In a thrilling tie of the Indian Premier League, Rajasthan Royals broke the record for the highest successful run chase in the league’s history, defeating Kings XI Punjab by 4 wickets at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium on Sunday, 27 September.
Put in to bat, KXIP posted a massive 223/2 in their 20 overs courtesy a maiden IPL century from Mayank and his 183-run opening stand with captain KL Rahul.
RR captain Steve Smith and No.3 batsman Sanju Samson formed a solid partnership but the dismissal of both batsman set back the team’s run chase. However, Rahul Tewatia came in and smashed seven sixes in a 31-ball knock, turning the game around in an over and guiding Rajasthan to a record-breaking win.
Here’s a look at five big moments from the match.
1. Mayank Agarwal-KL Rahul’s Record-Setting Opening Stand
Put in to bat, openers KL Rahul and Mayank Agarwal got Kings XI Punjab to a fiery start with a massive 183-run partnership. Mayank smashed his maiden IPL century while KL Rahul scored 69 off 53 which included seven fours and one six.
KL and Mayank’s partnership is the highest opening stand ever for KXIP and the second highest overall for the team, behind the mammoth 206 put up by Adam Gilchrist and Shaun Marsh for the second wicket against Royal Challengers Bangalore in 2011. It is also the third highest opening partnership of all time in the IPL.
The stand was broken when Mayank holed out at deep midwicket off Tom Curran in the 17th over. Rahul went in the next over, falling to Ankit Rajpoot.
2. Mayank’s Quickfire Maiden IPL Century
After an 89 in KXIP’s campaign opener against Delhi Capitals, opener Mayank smashed his maiden century in the Indian Premier League.
The 29-year-old reached the three-figure mark in 45 balls, smashing as many as seven sixes and nine fours along the way. He was eventually caught out by Samson off a delivery by Tom Curran for 106 off 50 balls in the 17th over.
Mayank set the record for the second fastest ton by an Indian in the IPL history, after Yusuf Pathan's 37-ball ton in 2010.
3. Pooran’s Unreal Save at the Boundary
After Rajasthan Royals lost opener Jos Buttler (4) early, Sanju Samson joined captain Steve Smith at the crease. Chasing a massive total, the duo were hitting the ball all around the park when Nicholas Pooran displayed an unbelievable piece of fielding in the eighth over.
Samson had smashed a delivery off M Ashwin across the ground when Pooran – stationed at the boundary – stretched completely over it to catch the ball. Before he could touch the ground, the West Indies cricketer managed to flick it back to safety, completing a stunning save.
4. Smith-Samson’s Promising Start
Steve Smith and Sanju Samson provided RR with a solid base in a difficult run-chase, ensuring that their side reach 100 before the 10th over.
The duo added 81 runs before captain Smith fell to Jimmy Neesham after scoring a 27-ball 50.
Samson carried the innings forward with Rahul Tewatia, who was promoted ahead of Robin Uthappa. The two stitched a 61-run stand before the 25-year-old Samson fell to Mohammed Shami for 85 (off 41 balls) – his second-straight half-century in the league, having scored 74 against Chennai Super Kings.
5. Rahul Tewatia’s Game-Changing Knock
After Samson’s dismissal, RR were reduced to 161/3 in 16.1 overs, still needing 63 runs from 23 balls.
At the start of 18th over, Rajasthan needed 17 runs in an over to reach their target which is when Tewatia smashed five sixes in six deliveries bowled by Sheldon Cottrell to turn the game around. He scored his maiden IPL half-century and was eventually dismissed by Shami for a 31-ball 53.
However, the bulk of the work had been done. Jofra Archer hit back-to-back sixes, adding 13 runs off just three balls, as RR crossed the line with three balls remaining and four wickets in hand.
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