Following a mind-boggling win over Kings XI Punjab in the run-chase at Sharjah, Rajasthan Royals speedster Jofra Archer said that nobody had expected their side to win while chasing 224, especially when they got to 15th over.
Rajasthan Royals rendered one of their best performances in IPL history as they registered the highest successful run-chase; courtesy the performances from Sanju Samson, Steve Smith, Rahul Tewatia and Jofra Archer. Not to mention, Robin Uthappa’s back to back fours off Mohammed Shami in the 17th over.
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Earlier in the day, Kings XI Punjab had posted a mammoth 223 on board, riding on the blistering exhibitions from Mayank Agarwal (106), KL Rahul (56) and the destructive cameos in the end by Nicholas Pooran (25*, 13 balls) and Glenn Maxwell (13*, 9 balls).
At present, KL Rahul and Mayank Agarwal are among the top two run-getters in IPL 2020, with the former leading the batting charts with 222 runs and the latter right behind with 221 runs under his belt. Both have registered a century and a half-century in three innings played in IPL 2020.
In case of Rajasthan Royals, the trio of Steve Smith (50, 27 balls, 7 fours, 2 sixes) Sanju Samson (85, 42 balls, 4 fours, 7 sixes), and Rahul Tewatia (53, 31 balls, 7 sixes) played a big-role in keeping them in the mega run-chase which at one point seemed beyond limits.
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The scorecard read 92/0 at the end of 8 overs when both Smith and Samson were on crease. However, Smith’s departure in the 9th over affected the scoring rate to some extent.
At the end of the 15th over, Royals needed 84 off 30 balls, and it was then, Samson smashed Glenn Maxwell’s off-breaks for 21 runs, hitting 3 sixes in that over.
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With 51 needed off 18 deliveries, Tewatia, who was batting on 17 off 23 deliveries, held his nerves as he whacked pacer Sheldon Cottrell for majestic 30 runs that comprised a tally of 5 sixes.
Though Shami got the better of Tewatia in the 19th over, the damage was already done.
It was hard to believe that we could win the match: Jofra Archer
In a video posted by Rajasthan Royals on their official Twitter handle, Jofra Archer spoke on the victory and what game plan they had in the last stages of the nerve-wracking contest.
“Very satisfied. It was hard to believe that we would win the match against Kings XI Punjab and have some points. We were a bit slow but very glad to get over the line. The plan was just to see the ball and hit it.
It was very crazy. Tewatia started to strike the ball very cleanly in the over of Cotgrell and that is probably the match-winning over for me. I bet no one expected us to win especially when we got to over 15. I am glad we proved everyone wrong,” added Archer, who scored a match-winning 13* off 3 deliveries as he smashed two consecutive sixes off Mohammed Shami in the 19th over.
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In the points table, Kings XI Punjab is currently occupying the third spot with a win and two losses and an NRR of +1.498. On the other hand, Rajasthan Royals are rightly seated at the second position, with two wins in as many games and an NRR of +0.615.
Rajasthan Royals will take on Kolkata Knight Riders on September 30 while Kings XI Punjab will play against the Mumbai Indians on October 1.
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