Rajasthan thrash Punjab to go second

Kings XI Punjab v Rajasthan Royals, IPL, Durban

Bulletin by Shwe Wai

Rajasthan Royals 211 for 4 (Smith 77, Ojha 68) beat Kings XI Punjab 133 for 8 (Yuvraj 48, Amit Singh 3-9) by 78 runs
Live scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out

	Graeme Smith, along with Naman Ojha, batted Kings XI Punjab out of the match with a destructive 135-run opening stand

Two changes, one of them a tactical masterstroke, made their impact in the very first over of each innings to hand Rajasthan Royals an imposing 78-run win against Kings XI Punjab, and propel them - in an intensely fluid tournament - to second place on the points table. The match was effectively decided in three overs: the first of Rajasthan's innings, when Naman Ojha hammered 16 off Ramesh Powar; the penultimate, when Sreesanth went for 23, and the first over of Punjab's innings when Amit Singh, playing his first Twenty20 game, took two wickets, including one off the first ball.

Rajasthan have stayed in this tournament through their bowling but managed today to rectify the blips in their erratic top order to build on a solid opening stand between Ojha - promoted for this game - and Graeme Smith. If Rajasthan got their tactics right, Punjab certainly did not, undermining their decision to field in seaming conditions by opening with a spinner. Powar was punished for 16 in the first over as Ojha, using his feet to counter the flight, smashed two sixes over long-on. Seven balls into the game and Rajasthan had equalled their highest opening partnership of 20 in this year's tournament - the first wicket had reached double figures just once in seven matches .