Rajasthan Royals recorded the highest run chase in IPL history to beat Kings XI Punjab by four wickets in a high-scoring encounter in Sharjah on Sunday. Put into bat, Mayank Agarwal smashed a 50-ball 106, while skipper KL Rahul cracked a 54-ball 69 as the duo stitched a 183-run opening stand off 99 balls to power Punjab to an imposing 223 for 2. Sanju Samson then put on a lion-hearted effort with a 42-ball 85 studded with seven sixes and four boundaries, while Steve Smith scored a 27-ball 50 to keep RR in the hunt. However, it was Rahul Tewatia, who turned hero when he smashed five sixes in the 18th over off Sheldon Cottrell to turn the match on its head. He scored a 31-ball 53 after struggling initially to take them to the brink of win.
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Brief Score:
Kings XI Punjab: 223 for 2 in 20 overs (Mayank Agarwal 106, KL Rahul 69; Ankit Rajpoot 1/39).
Rajasthan Royals: 226 for 6 in 19.3 overs (Sanju Samson 85, Rahul Tewatia 53, Steve Smith 50; Mohammed Shami 3/53).
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7:03 PM IST: Steve Smith wins the toss and Rajasthan Royals will bowl first against Kings XI Punjab.
7:07 PM IST: Strange thing happened at the toss. Steve Smith revealed the make of the Rajasthan team, but KL Rahul left wasn't asked and left without confirming Punjab's XI.
But still, here we are. And no Chris Gayle. The Windies legend was limbering up as the captains head out for the toss. It comes to nothing.
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Rajasthan Royals: Jos Buttler, Steven Smith (c), Sanju Samson (wk), Robin Uthappa, Rahul Tewatia, Riyan Parag, Tom Curran, Jofra Archer, Shreyas Gopal, Jaydev Unadkat, Ankit Rajpoot.
Kings XI Punjab: Mayank Agarwal, Lokesh Rahul(c & wk), Nicholas Pooran, Glenn Maxwell, Karun Nair, Sarfaraz Khan, James Neesham, Murugan Ashwin, Ravi Bishnoi, Mohammed Shami, Sheldon Cottrell.
