(Catch Live scores and live updates of the Rajasthan Royals and Kings XI Punjab match here)
If you do it once it it’s termed as a one off innings, but twice in a row and here’s the team to watch out for, Maxwell and Miller have once again chased down an imposing total with ease. Together, they have hit all the 12 sixes in the Punjab innings.
Fastest IPL 50s 17 Gilchrist, Gayle 19 Uthappa, O Shah, MILLER 20 Pollard, MSD, Sehwag #KXIPvsRR
Faulkner bowls the 19th over. Pujara manages to rotate the strike. Miller then pulls wide of deep midwicket for a couple. Miller finishes off the match with a six over deep point.
Dhawal Kulkarni bowls the 18th. Pujara tries the scoop and fails big time as it was a wide deliver on the off, but gets a single. Miller then smacks one over long-on for six and then picks a couple. A game-changing over this is. The ball flies over extra-cover for the second six. The next one was a jab on the leg for another six. Make that 27 from the over as the last ball was sliced over point for a maximum.
Finally some improvisation from Pujara. Walks across and scoops Faulkner’s delivery for four. The next ball he hoicks over extra cover, didn’t have enough power for a maximum, but gets three. Good running between the wickets. Faulkner is taking the pace off the ball and it’s making things difficult for Miller to hit the big ones. Couple on the last ball. 12 from the over. 37 needed in 18 balls.
Tambe comes back to bowl his last over. Miller launches the fifth ball over the bowler’s head for six. five singles apart from that. 49 needed in last four overs.
Good over by Stuart Binny. Just five from it. Punjab need 60 in last five. Required rate of 12.
#STATBYTE! Glenn Maxwell scored 89 runs In his 116-run partnership with Che Pujara (77%). #IPL
Seems like a Pujara boundary comes as a complementary offer to Maxwell’s onslaught. But Richardson gets the big breakthrough, Maxwell caught by Steve Smith at long-on. Twice he has missed a century opportunity. Perfect time for another big hitter David Miller.
OUT! Maxwell 89(45)
Mandeep/Manan/Gurkeerat are far better options than Pujara in T20s.
The onslaught continues, Pujara picks a couple and a single. Maxwell sends the third ball over long off and hoicks the fourth over deep midwicket. Alan Wilkins makes a smart comment: ‘The fielders are spectators and spectators are fielders.’ The best part is Maxwell is not getting fooled by the dipping yorkers from Bhatia. 18 runs from the over. Strategic timeout taken, we”ll be back with the Maxwell onslaught in a few minutes!!!
Maxwell is busy with his middle overs shots. hits three more boundaries, one on the leg and two through covers. Excellent timing and placement. Clearly one of the best players in the format. 90 needed in 48 balls. Seems easy with Miller o come and a flat deck ahead.
Trust me this will happen soon. When a batsman is struggling like Pujara.. The captain will retire him. #burningupballs#IPL7
Take a bow Mr Maxwell!Three reverse sweep and none of them a cakewalk and all three end up behind the ropes for four. Rajat Bhatia is unsettled and concedes a wide. Maxwell picks a single on the last ball and retains strike.
Best way for a spinner to deal with Maxwell? Become a yorker specialist. Maxwell struggles and on one occasion almost chopped it on to his stumps. Only four from the over. Punjab need 123 in 60 balls. In other words, a regular challenge for batsmen like Miller and Maxwell.
Interesting challenge this is. Maxwell against the slow pace of Bhatia. Hammers the fifth ball towards midwicket but doesn’t get the timing and lands in front of Steve Smith.
Pujara possibly has the easiest job in a run-chase. Picks the singles!!! Maxwell looks to get underneath against Tambe but doesn’t manage to get the big hits. If Pujara continues this way for longer then Punjab might make this chase much tougher. On this flat deck, 192 isn’t an intimidating target. Strategic timeout.
There can’t be more demoralising moments for a bowler than delivering to Maxwell. The first ball by James Faulkner was a high full-toss and you know where the ball landed. Six more. Time for some variety in sixes. Maxwell delivers a short one and Maxwell coming down the track converts it in to an upper-cut for six.
