IPL 7: Rajasthan Royals vs Kings XI Punjab – As it happened...

Live updates of the seventh match of Indian Premier League between Rajasthan Royals and Kings XI Punjab from Sharjah Cricket Stadium.

Zee Media Bureau/Chaitan Papnai

SCORECARD» | COMMENTARY» | MATCH REPORT» ALSO SEE: OUR FULL COVERAGE ON IPL 7» ALSO SEE: POINTS TABLE» | RESULTS» ============================================================== Kings XI Punjab Innings Over 19 || Score 193/3 10 required off last 12 balls.Three came off the first two balls. Double off the next. Off the fourth came another six from Miller's willow and with that KXIP defeated RR by seven wickets with eight balls to spare. Miller also completed his fifty with that last hit which went out of the park. The southpaw completed his fifty in mere 19 balls. Monstrous batting by Miller and Maxwell once again. At last for his whirlwind knock Maxwell got the Man of the Match award. =================================================== Over 18 || Score 182/3 37 needed of last 18 balls Single off the first ball. Miller on strike and he hit a six over long-on. Third ball, a double. Fourth ball, full toss, and another six, this time over extra cover. Fifth ball, rain of sixes, this time over mid-wicket, into the stands. Sixth ball, fourth six, this time over point region. Four sixes by Miller in an over, all in different directions. 27 came from the it. =================================================== Over 17 || Score 155/3 49 required off the last 24 balls. James Faulkner to start his third over. Pujara played a scoop to get the boundary off the first ball. In the next Pujara collected three runs. Third was a dot. Next was wide and with that KXIP touched the mark of 150 runs. Two singles off the next two deliveries. Double off the last. Another good over for the batting side as 12 came from it. =================================================== Over 16 || Score 143/3 Tambe with his last over. Sixty needed off last 30 balls. Three singles came off the first three balls. Off the fourth Miller launched the bowler straight over his head for a six. 11 came from the over. =================================================== Over 15 || Score 132/3 Binny has been given the ball for the first time in the match. David Miller is the new man in. Binny bowled a decent over first up as he gave mere five in his opening over. =================================================== Over 14 || Score 127/3 Richardson is back to bowl his third over. Off the second ball Pujara got a thick inside edge of his bat and it went for a four towards fine leg. Maxwell Out. Maxwell tried to launch the bowler for a maximum but miss-timed his shot and Smith took a good catch at long-off. Maxwell got out after playing a 89-run blinder off 45 balls. Seven came from the over. GJ Maxwell c Smith b Richardson 89 (45b) =================================================== Over 13 || Score 120/2 Bhatia to bowl his third. Off the third, Maxwell clobbered the ball out of the park towards long-off. In the next ball Maxwell again smashed a six, this time over square leg. Maxwell is smashing the ball all over the park. They have also completed the hundred-run partnership for the third wicket. 18 from the over. RR bowlers are looking clueless at the moment. ============================================================== Over 12 || Score 102/2 Kulkarni has been brought back into the attack. Maxwell collected boundary off the second ball by playing an upper cut. Next was a wide down the leg side. Next ball again a wide, this time on off side. In the last three deliveries Maxwell smashed the bowler for three consecutive boundaries. What a player he is turning out for his new franchise. Meanwhile, KXIP crossed the mark of hundred runs. 17 came form the over. ============================================================== Over 11 || Score 85/2 Bhatia is ready to bowl the over. Two reverse sweeps by Maxwell and two boundaries conceded in the first two balls. Then came a double off the fourth. Off the next Maxwell again tried a reverse sweep and again got a boundary. Meanwhile, Maxwell completed his fifty. Sixteen from the over. ============================================================== Over 10 || Score 69/2 Tambe to bowl his third over. Maxwell on strike. Runs are dying for KXIP in the last couple of overs. Four from this over. 123 required off the next 60 balls. ============================================================== Over 9 || Score 65/2 Rajat Bhatia is ready to bowl his first over. He has a lot of variations up his sleeves – a handy cricketer. Three singles off the first four balls. Then came two singles in the last two. Good over first up by Bhatia. Five runs came from it. ============================================================== Over 8 || Score 60/2 Tambe to continue. Three singles off the first four balls. Then came a single in the last two deliveries. A tight over by Tambe as he conceded mere four runs. ============================================================== Over 7 || Score 55/2 Faulkner ready with his second over. Full toss and Maxwell smashed a six towards deep square leg. Four runs came off the next three deliveries. Off the fifth Maxwell slapped the ball over point for another six. Maxi is on a roll here. Single off the last ball. Sixteen came form the over. Meanwhile, KXIP also crossed the mark of fifty runs. ============================================================== Over 6 || Score 39/2 Tambe is ready with his first over. First ball, Maxwell launched him for a maximum over square-leg. Two singles off the next two balls. Fourth was a dot. Single off the next. Last ball was a dot. Nine runs came from the over. ============================================================== Over 5 || Score 30/2 Richardson is ready with his second over. Dropped! Tambe dropped a simple catch of Pujara. Off the next two balls Maxwell first flicked the bowler towards mid-wicket for a six and then a boundary towards mid-on. A single came from the next two balls. 