IPL 13: Nobody expected us to chase 224 against KXIP, says Archer

Sharjah [UAE], September 28 (ANI): Rajasthan Royals pacer Jofra Archer said that he is sure that nobody expected the side to chase down 224 against Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) in the Indian Premier League (IPL).
His remark came after Rajasthan Royals chased down a total of 224 to beat KXIP by four wickets at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium on Sunday.
For Rajasthan Royals, Sanju Samson, Steve Smith, and Rahul Tewatia all made 50+ scores to give their team victory by four wickets..
“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,” Archer said in a video posted on the official handle of Rajasthan Royals.
“It was very crazy, Tewatia started to strike the ball very cleanly in the over of Cottrell 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,” he added.
Tewatia came out to bat at number four and he was struggling at one stage. However, in the 18th over bowled by Sheldon Cottrell, Tewatia hit five sixes to turn the tide. The left-handed batsman scored 53 as Rajasthan gained an improbable victory.
Jofra Archer also smashed Mohammad Shami for two sixes in the penultimate over and remained unbeaten on 13 runs.
Sanju Samson had played a knock of 74 runs against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and he followed it up with an 85-run knock against Kings XI Punjab. Skipper Smith made 50 against Punjab as well.
For KXIP, Mayank Agarwal scored a ton, and it was his first hundred in the IPL. Agarwal made 106 runs from 50 balls with the help of 10 fours and 7 sixes to take the side’s total to 223/2.
Agarwal and KL Rahul put together 183 runs for the first wicket and created the record for the highest opening partnership for KXIP in the IPL. This stand between both batsmen is also the second-highest opening partnership in the IPL.
Rajasthan has now won their opening two matches in the ongoing edition of the IPL. It will next lock horns with Kolkata Knight Riders on September 30 while Kings XI Punjab will face Mumbai Indians on October 1. (ANI)