Pune: Rajasthan Royals beat Kings XI Punjab by 26 runs on Friday.
In reply to the 163-run target set by RR, KXIP opened with Sehwag and Murali Vijay and RR couldn’t have asked for a better start as they dismissed Sehwag on the very first ball, taken by Southee for 0. Saha was the new man in, but he didn’t last long either, as he was run out for 7 in the 3rd over, bringing Maxwell into the thick of actions.
He walked back on the 5th over, taken by Faulkner for 7, taking the score to 46/3 in 5.
Patel and Vijay got together but Vijay was packed off thanks to another run out, going back for 37, bringing Miller. The score was 66/4 at the end of 10 overs, with 97 needed off 60 deliveries.
Just when the two of them began settling down, Kulkarni got the RR side the breakthrough they needed, removing Miller for 23 in the 14th over. At the end of 15 overs, the score was 113/5.
The next man to depart was Akshar Patel, who was dismissed for 24 by Southee. His dismissal brought Johnson into the middle, who was dismissed for 0 by Faulkner. Bailey was the next man to head back to the pavillion, the 8th wicket to fall, dismissed by Faulkner again for 24. RR bundled out KXIP for 136/8.
Earlier, KXIP won the toss and elected to bat first. Ajinkya Rahane and Sanju Samson opened the innings for the Rajasthan side, The Punjab side tasted success early on, as Anureet Singh dismissed Ajinkya Rahane for 0, bringing Smith into the middle. Sandeep Sharma cleaned up the other opener in the 3rd over, dismissing him for 5.
At the end of 5 overs, the score was 20/2.
KK Nair was the next man to depart, dismissed by Patel for  in the 6th over, bringing Stuart Binny in. At the end of 10 overs, the score was 73/3. Smith took the long walk back in the 11th over, trapped by Johnson for 33, who delivered a double blow, dismissing Binny for 13 in the same over, bringing together Faulkner and Hooda.
The duo stuck around, taking the score to 110/5 in 15 over.
However, Hooda had to depart in the 17th over, deceived by Anureet Singh for 30, bringing Morris in. Faulkner played an absolute gem of an innings, but his stay was cut short by Anureet Singh, who removed him for 46 in the last over. At the end of the stipulated 20 overs, Rajasthan Royals posted 162/7.