As it happened: Royals vs Kings XI at Jaipur

Punjab 160-9 after 20 overs H Singh 1, Faulkner 11 Punjab have run out of time at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur. The target of 192 runs was too much and they fell short by 31 runs. If Rahane starred with the bat for Rajasthan, then Cooper did the damage with the ball….taking four wickets, three catches and a run-out. At this rate, the Royals will surely look forward to their next match. WICKET! Punjab 143-8 after 18.2 overs Piyush Chawla b Cooper 10 (8) Another slow delivery from Cooper, who has been magnificent with the ball and in the field tonight (not to mention his three-ball cameo at the end of Rajasthan’s innings). Piyush Chawla cannot pick that one up and his stumps take a beating. WICKET! Punjab 127-7 after 16 overs Mandeep Singh b Chavan 34 (25) Mandeep has batted well under pressure tonight. After a well placed four at long-on, he decides to come down the track again but misses. ‘Bowled him!’ is the shout from Chavan and this match has virtually been won by Rajasthan. WICKET! Punjab 123-6 after 15.4 overs Bipul Sharma c Rahane b Chavan 18 (13) A slog sweep attempt from the left-hander flies towards deep midwicket and is beautifully taken by Rahane, diving forward from his position. Punjab 112-5 after 13 overs Sharma 9, Singh 28 Well, these guys are showing some fighting spirit- especially Mandeep Singh. He has scored three fours since coming on and they are all in different directions. After picking a spot at long-on, he smacks one towards the offside before finding the ropes at fine leg, who is up in the circle and easy to dissect. The required rate though is close to 15 runs an over and it looks impossible unless these two can go on a six-hitting spree. WICKET! Punjab 86-5 after 11.2 overs David Huseey c Cooper b Trivedi 14 These two batsmen stuck it out before both opted to attack and were rewarded with a boundary each. But the target is just too much and Hussey had to go for a big one. He does so but doesn’t get enough bat on it….easily taken by Cooper at mid-on. That should be game over. WICKET! Punjab 61-4 after 8 overs Shaun Marsh c Dravid b Cooper 7 (6) Abhishek Nayar c Goswami b Cooper 10 (10) Shaun Marsh is undone by an intelligent slower delivery which he tries to flick away. Dravid awaits with a smile on his face, takes the catch and exults. Cooper then inflicts more damage as he keeps inviting Nayar to attack. The batsman is flustered by his inability to hit the ball and eventually traps himself- choosing a sweep and top edging the ball to the keeper. [caption id=“attachment_268597” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“Gilchrist tried to give Punjab a good start but was out in the 5th over. AFP”] [/caption] WICKET! Punjab 44-2 after 5.5 overs Paul Valthaty c Singh b Cooper 13 (15) Valthaty was looking impressive as he cut away a boundary in Cooper’s over which smartly ran away for four. But then Cooper bowls a full toss and the batsman just manages to lash at it…finding Amit Singh at point to rebounds it into the air first before cupping it in his palms. Valthaty asked for a replay citing a high-ball, but is eventually given out. WICKET! Punjab 36-1 in 4.1 overs Adam Gilchrist c Cooper b Singh 27 (18) He did entertain with a well timed four and a huge six in the previous over, but this time out, his slog was not middled- instead going straight into Cooper’s hands. Good running catch from him and the danger-man departs. Punjab 12-0 after 1 over Gilchrist 11, Valthaty 0 Gilchrist looking aggressive early on. That is not less than anything we expected but if he gets going so early, then it is not a good sign for the Royals. He scores a couple of boundaries, pulling away to fine leg before lifting one up over mid-on with ease. Rajasthan 191-4 after 20 overs Shah 14, Cooper 11 Cooper does not disappoint in the three deliveries he played at the end of the innings. A huge six over third man was followed by an edged four in the same region before he finished off with a single to give his side a formidable total to defend. WICKET! Rajasthan 180-4 after 19.3 overs Ajinkya Rahane b Faulkner 98 (66) That is so unlucky! Rahane, after cruising past his innings with 16 fours, comes down the ground looking to get to his century and is out just two runs short of it. What a quality innings it has been from the next generation cricketer and this innings will be a huge boost for his confidence. Owais Shah meanwhile has taken over the big-hitters responsibility, thrashing a couple of boundaries. WICKET! Rajasthan 162-3 after 17.2 overs Brad Hodge b Faulkner 21 (16) Well, he has given great support to Rahane on the other end but then decides to score some runs himself. He is successful at the first attempt, heaving a six on the on side but he tries another similar