, mistimed, but enough to find the gap between long on and deep mid-wicket

After 17 overs,Kings XI Punjab 148/2 ( Chris Gayle 73 , Nicholas Pooran 21)

Kartik Tyagi has improved significantly since his first over where he went for 14 runs. 8 runs and 11 runs since. Starts the over with brilliant yorkers – Gayle defends one and survives on the second. The under edge rolls back but misses the stumps. Had a perfect over until the last ball. Pooran smacks him for a six

It was going perfectly for Tyagi until the last ball. Not a bad ball but such is Pooran’s touch that he gets under the ball by using the width of his crease to smack it over long off

Nicholas Pooran has completed 200 sixes in T20 cricket.

After 16 overs,Kings XI Punjab 137/2 ( Chris Gayle 71 , Nicholas Pooran 12)

Varun Aaron completes his quota with 7 runs. Finishes with 0/40. No wait. A no ball and the buzzer goes. Pooran collects his second six from the over. In what would have been a 7-run over is now 14 run over and Aaron finishes with 0/47.

FREE HIT! No ball from Varun Aaron and the extra delivery has been creamed for a six by Pooran. Short-ish length, outside off and Pooran reads the slower one perfectly to smear it for a maximum

Short and SIX! Varun Aaron with a poor short ball and Pooras been dealing in sixes this IPL. Or at least at this venue. And he adds one more. Wrist at play there in the pull and it has been smacked for a six. Making the most of the pace and the wrist there to guide the ball

After 15 overs,Kings XI Punjab 123/2 ( Chris Gayle 70 , Nicholas Pooran 0)

Ben Stokes breaks the 120-run stand between KL Rahul and Chris Gayle by getting rid of the KXIP skipper. 6 runs and a wicket from the over. A slower delivery from Stokes and KL Rahul doesn’t get the contact he would have liked to find Rahul Tewatia at deep mid-wicket. KL walks for 46 and KXIP are 123/2 after 15 overs.

GONE!

KL Rahul walks. A 129kmph does the job from Stokes. Didn’t get the timing he would have looked for and it is a simple catch for Tewatia. KL Rahul looks at his bat as he walks back. 

KL Rahul c Rahul Tewatia b Stokes 46(41)

More lucky runs from Gayle. He’s got a couple already. Goes for a big hit and ends up getting the edge that not just beats the stumps but the fielder as well. Runs away to the fine leg boundary

Errant line from Jofra Archer and KL Rahul collects a boundary. KL reading the slower one too. No chance for deep mid-wicket to save it

After 13 overs,Kings XI Punjab 107/1 ( KL Rahul (C) (W) 40 , Chris Gayle 62)

Rahul Tewatia with another neat over. Goes for 10 runs as Gayle collects another six but only just. Tewatia invited Gayle to go for it and the KXIP player obliged. Almost found Stokes at long on but cleared the rope in the end

SIX! There’s another six from Gayle’s willow. Just about evades Stokes on the boundary. Mishit from Gayle and it goes all the way

After 12 overs,Kings XI Punjab 97/1 ( KL Rahul (C) (W) 38 , Chris Gayle 54)

A boundary less over. Ben Stokes goes for just six runs from the over. Chris Gayle goes for a powerful hit on the last ball but only finds the fielder on the rope. Singles all around

After 11 overs,Kings XI Punjab 91/1 ( KL Rahul (C) (W) 35 , Chris Gayle 51)

Rahul Tewatia goes for 10 runs from his second over. Chris Gayle brings up his fifty with a six. And a ball later survives. Tewatia, the bowler, went for the catch when Stokes was a better option to dive in and take the catch. RR have let Gayle by twice and that could be a problem later on. It has already though

DROPPED! Chris Gayle is the lucky participant once again. He goes for a big hit again, gets a top edge again and once again two RR fielders are interested in the catch. Tewatia runs back and there is Stokes running in from long on. In the end, Tewatia goes for it but doesn’t judge it well. Gayle survives!

