IPL 2020, KXIP vs RR as it happened: RR beat KXIP by 7 wickets, keep playoff hopes alive

RR 186/3 after 17.4 overs (Smith 31, Buttler 22)

A wonderful chase by RR gives them an important seven-wicket victory over KXIP. RR also move onto 12 points now. KKR and KXIP already have 12. We are headed for a grandstand finish to the league stage.

RR 175/3 after 17 overs (Smith 30, Buttler 14)

Three lovely fours by Smith in the Shami over. All timing and picking the gaps in the field. And then Buttler hit another four to finish things off. 19 runs from the over. Rajasthan Royals need 11 runs in 18 balls.

RR 156/3 after 16 overs (Smith 15, Buttler 10)

Six off the last ball – how many times has that happened in this innings already – spoils a good over from Jordan. Buttler hit the shot. Rajasthan Royals need 30 runs in 24 balls.

RR 145/3 after 14.2 overs (Smith 15)

RUN OUT! Against the run of play, Samson (48 off 25) is caught short of his ground. Smith called for the quick single. The run chase was in control, will it stay that way?

Samson run out (J Suchith) 48(25)

RR 144/2 after 14 overs (Samson 47, Smith 15)

Rajasthan Royals need 42 runs in 36 balls – they have knocked the pressure out of this chase. It isn’t over yet but Samson and Smith are finding the gaps with ease.

RR 132/2 after 13 overs (Samson 40, Smith 10)

Effortless acceleration by Samson. Ashwin dropped one a little short and Samson rocked onto the back foot and pulled him for six. The next ball was hit through the off-side for four. Wonderful batting this.

RR 119/2 after 12 overs (Samson 29, Smith 8)

Rajasthan Royals need 67 runs in 48 balls. They are in control here. From this point on, they need a run-a-ball and six boundaries to win. But they need to stay calm.

RR 111/2 after 10.5 overs (Samson 29)

WICKET! Uthappa going for the second six in the over finds the fielder in the deep. M Ashwin gets the wicket.

Uthappa c Pooran b Murugan Ashwin 30(23)

RR 103/1 after 10 overs (Uthappa 23, Samson 28)

Rajasthan Royals need 83 runs in 60 balls. Uthappa has settled into the anchor role and Samson has been given free rein.

RR 93/1 after 9 overs (Uthappa 21, Samson 21)

Samson has got into his stride quickly. He is timing the ball well and that is always a good sign.

RR 79/1 after 8 overs (Uthappa 19, Samson 9)

A nice reverse hit straight in the gap off the last ball of Bishnoi’s over helped Uthappa make it a good over for RR. They need 107 runs in 72 balls to win.

RR 71/1 after 7 overs (Uthappa 13, Samson 7)

Time for RR to consolidate the start. They need to keep wickets in hand and keep scoring at a decent rate. Stokes’ knock has given them the early boost they needed.

RR 60/1 after 5.3 overs (Uthappa 9)

WICKET! Ben Stokes fails to clear the infield, finds Hooda at mid-off. Jordan gets the wicket. He made 50 off 26 balls. He looked good for plenty more but the job is done.

Stokes c Hooda b Jordan 50(26)

RR 54/0 after 5 overs (Uthappa 9, Stokes 44)

Shami restores some calm to the proceedings. 6 runs off the over. But KXIP desperately need a wicket or the match might just run away from them given how Stokes is batting.

RR 48/0 after 4 overs (Uthappa 8, Stokes 39)

Leg-spinner M Ashwin to the attack and Stokes attacks him with a rare relish. A reverse hit for four and then a six straight down the ground followed by another six to square leg. 16 runs off the over.

RR 32/0 after 3 overs (Uthappa 8, Stokes 23)

The runs continue to flow for RR. Both openers showing great intent – they are looking to play their shots and not just settle in.

RR 21/0 after 2 overs (Uthappa 7, Stokes 13)

RR haven’t taken any time to settle in. This will put the pressure on KXIP right away. They need to control things early.

RR 9/0 after 1 over (Uthappa 1, Stokes 8)

Four off the last ball ensures that RR are off to a quick start. Stokes used his feet to come down the pitch to Arshdeep.

Uthappa and Stokes are out to open the innings for RR

KXIP 185/4 after 20 overs (Maxwell 6, Hooda 1)

A wonderful stand between Rahul and Gayle set up the base and then the Pooran-Gayle stand gave the innings the impetus it needed. The pitch might be better for batting in the second innings but 185/4 is a good total.

KXIP 184/4 after 19.4 overs (Maxwell 6)

WICKET! Gayle got to 99 with a six and then he was bowled by Archer. Superb knock by the left-hander.

Gayle b Jofra Archer 99(63)

KXIP 176/3 after 19 overs (Gayle 92, Maxwell 5)

Another six for Gayle, the 7th of the innings and the 1000th he has hit in T20 cricket. Tyagi dropped it short and the left-hander went for it. He is into the nineties.