feat and is clean bowled. Faulkner effective. Rajasthan 156-2 after 17 overs Rahane 95, Hodge 15 Ajinkya Rahane is surely the star of the moment. His eyes bulge as he sees a low full-toss come his way and he lifts it over the off side for four before improvising a good length delivery for another boundary. He decides to turn on the style then, stepping forward and flicking it past mid-on and as if he hasn’t done enough already, he smacks three more fours leaving Piyush Chawla red-faced. That over read: 1-1-4-4-4-4 [caption id=“attachment_268564” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“Dravid opened the innings with Rahane to good effect. AFP”] [/caption] Rajasthan 127-2 after 15 overs Rahane 72, Hodge 13 There is no stopping Rahane tonight. He picks up Valthaty’s short ball with ease and just hits it through the line for a six before finding the gap between gully and point for a boundary in the very next delivery. Pure class from the youngster and he is set for a century if he continues this way. Rajasthan 102-2 after 13 overs Rahane 59, Hodge 6 Brad Hodge has quickly settled down into his stride, scoring six from his first six deliveries and leaving the big hits to Rahane- who obliges as he comes down the track to swat one over the bowler’s head and towards the ropes. WICKET! Rajasthan 87-2 after 10.5 overs Ashok Menaria b Chawla 0 (3) His talent was played up by Dravid early on during the toss, but Menaria lasted for just three deliveries before being flummoxed by a full delivery from Chawla which he missed- only to see his middle stump disturbed. WICKET! Rajasthan 77-1 after 9.3 overs Rahul Dravid c Faulkner b Harmeet Singh 28 (24) The pressure finally paid off. Dravid was looking a bit impatient which is unlike him and he stretches forward looking to hit it over the on side. He gets a leading edge from the attempt and Faulkner takes it comfortably at deep point. Meanwhile on Twitter, Swapnyl says: Chawla’s the one who’s been hit for most sixes in this format of the game!! Maybe that is why he’s bowled only one over? Rajasthan 64-0 after 8 overs Dravid 21,Rahane 36 The boundaries may have dried up since Dravid’s glance towards fine-leg but it is intelligent batting from both the batsmen, who have steered Rajasthan to a good total at a run-rate of 7.00. They look settled and there is no urgency at the moment. It is typical of Dravid to see the benefits of a longer innings than wastefully slog. Rajasthan 48-0 after 5 overs Dravid 12, Rahane 31 Piyush Chawla has been brought into the attack to quell the run-flow from Rahane and Dravid. The latter got his first boundary of the innings with a punch towards off side before Rahane almost edged the ball onto his own stumps. But any fears about his confidence should be rubbished as he scores another boundary on a packed off side. He has picked the gaps perfectly up until now. Rajasthan 32-0 after 3 overs Dravid 4, Rahane 26 Huge over for Rajasthan to get the upper hand early on in the innings. Praveen Kumar being easily picked up by young Rahane who followed a cover drive with two flicks on the on-side and a lovely straight drive down the ground- all going for four. Is this the potential we’ve been hearing about? Rajasthan 16-0 after 2 overs Dravid 4, Rahane 10 After patiently fending away Praveen Kumar’s first over, Ajinkya Rahane scooped one over mid-on and drove one past the off side for four runs. The back-to-back boundaries were followed up with Rahul Dravid calmly seeing off the rest of James Faulkner’s over. No hurry as yet. [caption id=“attachment_268535” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“Rahane gave a great start to Rajasthan. AFP”] [/caption] Rajashtan Royals: Rahul Dravid,Ashok Menaria, Ajinkya Rahane, Brad Hodge, Johan Botha, Shreevats Goswami, Owais Shah, Kevon Cooper, Ankeet Chavan, Amit Singh, Sidhharth Trivedi Kings XI Punjab: Adam Gilchrist, David Hussey, Paul Valthaty, Shaun Marsh, Mandeep Singh, Abhishek Nayar, Piyush Chawla, Bipul Sharma, James Faulkner, Harmeet Singh, Praveen Kumar. Kings XI Punjab have won the toss and elected to field. Rahul Dravid will lead out Rajasthan Royals for the first time without the charismatic Shane Warne, hoping to take advantage of playing host to a Kings XI side which is marshaled by captain-coach Adam Gilchrist. As far as resources are concerned, Rajasthan don’t have big names, and prolific Australian all-rounder Shane Watson would be missed in the first half of the tournament. Apart from Dravid, Rajasthan have batsmen in the form of Ajinkya Rahane, Ashok Menaria and Kevon Cooper while the additions of Brad Hodge and Brad Hogg could add to their threats. For Punjab, Adam Gilchrist, Praveen Kumar and David Hussey for a trio of players to be contained while Paul Valthaty and Shaun Marsh can also score runs when needed.