Rajasthan Royals placed one foot in the play-offs on Thursday evening, thanks to their ninth - and second consecutive away - win that brought them up to 18 points in the ongoing IPL skirmish.
Royals put up a commanding show with the bat and ball as they outplayed a curiously-subdued Kings XI Punjab by eight wickets, backing a solid fielding show with another power-packed display with the bat.
Excellent Cooper
Kevon Cooper was instrumental in stalling what had until then appeared to be a runaway innings. Punjab had tided over the first-over loss of Mandeep Singh and were cruising on a 102-run union between Gilchrist and Shaun March when he dismissed the former with a slower ball.
Cooper took the pace off yet again to claim Marsh and the dangerous David Miller and conceded just 23 off his four as Punjab made a hash of a great start. It was a dark beginning for Gilchrist, who was left fuming when he was subjected to an under-hand run-out attempt in the third over.
Score Details
Punjab- 145/6 (20)
S Marsh -77(64)
A Gilchrist -42(32)
Best Bowler
K Cooper-3(23)
Rajasthan-147/2(19)
A Rahane -59(49)
S Samson -47(33)
Player of the match-K Cooper
