Australian batsman Steve Smith scored 73 not out to anchor Rajasthan Royals to 139 for 3 in their IPL match against Kolkata Knight Riders here on Sunday.
Smith struck his first half century of this IPL season as he remained not out on 73 off 59 deliveries after the home side were invited to bat on a tricky track.
The former Australia captain, who returned to competitive cricket last month after serving one-year ban for his involvement in the infamous ball-tampering scandal in South Africa, hit seven fours and one six in his unbeaten knock.
He shared 72 runs in 10.4 overs with opener Jos Buttler (37 off 34 balls) for the second wicket after captain Ajinkya Rahane was out cheaply for 5 in the second over.
On a slow track at the Sawai Man Singh stadium, the runs were a premium as the ball did not come on to the bat easily. The stadium was also engulfed by a sandstorm before the tie but the match started on time.
The home side were 56 for 1 at halfway stage but increased the scoring rate at the back end of the innings to add 83 runs from the next 10 overs with Smith scoring the bulk of the runs.
Rajasthan Royals were immediately at the backfoot as soon as the match started as Rahane was trapped LBW by Prasidh Krishna when the scoreboard read just 5.
Buttler hit a couple of fours in the fourth over bowled by Krishna and after that runs were hard to come by before one-down Smith hit another couple of boundaries in the ninth over off chinaman Kuldeep Yadav.
Buttler hit the first six of the match in the fourth delivery of the 12th over bowled by debutant pacer Harry Gurney (2/25) but he was out the next ball while going for another big shot with Subhman Gill taking a fine catch near the boundary ropes.
Smith reached to his 50 off 44 deliveries in the 15th over and after that he opened up his arms in search of runs. He hit a massive six off Sunil Narine in the 18th over and a couple of boundaries in the next two overs to take Rajasthan Royals to a respectable total.
Ben Stokes remained not out on 7 off 14 balls and shared 34 runs with Smith from 4.2 overs for the unconquered fourth wicket.
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