Rajasthan Royals (RR) registered an emphatic 4-wicket win over Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) in one of the most entertaining matches of the Indian Premier League (IPL) on Sunday (September 27). The Rajasthan side managed to score 82 runs off the last four overs as they completed the highest ever successful run-chase in the IPL history.
Earlier in the day, Rajasthan Royals skipper Steven Smith won the toss and invited KXIP to bat first and oh boy did they take that opportunity to bat. Both Rahul and Agarwal gave their side a lightning start to the innings and formed a formidable partnership.
The duo not only played some exquisite shots but also managed to set multiple records. One of them was that they smashed the most runs in the powerplay during the IPL 2020 season so far.
Both KL Rahul and Mayank Agarwal not only bagged their individual half-centuries on the day but also managed to set the highest opening wicket partnership for KXIP in the history of IPL.
Agarwal went one step ahead and smashed his maiden IPL century off 45 balls. This was also the second-fastest 50 in the IPL history with Yusuf Pathan recording his off 37 deliveries against the Mumbai Indians back in 2010.
However, his lightning innings came to an end after Tom Curran's slower delivery caught him off guard and he ended up giving away an easy catch on 106. Meanwhile, his partner in crime KL Rahul played a 54-ball 69 innings to guide KXIP to a mammoth total of 223/2.
In chase of a total of 224 runs, Rajasthan Royals got off to an awful start as they lost Jos Buttler for just 4 runs. However, skipper Steven Smith and Sanju Samson then formed a formidable partnership and propelled Rajasthan towards the target score.
Smith (51) bagged his half-century but was soon sent back to the dressing room as James Neesham found a key breakthrough.
Samson was next to reach his half-century as he formed a key partnership with Rahul Tewatia to keep RR in the game.
While the momentum shifting towards Rajasthan, KXIP skipper called in Mohammad Shami and he managed to pay KL's trust by dismissing the very dangerous Samson for 85 (42).
However, Tewatia did not give up as he then started to rain hell on KXIP with the bat and struck Cottrell for 5 sixes in 6 balls to put RR back into the game.
The 27-year-old scored 53 off 31 balls before Shami picked up his wicket but the damage was already done.
Robin Uthappa (9) and Riyan Parag (0) failed to lay their mark as Jofra Archer (13*) and Tom Curran (4*) seed off the match with RR ending on 226/6 with three balls to spare.