SIX! Chris Gayle brings up his 31st IPL fifty with a maximum. In his arc by Tewatia and this has been smacked over long-on by Gayle. He’s taken 33 balls for this half century

After 10 overs,Kings XI Punjab 81/1 ( KL Rahul (C) (W) 33 , Chris Gayle 43)

Eight runs from the Kartik Tyagi over. He had been smacked around in the last over and it continues in this one too. KL Rahul on the money this time with a glorious shot that collects six runs. Couple of singles elsewhere. At halfway stage in the innings, KXIP are 81/1 with this partnership up to 80 runs now

Kartik Tyagi returns and the flow of runs continues. Fuller length, outside off and KL Rahul in all his glorious touch just creams it over long off. Beautiful shot

KL Rahul’s SR this IPL:

1-6 overs: 123.56
7-15 overs: 122.75
16-20 overs: 181.67

After 9 overs,Kings XI Punjab 73/1 ( KL Rahul (C) (W) 26 , Chris Gayle 42)

Rahul Tewatia replaces Shreyas Gopal with the spin bowling. And a very good start by him. The leg break zipping across to outside off for Gayle and not allowing the KXIP batsman to free his arms. Just the 2 runs from the over

After 8 overs,Kings XI Punjab 71/1 ( KL Rahul (C) (W) 25 , Chris Gayle 41)

Ben Stokes is into the attack after the strategic timeout. Goes for 8 runs from his first. Gayle collects a lucky boundary on the second delivery and then survives an inside edge which doesn’t go anywhere near the stumps but back to wicketkeeper Samson

Ben Stokes with the ball now. Knuckle ball on the second delivery and luck goes Gayle’s way once again. Gets the outside edge, beats Samson and the man up in the circle. Runs off to the third man boundary

After 7 overs,Kings XI Punjab 63/1 ( KL Rahul (C) (W) 23 , Chris Gayle 35)

Shreyas Gopal is introduced into the attack by Steve Smith. First spin bowler and it is going to be tricky against Chris Gayle. Fourth ball in the over and you see why. Gayle gets on one knee and powers it over deep mid-wicket for a six. 10 runs from the over

Chris Gayle has hit 142 sixes in PP overs in IPL. He is the only batsman to hit 100-plus sixes in PP overs IPL.

Spin introduced by Smith in the form of Shreyas Gopal. Fourth ball of the over and Gayle goes after it. And when he does, there is mostly just one outcome. Gets on one leg and thrashes it for a six

After 6 overs,Kings XI Punjab 53/1 ( KL Rahul (C) (W) 21 , Chris Gayle 27)

Varun Aaron goes for 14 runs from his third over. He was smacked for a six earlier by Gayle and KL Rahul now. He hasn’t helped himself by bowling short to KL Rahul. And a full delivery into the slot to close the over out is met with a boundary. Not the best of deliveries and dealt with, crudely

KL Rahul with a four now. Into the slot, full delivery and there to be attacked and the KXIP skipper obliges. Got plenty of bat to it even if the timing was missing.

WHAT. A. SHOT. WHAT AN ABSOLUTE BELTER OF A HIT! Varun Aaron with a short delivery, KL Rahul pulls and pulls it huge. 85 metre six. 614th six this IPL. KL swivels and it’s a six at any ground in the world.

After 5 overs,Kings XI Punjab 39/1 ( KL Rahul (C) (W) 7 , Chris Gayle 27)

Kartik Tyagi comes into the attack and is immediately taken to task by Chris Gayle. 14 runs from the over – two fours and a six. Gayle with a not so welcome for the young bowler. Not all bad balls, just Gayle doing Gayle things.

Relentless hitting. Harsh! Tyagi goes for a yorker now and gets it outside off. Not bad length that. Gayle backs away and just got some bat on it. And that’s enough to find the gap past extra-cover

And now a six! Tyagi is under pressure immediately. Gayle gets ready for a shortish length and clubs it stunningly over mid-wicket

Kartik Tyagi into the attack and isn’t allowed to build some confidence by Chris Gayle. Fullish, into the slot and Gayle smacks it into the long off region for a four

After 4 overs,Kings XI Punjab 25/1 ( KL Rahul (C) (W) 7 , Chris Gayle 13)

Varun Aaron goes for 11 runs from his second over. He could have had a wicket too, just after being slapped for a six by Chris Gayle. Having beaten Parag at deep square leg once for a six, the next ball he survives a catch attempt in the same region. Robin Uthappa vied for the catch too but it is Parag in the end who got his hands to it and let it slip

DROPPED! Chris Gayle looks to go for another boundary but gets a leading edge. This goes many a miles and it is between Parag and Uthappa. Robin travels quite a distance to cut this off but leaves it for Parag who gets his hands to it but doesn’t hold on. Gayle survives!

Is that a four? Is that a six? The umpires check. SIX IT IS! Chris Gayle gets his first maximum of the night. Varun Aaron with a short ball and Gayle pulls and a catch attempt by Parag is unsuccessful

After 3 overs,Kings XI Punjab 14/1 ( KL Rahul (C) (W) 6 , Chris Gayle 4)

Jofra Archer comes into the attack and concedes five runs from the over. Poor delivery on the second ball of the over allows KL Rahul to pick up easy four runs to bring up 600 runs for himself this season. He’s the Orange Cap holder and comfortably so. Archer closes the over out with a fierce bouncer that Gayle lets pass to Samson

KL Rahul brings up 600 runs in IPL 2020 with a boundary. Plenty of width from Archer and KL Rahul latches on to it. Short, outside off and plenty of time to smoke it over point for a four

After 2 overs,Kings XI Punjab 9/1 ( KL Rahul (C) (W) 1 , Chris Gayle 4)

Varun Aaron comes into the attack from the other end. He starts with a wide. A wide miles outside KL Rahul’s leg stump. Proceeds to collect himself and bowls inch-perfect deliveries to Chris Gayle. A 142.3 kmph fourth delivery beats the outside edge and the off stump too. Aaron in disbelief that it didn’t get the stump on its way to Samson. A bouncer over shoulder level and a wide add to the extras. Gayle gets off the mark with lucky boundary

Cramped for room and desperately looking for his first runs, Gayle gets a boundary and there’s plenty of luck in that. Tries to pull, but there’s little gap for him to execute a shot. Ends up getting the thinnest of edges, beats Samson behind, for a boundary

Most wickets in PP overs this IPL:

10 – Trent Boult
9 – Jofra Archer*
7 – Mohammed Shami, Deepak Chahar

After 1 overs,Kings XI Punjab 1/1 ( KL Rahul (C) (W) 1 , Chris Gayle 0)

KL Rahul and Mandeep Singh open for KXIP with Jofra Archer into the attack. One slip in position. Archer starts with a 139kmph yorker that KL defends with a hint of luck. KL gets off the mark on the fourth ball with soft hand shot towards point. And Archer finishes with a wicket! Bouncer into the body for Mandeep to fend first ball and he doesn’t do a good job of it. Gloves it and Stokes takes it inches off the ground. Just the one run from the first over and a wicket too. What a start!

Jofra Archer’s economy rate of 4.69 in PP overs is the best among all the bowlers who have bowled more than one over in PP overs this IPL.

GONE! 

What a start for Rajasthan and Archer! Mandeep Singh is gone for a golden duck. Banged in short, Mandeep takes his eyes off the ball and a poor fend-off sees the ball get up off the gloves. Stokes runs forward and collects it cleanly. 

Mandeep c Stokes b Jofra Archer 0(1)

PLAY!

KL Rahul and Mandeep Singh open for KXIP once again the absence of Mayank Agarwal. Jofra Archer has the ball. Umpires S Ravi and Chris Gaffaney take their place. Off we go!

IPL 2020 bowling statistics:

Total wickets: 550

Wickets for pacers: 347

Wickets for spinners: 166

RR’s four of five wins this IPL came while chasing.

— KXIP have won each of their last five matches this IPL.

— Teams chasing have won four of the last five matches played at Abu
Dhabi this IPL.

— KXIP have a 9-11 win/loss record against RR in IPL.

— If RR lose this match then they will be out of the playoff’s race.

Pre-match talk: Chris Jordan

(Confidence grew after Super Over win earlier in IPL 2020) “I think that’s a fair comment. We had a tough start to the tournament, after that Super Over, we were able to go on a run, string together five wins. Hopefully we can make it six tonight.”

(On Chris Gayle’s influence) “Chris is Chris. He’s a great of our game. He does add the calming influence. He has so much experience, a joy to be around and you can see he really wants it every time he steps out for Kings XI. I wouldn’t expect anything too dissimilar tonight.”

(Facing Jofra Archer and his season) “Jof is a high quality cricketer and human being. Every time you’re surprised, he just steps up and goes another level. He’s shown his class through this IPL. He is a complete cricketer. I’ve always said, sky is the limit for him. He’ll definitely be coming for me if he bowls to me and I’m going to return the same.”

Pre-match talk: Ben Stokes

(What pleased him about the last outing where he scored unbeaten century) “The fact that we won the game! Not a lot to be said on that I guess, to be honest. Obviously the most pleasing thing is to get off the park with a win.”

(How do you keep your focus in this tough time) “It’s different for each individual. Personally I like to train quite a lot whether that be physically or in the nets. It gives me the right mental preparation coming into a game.”

(How’s your fitness?) “I suffered a little back niggle. It was early on, bit frustrating but managed to work through that. If Smudge (Steve Smith), chucks me the ball, I’ll throw a few overs down.”

(On opening bat) “It’s a great place to be able to bat, there’s only two fielders out. With England, there’s a lot of people ahead of me. It’s a tough place to get in as an opening batsman. I’ll try scoring as many runs at the top as I can but it’s a tough place to fill in for England given how many quality players we’ve got.”

(Must-win game for RR) “I guess three or four matches have been must-wins, especially the last one. It gives a lot of confidence chasing down such a total against such a good attack that Mumbai have. Chennai did us a favour last night as well. But all we can do is focus on this game and the next game. Then hopefully things go our way and we can get to the playoffs.”

Captains at the toss

Steve Smith: We will bowl. Don’t know what happens here with the dew, so we are gonna chase tonight. It’s been a bit of up and down tournament for us. It’s been a tough one, we’ve got Varun Aaron in tonight. He brings a lot of pace and comes in for Rajpoot. Hopefully, he can add something for us in the Powerplay.

KL Rahul: I would’ve looked to bowl as well, but looks like a good wicket, so will remain the same for the 40 overs. It’s just everything coming together, the last four or five games, we’ve come really well. It’s good to see and it’s been a complete team effort. We would look to go out there and enjoy ourselves.

KXIP XI: Unchanged

KL Rahul(w/c), Mandeep Singh, Chris Gayle, Nicholas Pooran, Glenn Maxwell, Deepak Hooda, Chris Jordan, Murugan Ashwin, Ravi Bishnoi, Mohammed Shami, Arshdeep Singh

RR XI: Aaron in, Rajpoot out

Playing XI: Robin Uthappa, Ben Stokes, Steven Smith(c), Sanju Samson(w), Jos Buttler, Riyan Parag, Rahul Tewatia, Jofra Archer, Shreyas Gopal, Varun Aaron, Kartik Tyagi

TOSS

KL Rahul and Steve Smith out for the toss. Smith has won the toss and Rajasthan will chase once again

Pitch report

Danny Morrison and Darren Ganga with the pitch report: “This is an important fixture for Rajasthan and Kings XI Punjab. These teams have premised a lot of their batting success on the ability to hit sixes. If you see from both teams, Sanju Samson has 23 sixes, Nicholas Pooran 22 and in just a few matches, Chris Gayle on 15. They will know that this pitch is still good for batting. However the dilemma is that if you compare sixes struck here vs other venues, it’s the lowest. So you want to target the short boundaries here, target bowlers, keep your shape, make sure you’re picking the gaps.”

“Other thing they should keep in mind is the approach from Ben Stokes. The only century to be scored here in Abu Dhabi, and his wagon wheel says only 3 sixes, 14 fours. There is an approach to score runs along the ground. So you can get success too, that’s important.”

Milestones ahead

KL Rahul needs 5 runs to complete 600 runs this IPL season. He is also 37 runs away from completing 2000 IPL runs as wicketkeeper.

Glenn Maxwell requires 1 run to complete 1500 IPL runs.

Shreyas Gopal needs 3 wickets to complete 50 IPL wickets.

Sanju Samson requires 2 dismissals to complete 50 IPL dismissals (43 catches/5 stumpings) for Rajasthan Royals

At this venue

KXIP at this venue: Played 4, Won 2, Lost 2

RR at this venue: Played 7, Won 5, Lost 2

Last meeting between RR and KXIP

In their first meeting in the season, batsmen enjoyed as runs flowed with ease in Sharjah. KXIP scored 223/2 after Mayank Agarwal scored his maiden IPL ton. RR, chasing a mammoth total, looked to be out of it and should have been but for Samson’s half-century and a Rahul Tewatia show .

Form

KXIP are coming into this game on the back of a five-match winning streak which has seen them beat RCB, MI, DC, SRH and KKR. RR’s most recent outing was also a win: 8-wicket triumph over MI with Ben Stokes scoring a ton and ably supported by Sanju Samson to chase down a big 196 run total

IPL points table

Kings XI Punjab are fourth in the standings with 12 points from 12 games. Their win today has a bearing on KKR, SRH and RR’s chances for the last-four. Rajasthan, meanwhile, are seventh with 10 points from as many games.

Qualification scenario

KXIP have two matches remaining and even if they lose tonight, they can still make the playoffs provided things elsewhere go their way. The same cannot be said for RR. Smith-led Rajasthan would be out of running for the playoffs if they lose. Their next game is against KKR in Dubai on 1 Nov.

Hello and welcome to our continued live coverage of the Indian Premier League. Today’s action sees Kings XI Punjab take on Rajasthan Royals. The reverse fixture produced a lot of dramatics and storylines. This one could go the same way considering a lot is riding on this as far as playoff hopes are concerned. KXIP vs RR at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi. Toss at 7 PM IST, first ball at 7.30 PM IST!