13 came from the over. ============================================================== Over 4 || Score 18/2 Kulkarni to continue. Single off the first two balls. Off the next Pujara slapped the bowler towards point for a boundary. One run came off the next two balls. Last one was a dot. Good over by Kulkarni as he conceded mere six from it. ============================================================== Over 3 || Score 12/2 James Faulkner has been introduced into the attack to bowl the third over. Three singles from the first three balls. Wriddhiman Saha Out! Faulkner bowed a short ball and Saha went for a pull but couldn't middle it well and Kulkarni took a good catch at deep square leg. Glenn Maxwell is the new man in. Six from the over. WP Saha c Kulkarni b Faulkner 2 (3b) ============================================================== Over 2 || Score 6/1 Dhawal Kulkarni is sharing the new ball with Kane. Three dot balls first up. Viru Out. Sehwag slapped the ball over point region but find Binny at the deep. Sehwag's poor run continues in the IPL. Wriddhiman Saha is the new man in. Single from the over and a wicket. V Sehwag c Binny b Kulkarni 2 (7b) ==============================================================Over 1 || Score 5/0 Cheteshwar Pujara and Virender Sehwag are in the middle to open the innings for KXIP, whereas, Kane Richardson is opening the bowling proceedings for RR. Two singles off the first two balls. Third single off the next. Fourth was a wide down the leg side. Single off the fifth. Five from the first over. ============================================================== Rajasthan Royals Innings Over 20 || Score 191/5 Balaji to bowl the last over. In the first four balls came mere four runs, all in singles. Off the fifth, Smith placed the ball towards extra cover for a boundary. Last one was dot. Good last over by Balaji as he conceded mere eight from it. But overall it's a challenging total put up by RR after being invited to bat first by KXIP. =================================================== Over 19 || Score 183/5 Johnson to bowl the penultimate over. Off the second ball Faulkner smacked the bowler out of the park. That was the only poor ball from the over. Three came from rest of the five balls. Nine from the over. RR would look to take their score to 200, to get that psychological advantage. =================================================== Over 18 || Score 174/5 Balaji to bowl the over. James Faulkner is the new man in. Smith collected three boundaries off the second, third and fifth balls. Fifteen came from the over. Smith is looking dangerous at the moment. =================================================== Over 17 || Score 159/5 Awana to bowl his last over. Steve Smith is the new man in. Off the third ball Samson smacked the bowler out of the park to complete his fifty in style. In the fifth delivery Awana bowled the yorker that crashed into the stumps of Samson. 13 from the over. SV Samson b Awana 52 (34b) =================================================== Over 16 || Score 146/4 Johnson is ready with his third over. Binny Out. In the third ball, Binny tried to hit the bowler out of the park but couldn't connect it well and Miller took an unusual catch, which is difficult to explain. But a smart catch by the South African. Good over by Mitchell as mere three came from it and a wicket. STR Binny c Miller b Johnson 12 (8b ) =================================================== Over 15 || Score 143/3 Kartik is back to bowl his final over. Two off the first two deliveries. Then came a double from Binny's bat. Off the next, Binny launched the bowler for a six over long-off. It's a massive hit. Two singles off the last two balls. 12 came from the over. =================================================== Over 14 || Score 131/3 Patel ready with his final over. Watson Out! Watson tried to slog the bowler but missed the line completely and got trapped in front of the wicket. Stuart Binny is the new man in. Three runs came from the over and a wicket of Watson. SR Watson b Patel 50 (29b) =================================================== Over 13 || Score 128/2 Awana is ready to bowl the over. In the first four balls came mere two runs. Then Watson smacked the bowler out of the park over cow corner. Nine form the over. Meanwhile, Watson completed his fifty in mere 28 balls with the help of five fours and three sixes. ============================================================== Over 12 || Score 119/2 Kartik to bowl his third over. Samson collected a boundary off the first ball. Off the fourth Watson smashed another boundary down the ground and then launched the bowler for a six. Both the batsmen are toying with the bowlers and hitting boundaries at will. Fifty runs partnership between these two for the third wicket. Meanwhile, RR also crossed the mark of 100 runs. 21 came from the over. ============================================================== Over 11 || Score 98/2 Balaji ready with his second over. Watson smashed the bowler for two consecutive boundaries off the fourth and fifth ball. Good over for RR as 13 came from it. ============================================================== Over 10 || Score 85/2 Patel to continue. First ball, Watson tried to hit the ball towards mid-wicket but miss-timed it and got the thick edge which went for four. Two