Kings XI pip Rajasthan Royals in a low scoring tie

Rajasthan Royals Vs Kings XI Punjab - Match 15 - Newlands, Cape Town - Bulletin

Having just won a match, both Rajasthan Royals and Kings XI badly needed these two points which would propel get them a step closer to the top 4 spots. On a slow and two paced wicket at Newlands, Kings XI won the toss and decided to bat first. Bopara and Goel who have so far given solid start to the innings failed to do so this time with both the openers dismissed cheaply. With Yuvaraj and Jayawardane getting out without scoring much, Kings XI were struggling at 48/4. Irfan Pathan joined the seasoned Sangakara and they rebuilt the innings with singles and twos and an occasional boundary here and there. This partnership contributed 75 runs to the Kings XI score before Pathan was bowled by impressive Kamran Khan after scoring valuable 39 runs. Sangakara got out due to some foolish calling in the penultimate over and Kings XI managed a total of 139, a decent target to defend but nevertheless around 10 - 15 runs short of what Kings XI might have hoped.

Chasing a moderate 140 on a slow, two paced wicket can be tricky and required good starts and solid partnerships, but Rajasthan Royals didn't manage either. They started off disastrously and the middle order didn't bother consolidating. Rajasthan during the ninth over had lost six wickets having scored just 42 runs. This virtually eliminated them out of the match. Had it not been for Ravindra Jadeja who scored 37 of 44 balls and Shane Warne(34 off 33 balls) Rajasthan would not have reached the three figure mark. At the end of 20 overs Rajasthan managed only 112 runs, a poor score by any standards given the target they were required to chase. Yusuf Abdullah impressed once again with his bowling performance for Kings XI with the figures of 3/21. For Rajasthan Royals, its time to pull up their socks and start performing like Champs and not as "CHUMPS"

Toss
Kings XI won the toss and decided to bat first

Teams
Kings XI Punjab
R Bopara, K Goel, Yuvaraj Singh, K Sangakara, M Jayawardane, P Chawla, I Pathan, RR Bose, WA Mota, VRV Singh, YA Abdullah
Rajasthan Royals
G Smith, S Asnodkar, R Quiney, AS Raut, Y Pathan, D Mascarenhas, R Jadeja, S Warne,
M Rawat, M Patel, Kamran Khan

Brief scores:
Kings XI Punjab - 139/6 in 20 overs (K Sangakara - 60, I Pathan - 39, Kamran Khan - 2/15, Munaf Patel - 2/24)
Rajasthan Royals - 112/7 in 20 overs (R jadeja - 37, Shane Warne - 34*, Y Abdulla - 3/21,
P Chawla - 2/22)

Result
Kings XI Punjab won by 27 runs.