KXIP 162/3 after 18 overs (Gayle 84)

WICKET! Pooran (22 off 10) finds the fielder on the boundary line. Stokes gets a wicket.

Pooran c Rahul Tewatia b Stokes 22(10)

KXIP 148/2 after 17 overs (Gayle 73, Pooran 21)

Pooran is dealing in sixes. He has scored 21 off 8 balls and given his team a nice boost. It looked like Tyagi would bowl a good over but the left-hander hit a six off the last ball.

KXIP 137/2 after 16 overs (Gayle 71, Pooran 12)

Aaron’s spell comes to end with another poor 14-run over. In his four overs today, he has conceded 47 runs. Pooran has come in and hit two big sixes already. He could be a key wicket going into the last 4 overs.

KXIP 121/2 after 14.4 overs (Gayle 69)

WICKET! KL Rahul finds a fielder in the deep. Stokes’ slower ball does the trick. The KXIP had been trying to find the boundary for a while but it just wasn’t happening.

Rahul c Rahul Tewatia b Stokes 46(41)

KXIP 118/1 after 14 overs (Rahul 45, Gayle 68)

Just six over left in the innings, this is when KXIP will start looking for a big over that will give them momentum till the end. Archer has just one over left.

KXIP 107/1 after 13 overs (Rahul 40, Gayle 62)

10 runs from the Tewatia over. Gayle gets a six. It just takes him one ball to make it a good over. He has already hit 5 sixes in the innings.

KXIP 97/1 after 12 overs (Rahul 38, Gayle 54)

Steady stuff by KXIP. At what point will they look to take things to an even higher gear?

KXIP 91/1 after 11 overs (Rahul 35, Gayle 51)

Another six takes Gayle to 50 off just 33 balls. What a player! They didn’t play him for the longest time but one he did get a start, he hasn’t looked back. His scores in IPL 2020: 53, 24, 29, 20, 51, 50* (today)

KXIP 81/1 after 10 overs (Rahul 33, Gayle 43)

A solid platform for KXIP. Rahul and Gayle are looking good and there are some big-hitters to come. RR need a few wickets to put pressure on KXIP.

KXIP 73/1 after 9 overs (Rahul 26, Gayle 42)

Superb over by Tewatia. RR needed this. Just two runs from it. Just slid the ball across Gayle well.

KXIP 71/1 after 8 overs (Rahul 25, Gayle 41)

Gayle keeps rolling along and the really dangerous bit is that he can take this several notches higher.

KXIP 63/1 after 7 overs (Rahul 23, Gayle 35)

The sixes continue to flow. Gopal into the attack and Gayle sends one deep into the stands. The West Indian has already hit 3 sixes in his knock and looks good for plenty more.

KXIP 53/1 after 6 overs (Rahul 21, Gayle 27)

Rahul and Gayle showing just why they are so dangerous. It doesn’t take them much to get going and once they do, they are hard to stop. Another poor over for Aaron, who has lacked control so far.

KXIP 39/1 after 5 overs (Rahul 7, Gayle 27)

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Gayle tears into Tyagi. A huge learning curve for the youngster. The Jamaican is going it for KXIP again. It just takes him an over or two to turn things around.

KXIP 14/1 after 3 overs (Rahul 6, Gayle 4)

One loose delivery from Archer in the over and KL Rahul got four runs from it. Nothing else for the batsmen to take advantage of. Good start by RR.

KXIP 9/1 after 2 overs (Rahul 1, Gayle 4)

8 runs from the Varun Aaron over – one four and 4 wides. The radar was a little off for Varun, ended up bowling a long over.

KXIP 1/1 after 1 over (Rahul 1)

WICKET! Archer strikes in the first over to send back Mandeep. What a bouncer! Mandeep could only fend at it and Stokes took a good diving catch.

Mandeep c Stokes b Jofra Archer 0(1)

7.29 pm: Mandeep Singh and KL Rahul are out to open the innings for Kings XI.

7.04 pm: No changes to the KXIP playing XI. One change for RR — Varun Aaron coming in for Ankit Rajpoot.

KXIP playing XI: KL Rahul, M Singh, C Gayle, N Pooran, G Maxwell, D Hooda, C Jordan, M Ashwin, R Bishnoi, M Shami, A Singh

RR playing XI: R Uthappa, B Stokes, S Samson, S Smith, J Buttler, R Parag, R Tewatia, J Archer, S Gopal, V Aaron, K Tyagi

7.01 pm: RR have won the toss and they are going to have a bowl first. They aren’t sure whether the dew will come or not, so decided to bowl first.

06.40 pm: Hello all and welcome to the live coverage of match No 50 in the Indian Premier League. Kings XI Punjab, on a five-match unbeaten run, take on Rajasthan Royals who need to win tonight to stay alive in the tournament.

Here’s how the points table looks like:

As the RR Twitter handle pointed out brilliantly, this is more than just a match between two teams tonight: