'Really happy with the way we played' says RR skipper Ajinkya Rahane after beating KXIP

The Rajasthan Royals (RR) recorded a sensational and remarkable victory in the game last night against the Kings XI Punjab (KXIP). Ajinkya Rahane’s team managed to sneak a timely revenge this time, defeating the Kings by 15 runs, as they lost to them convincingly in the previous clash between the two teams. The KXIP wicketkeeper-batsman KL Rahul who has been in a stellar form this season was once again the lone warrior battling hard to take his team past the finish line, but his unbeaten knock of 95 was not enough to win the game.

The bowlers were absolutely fantastic with their work: Rahane

After electing to bat first, the Royals opener Jos Buttler provided the team with a steady start in the powerplay. However, KXIP bowlers brought the team back in the game picking up wickets at regular intervals, which allowed Rajasthan to score only 158/8 in the 20 overs, despite an impressive start. Fast bowler Andrew Tye was the pick of the bowlers after he picked up four wickets along with an impressive economy.

Chris Gayle was the prized scalp which the Royals snapped out early in the chase, which imposed some serious pressure on the opposition. In the end, Rahul’s splendid knock went in vain as he never received the desired support from the rest of the batters and ended up on the losing side. The Royals skipper Ajinkya Rahane was very much impressed with the efforts of his bowling unit. He also mentioned that the crucial wickets which they secured in the powerplay proved to be decisive.

“Chasing 157, credit to our bowlers, especially in the powerplay. That stage was crucial, getting 2-3 initial wickets. And Ish Sodhi, fantastic. Our intention was to pick wickets, and keeping an attacking field will help us. Gowtham bowled really well, and then the Ashwin wicket as well. Overall, bowling unit was fantastic,” said Rahane after the match against Punjab last night.

Buttler played well at the top

It took a while for the Royals to fix up their batting order, but the decision to promote Buttler as an opener has done wonders for them. In the last three matches, Buttler has been in terrific form and has smashed half centuries in all the three games. His explosive striking ability has also helped the team take on the opposition bowlers during the very start of the innings. Rahane also revealed that it was a tough wicket to bat on and 160 was certainly a challenging total.

“Really happy with the way we played. I thought 160 was good, but the wicket was difficult. Thanks to Jos Buttler we got a good start. It was important that we enjoy this victory and move forward,” the RR captainfurther added.

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