IPL 8 KXIP vs RR as it happened: Royals beat Kings XI by 26 runs

The scores on this page are delayed by 15 minutes Rajasthan Royals win by 26 runs: Johnson, Bailey and Axar all fall as Rajasthan Royals cruise to a brilliant win after posting a score which was just about par on this pitch. Bailey’s wicket was the most memorable though as chasing fielder Southee just flicked it back in time before crossing the ropes to the training Karun Nair, who took it low to his right — showcasing phenomenal teamwork in the outfield. After 15 overs: Five fours and a six come in these last five overs — but so does the wicket of David Miller, just when he had started to get going. Dhawal Kulkarni surprises him with a bouncer and Miller gets a leading edge trying to steer it to the leg-side. The ball eventually ends up at third man where Faulkner doesn’t make a mistake. KXIP 104-5. After 10 overs: Another run out involving Samson as his direct hit removes Murali Vijay from the equation. The India opener scores 37 off 32 balls but is sent back by another brilliant piece of fielding. Kings have just scored 22 runs in 30 balls — and they need boundaries — lots of boundaries. It’s 66-4 now. After 5 overs: Sehwag, Saha and Maxwell are all in the hut as RR make a stunning start to defending their total. Sehwag is gone for a golden duck, caught behind chasing a delivery outside off — Saha follows after trying to take a run off a ball that had run down the leg side to the wicket-keeper Samson (who got a direct hit), and Maxwell is dismissed as Southee takes a lovely catch at full stretch in the covers. KXIP 46-3. ——– End of RR’s innings at 162-7: RR managed to score 52 runs in the last five overs as Hooda and Faulkner took the attack to Kings XI’s bowlers after a stuttering start. Faulkner ends as top-scorer for the Royals with 46 off 33 and Hooda chipped in with 30 off 15 balls to stop the visiting team from slipping. Anureet Singh the pick of the bowlers with figures of 3/23 in four overs. After 15 overs: Johnson removes Binny and Smith in his brilliant spell - and the Royals seemed very much on the backfoot until Deepak Hooda started firing on all cylinders. The youngster bashed two sixes off Karanveer’s over and he and Faulkner have stitched up a quick 35-run stand to take RR to 110-5. The next five overs will be crucial. After 10 overs: Mitchell Johnson starts off and even though the batsman couldn’t touch the ball in his first over, he did give away eight extras (five wides and three LBs). The ball is still moving a lot — but Smith especially has got his eye in and Stuart Binny looks quite confident too. A four each from both players in the 10th over off Karanveer is proof of that. RR 74-3. After 5 overs: Rajasthan Royals have lost Rahane and Samson early — the former uncharacteristically skying it to mid-off after attempting a shot over the leg-side and the latter LBW by Sandeep Sharma, who is getting incredible movement and swing off a green pitch. Steve Smith and Karun Nair are in the middle now — but even a top batsman like Smith looked clueless when his on-drive attempt took and edge and went towards third-man. Fine bowling. RR are 20-2. Teams Kings XI Punjab: Sehwag, Vijay, Maxwell, Miller, Bailey, Saha, Johnson, Patel, A Singh, Sandeep, K Singh Rajasthan Royals XI: Rahane, Samson, Smith, Nair, Hooda, Binny, Faulkner, Morris, Southee, Kulkarni, Tambe Toss Kings XI Punjab have won the toss and will bowl first. By the way, no Shane Watson for Rajasthan Royals. Steve Smith will lead the side. Preview: Rajasthan Royals, who won the inaugural Indian Premier League (IPL) title, have always been a side that punches above its weight and it will not be any different in the eighth edition. Dravid, along with head coach Paddy Upton have made utilization of talent a key agenda and in the process they have created stars out of the blue - Ajinya Rahane, Stuart Binny, Sanju Samson and Pravin Tambe being the prime examples. [caption id=“attachment_2192523” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Ajinkya Rahane in action for RR during IPL 7. BCCI[/caption] The team has struggled in the second, third, fourth and fifth editions of the tournament. But in 2013, Dravid inspired the team to a play-off berth that enabled them to play in the 2013 champions League T20 where they ended up being the runners-up. In the last edition, they finished fifth place and this time they must be hungry to improve upon that as they kick off their campaign against last year’s runners up Kings XI Punjab. Kings XI have retained their core team from last year and will be looking to generate the sort of momentum that took them to the finals where Kolkata Knight Riders beat them. George Bailey’s take on the match George Bailey, skipper of Kings XI Punjab – on Thursday said his team has been training hard and aims to get off to a positive start against Rajasthan Royals in the Indian Premier League (IPL) when the two sides clash here on Friday. “It’s been a quick preparation for a lot of our guys. But the whole squad has been playing a lot of cricket. We are ready for the new season challenge. We had a very good season last year but it’s time for us to regroup and move forward and focus on this year," Bailey was quoted as saying by iplt20.com. Their first opposition of the season, Royals have a strong line-up led by Shane Watson. Asked about their strategy to tackle Australians James Faulkner and Steve Smith, who come into IPL riding on good form, Bailey replied: “The beauty of that is we have got a lot of Australians too and have lot of faith in each other. So we can target specific areas that we can try and exploit any weakness, if they have.” Kings XI have their own demolition man in Glenn Maxwell. Speaking about the big-hitting batsman, Bailey said: “His role hasn’t really changed from last season. He had a fabulous season for us and that’s why he is an important player as he comes into every facet of the game. He is obviously hard for other teams to pin down, probably has a wider range of shots than anyone else in the world." (IANS)