There were two standout performers in Kings XI Punjab’s win over Royal Challengers Bangalore at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru on Friday.
Axar Patel’s magnificent striking with the bat helped the visitors get to a total of 138-7 in their 20 overs as he scored an unbeaten 38 from just 17 deliveries at the back-end of Punjab’s innings.
The one six and two fours he hit in the final over of the innings helped Kings XI gain some momentum before the break. He then came on to take three wickets for 11 runs with the ball to complete a top all-round performance.
Despite Patel’s heroics, the best player of the day surely has to be Sandeep Sharma. The Indian fast bowler ripped the heart of the Royal Challengers’ batting, taking three crucial wickets in the Powerplay overs with some fabulous swing bowling.
Sandeep, in fact, became the first-ever bowler to dismiss the three superstars of RCB’s batting line-up [Chris Gayle, Virat Kohli, and AB de Villiers] in the same innings.
It wasn’t so surprising that he ended up being named as the Player of the Match at the end of the game.
SOCIAL CHATTER
.@sandeep25a became the 1st bowler to get @imVkohli, @henrygayle & @ABdeVilliers17 out in 1 match. Easy to see why he won Man of the Match! pic.twitter.com/cxdCKCp04L
— Kings XI Punjab (@lionsdenkxip) May 5, 2017
Great performance by Sandeep to become the 1st man to get all Gayle,Virat,ABD in a match .Axar Patel was brilliant. Congratulations Team !
— Virender Sehwag (@virendersehwag) May 5, 2017
Wow, @sandeep25a is on 🔥 vs some of the best batsmen in T20 cricket. @lionsdenkxip giving themselves every chance to defend this small total
— Lisa Sthalekar (@sthalekar93) May 5, 2017
Sandeep sharma bhut wadhiya shera @sandeep25a u have won it for @lionsdenkxip by taking 3 big wickets.congratulations kings11 vs @RCBTweets
— Harbhajan Turbanator (@harbhajan_singh) May 5, 2017
What a game by @lionsdenkxip defending 139 against a strong @RCBTweets lineup... bowlers were simply amazing especially @sandeep25a
— Daren Sammy (@darensammy88) May 5, 2017
Well done kings 11 , great team effort , especially the bowling unit n a big shout out for @sandeep25a @akshar2026 .. u were brilliant!!
— Mithun Manhas (@MithunManhas) May 5, 2017
What an evening for Sandeep Sharma. Many new fast bowlers on the horizon but he's told everyone he's around too.
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) May 5, 2017
