Kings XI Punjab strung together a brilliant all-round performance in a 10-over contest to upset the applecart of Royal Challengers Bangalore last night.
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In a rain-curtailed game at Mohali, Punjab batsmen led by opener Wriddhiman Saha and Axar Patel (20 not out in 15 balls) came out all guns blazing to rattle up 106 in 10 overs.
Their bowlers then put the lid on a powerful batting line-up comprising Chris Gayle (17), Virat Kohli (19) and AB de Villiers (10) with a disciplined performance to restrict Bangalore to 84-6 and extracted a convincing 22-run win.
The success ended Punjab’s seven-match losing streak but it caused a big headache for Bangalore, who were banking on this game to secure a playoff place. Now they will have to win both their remaining games to seal a place in the top four.
.@Wriddhipops opened today & took Arvind for 19 runs in an over to become a #hotstarOfTheMatch nominee! #KXIPvRCB pic.twitter.com/KpeZVpb62E
— hotstar (@hotstartweets) May 13, 2015
After rain had delayed the start of the match by nearly three hours, Punjab, put in to bat, rode on a breezy innings from Saha.
Promoted to open the innings, the diminutive wicket-keeper batsman hit a couple of boundaries in the first over. In the second over, he got stuck into Sreenath Arvind, creaming three fours and a six – to log 20 runs from the over.
Punjab raced to 34 in two overs, before the opening pair were separated at the start of the third over. Saha attempted to hit David Wiese over the top but couldn’t connect well and holed out to Mandeep Singh at long on; he made 31 from 12 balls – in what was his quickest innings in T20 cricket.
With valuable cameos from the rest of the batsmen, Punjab ended up posting a formidable total on board. Medium-pacer Harshal Patel was the most impressive among the Bangalore bowlers returning figures of 2-0-12-2.
Bangalore were never allowed to settle down in their chase as Punjab bowlers kept getting wickets with left-arm pacer Beuran Hendricks (1-9) and Axar Patel (2-11) enacting lead roles. Bangalore’s top four got starts but failed to see the side through.
A delighted Punjab captain George Bailey felt the win has given them fresh confidence to sign of the league on a winning note.
“It’s very satisfying, very gratifying. A lot can happen in shortened games, and so many people stepped up, really pleasing to see,” he said.
“We knew if we could crack the top three open, we had a chance, and the boys did that. We worked hard on our losses, and we deserve to celebrate our wins. Hopefully we’ll take that confidence into the last game and win two on the trot.”
Bangalore captain Kohli conceded Punjab were the better team on the day. “I think Kings XI bowled a little better than us in those 2-3 overs towards the end. Today they played really well,” he said.
