Match Report: KXIP v RR

Kings XI Punjab were guaranteed a place for the qualifiers and a win against the Royals would have guaranteed them a top two slot. Which means two bites at the cherry to make the final in Bangalore. Rajasthan on the other hand needed a win to seal their top 4 spot or risk a very tense decider away to Mumbai on Sunday. Having lost to Mumbai once already, Rajasthan would have loved a win.
Punjab rested the big man - Maxwell, and their top wicket taker Sandeep Sharma. Rajasthan left out their middle over specialist Rajat Bhatia and Ankit Sharma.
Having lost the toss, Punjab were sent in to bat. Sehwag got them off to a flier with some renegade shot hitting. His innings was cut short at 18 in the third over. Youngster Manan Vohra, Shaun Marsh and keeper Wriddhiman Saha all got off to starts but failed to get the big one. After a rain interruption, Punjab found themselves with a dropping run rate and 2 new batsmen at the crease. Unluckily for Rajasthan these were two of the best finishers of the modern game. Thry quickly shifted gears and guided Punjab to an above par total of 178 without the dropped Maxwell. Marsh top scored with 40.
Rajasthan seemed to be off to a good start before Balaji, back in the side after a few games, sent Nair packing. Rahane and Samson rebuilt the innings before some clever bowling from Rishi Dhawan dismissed Rahane and Watson - the two crucial cogs of Rajasthan’s batting - in consecutive deliveries. Debutant Karanveer Singh dismissed Binny soon after and Samson too lost his wicket to the debutant. The boundaries were hard to come by as Punjab went nearly 9 overs without conceding one.The pressure paid off as Rajasthan found themselves 77 runs off the last 4 overs. Brad Hodge let loose before Akshar Patel claimed him and Kevon Cooper in the 18th over. Faulkner gave it a go but it was too little too late.
Punjab sealed the top spot. Rajasthan now go to Mumbai to play an all important decider on Sunday. Hodge and Faulkner’s big shots at the end may not have won the game but they reduced the damage to the net run rate which could be their ticket to a top 4 place.