Rajasthan Royals scored a seven-wicket victory over Kings XI Punjab in the 50th Dream 11 IPL match in Abu Dhabi on October 30 night.

KXIP firebrand Chris Gayle’s powerful 99 (63 balls), which gave Punjab to a formidable total of 185/4, went in vain as RR made four successful partnerships to chase the target. His 120-run second-wicket partnership with skipper KL Rahul (46 off 41) was the cornerstone of Punjab’s total.

Gayle reached his half-century off 28 balls. KXIP had an early blow when Jofra Archer dismissed opening batsman Mandeep Singh striking in his first over.

RR’s chase saw Ben Stokes giving a good start with a half century that put 60 runs on the board before the team lost their first wicket to Chris Jordan. Sanju Samson (48 off 25) added 51 with Robin Uthappa, and 34 with captain Steve Smith (31 off 20) before he was run out. Jos Buttler gave the finishing touches for the victory with an unbeaten 41-run stand with Smith. Chris Jordan bowled a wide which sealed the RR win.

Stokes was declared Man of the Match (2/32 and 50 off 26).Rajasthan has a slim chance of qualifying to the last four with this win. At No. 4 on the table, Punjab’s chances are unaffected by the loss (12 points from 13 matches).

Chris Gayle was fined 10% of his match fee for beaching IPL’s Code of Conduct when he threw his bat in frustration after being dismissed for 99 by Jofra Archer.

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Delhi Capitals inflicted a 46-run defeat on Rajasthan Royals at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium on October 8 in Match 23 of the Dream 11 IPL season currently staged in the UAE. Delhi now top the points table with 10 points.

Between them, DC bowlers Kagiso Rabada, Ravichandran Ashwin and Marcus Stoinis shared seven wickets as they bowled out Rajasthan for 138. Ashwin’s two wickets for 22 runs earned him the Man of the Match.

Delhi’s batting performance at 184/8 was disappointing too, save for Stoinis (39 off 30 balls) and Shimron Hetmyer (45 off 24). Among Rajasthan bowlers, Jofra Archer took three wickets.

Batting second, Rajasthan suffered their fourth straight loss despite the efforts of Rahul Tewatia (38) and Steve Smith (24). Good bowling and fielding helped DC win comfortably. Hetmyer and Shikhar Dhawan netted some brilliant catches.

Dhoni’s daughter receive rape threats

Meanwhile, in a disturbing development, Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s five-year-old daughter Ziva received rape threats from social media trolls following Chennai Super Kings’ loss to Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) by 10 runs on October 6. The incident has been condemned by women leaders and organisations in particular, who decried the misuse of social media platforms and the rape culture permeating the country.

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