dot balls followed the boundary. Miller dropped Watson off the next at deep long-on and couldn't manage to stop the boundary as well. No run conceded from the last two balls. Eight form the over. ============================================================== Over 9 || Score 77/2 Karthik to bowl his second over. Three came from the first four balls. Then came a single. Off the last Sanju once again played a smart shot straight over bowler's head for a maximum. Sanju is on a roll here. Ten from the over. Sanju has quickly moved to 31 off 17, with the help of two boundaries and three sixes. ============================================================== Over 8 || Score 67/2 Patel has been called back to bowl his second over. Single off the first. Next two were dot balls. Off the fourth Watson cut the bowler to collect his first boundary. Five from the over. ============================================================== Over 7 || Score 62/2 Murali Kartik has been introduced into the attack for the first time. Nayar Out! Nayar tried to hit the bowler towards on-side but completely missed the line and umpire raised his finger in no time. Off the last ball, Sanju played an inside-out shot to slap the bowler over extra cover for a maximum. Eight from the over. AM Nayar lbw b Kartik 23 (20b) ============================================================== Over 6 || Score 54/1 Johnson has been brought back into the attack. Singe off the first. Second a dot by the left-arm speedster. Nayar then played a shot straight past the bowler for a boundary and it was no ball as well, as the bowler over-stepped. Free hit This time Nayar slogged the bowler towards mid-wicket for another boundary. Meanwhile, RR crossed the mark of 50 runs. Good over for RR as 13 came from it. ============================================================== Over 5 || Score 41/1 Awana to continue. First was a wide. Three came from the next three legitimate deliveries. Off the fourth Sanju once again came up with a cracking shot and hit the bowler towards mid-wicket for another boundary. Nine from the over. ============================================================== Over 4 || Score 32/1 Sanju Samson is the new man in. Lakshmipathy Balaji is to bowl the over. Samson first hit an elegant cover driver to collect his first boundary off the third ball and then launched the bowler for a six over cow corner, off the last. Two beautiful shots by the youngster. Ten from the over. ============================================================== Over 3 || Score 22/1 Parvinder Awana has been introduced into the attack to bowl the third over. One came from the first two balls. Single from the third. Two came off the next. Then came a hug six over long-on by Nayar. What a hit. Fifth was a dot. Run Out. A miss communication between the two batsmen and Rahane fell short off his crease as Bailey hit the stumps within a flash. AM Rahane run out 13 (8b) ============================================================== Over 2 || Score 13/0 Mitchell Johnson is sharing the new ball with Patel. Off the second ball Rahane pulled the bowler for a boundary towards square-leg region. Three came from the next delivery. Seven from the over. ============================================================== Over 1 || Score 6/0 Ajinkya Rahane and Abhisheak Nayar are opening the innings for RR, whereas Akshar Patel is ready to open the bowling proceedings for KXIP. Rahane collected the first boundary of the match in the fourth ball over extra cover. Six from the over. ============================================================== KXIP know the fact that they have a solid batting line up and are capable of chasing a big total, which they have shown in their opening match. So a good decision by George Bailey. Toss: KXIP have won the toss and chose to bowl first. One change in both the teams. Rishi Dhawan is being replaced by Murali Kartik in KXIP, whereas, Brad Hodge is out due to sickness and Steve Smith is in. In the only encounter of IPL-7 today, RR and KXIP will lock horns with each other at Sharjah Cricket Stadium within a few minutes from now. Both the teams have won their first matches respectively. If RR beat Sunrisers Hyderabad, then KXIP have also defeated the two time IPL champion Chennai Super Kings by chasing down a mammoth total of 200 plus. On papers, both the teams look quite well balanced but KXIP certainly have an upper hand as they have too many match-winners in their side. In the likes of Virender Sehwag, George Bailey, David Miller, Mitchell Johnson and Glenn Maxwell they have players who can change the course of game single-handedly. In their opening game the way Glenn Maxwell and David Miller performed with the bat, showed what they are capable of. However, KXIP can`t afford to take RR lightly as they too have world-class players in Shane Watson, Ajinkya Rahane, James Faulkner, Amit Mishra in their ranks. But apart from that RR also have utility players in Rajat Bhatia and Pravin Tambe. Both the teams would love to continue with their wining streak. So it would be an interesting battle tonight. Players to watch out for: The fearsome Mitchell Johnson would be the bowler to watch out for. Though, he looked half-cooked in the opening match against SRH, but we all know if he gets his rhythm early on, it would be a difficult task for the opponents to tackle. The left-arm speedster would be a treat to watch if he gets going. For RR Ajinkya Rahane, who has been in form, can be a vital cog for his team in the match along with the skipper Shane Watson. Rahane played a match winning knock in the last match as well and is a treat to watch even in the shortest format of the game.