Tambe dropped a sitter and then gets more humiliation as Maxwell welcomes him with a six in the cow-corner region. Picks a single on the next ball. Could have hit that but it was wide down the leg.
Dropped Twice: Maxwell was done in by a slower ball from Richardson and the Richardson just about got a hand to it. The next one was a much more easy one, high in the air and Tambe drops it. Well, you don’t drop Maxwell twice and often go on to win a match. He punishes them with a six whipped through the legs and then hits a boundary towards long-on.
Che Pujara batting with Glenn Maxwell. This is like Matisse painting with Jackson Pollock. #IPL
Another one bites the dust. Saha pulls to deep fine-leg and Dhawal Kulkarni takes a good low catch diving forward. Rajasthan have been excellent with their field placement and bowling according to it. The match begins now – Glenn Maxwell walks in.
OUT! Saha 2(3)
Strategic field placement for Sehwag and he falls for it. Dhawan Kulkarni tied up Sehwag for first three deliveries and then gave room of room to hit on the off. Sehwag slices it straight to Binny at deep point. Wriddhiman Saha is the new man in. Takes a single on the first ball. One run and a wicket from the over.
OUT! 2(7)
A bespectacled Sehwag and Pujara walk in. Pujara takes strike, starts with an on-drive for single. Four singles and a wide in that Kane Richardson over.
Tidy last over from Balaji. Has a reputation of keeping it full in the death overs and he maintains it. Misses his length on the fifth ball. And Smith lofts the full-toss over extra-cover for four. Good cameo from Smith and Royals have a healthy total on board.
Smith picks a bye and Faulkner hits a six over long-off. Was bowled at a good length and Faulkner was ready for it. The fifth ball was short and Faulkner is hit on the grill. Thankfully it was a slower bouncer or else it could have been more painful.
Punjab were barely managing to keep things under control and Balaji bowls poorly. Gifts a full toss and Smith smacks it past the bowler for four. And the next ball was a wide yorker, Smth manages to get it past short thirdman for another boundary. Smith continues the onslaught by guiding the fuller delivery on the middle stump past short fineleg for the third boundary. 15 runs from the over.
Sanju Samson is going to be one hell of a cricketer for India. Just 19, and has all the shots in the book! #IPL
Was quiet for a while but Samson continues. The second ball of the over was pitched short but Samson was steady to hit it over the bowler’s head for six. What a shot to reach his fifty! Sneaks a couple on the second ball. But that’s the last of Samson. On the next ball he makes room to hit over extra-cover and Awana hits the stumps with a yorker.
OUT! Samson 52(34)
Hahaha. @DavidMillerSA12‘s legs catch better than his hands. *sorry mate*
Wicket for Johnson. Binny pulls but doesn’t get the distance. David Miller comes running in from long-on and almost messes up the simple catch. But was lucky that the ball got stuck between his legs. Another Australian comes in to bat, Steven Smith. Three runs and a wicket from the over.
OUT! Binny 12(8)
Bailey continues with Kartik and takes more pasting. Binny comes down the track and sends the ball over long-off roof. Samson on the last ball hits hard back to the bowler. Deflects off Kartik’s hand and they take a single.
That’s Watson for you. He is in the middle of a brutal display of batting and then plots his own downfall. The delivery from Akshar Patel angles in to him and Watson goes for another slog, misses it completely and the stumps are in a disarray. In the middle of the carnage, Akshar Patel has bowled excellently. 4-0-22-1. Strategic timeout signalled.
OUT! Watson 50(29)
Watson is decimating Awana. Whips the fifth ball over midwicket for a six. And completes his fifty with a single on the last ball. 28-ball fifty for Watto.
There is a sign near Sharjah stadium saying ‘graveyard’. Have felt tempted many times to have it pointed towards the ground 🙂
Both these batsmen are matching shot for shot and Murali Kartik is bearing the brunt. Samson flicks past midwicket for four and Watson betters it with two straight shots for a four and six. He wasn’t in a great position for the six but went through with the slog. There’s not much in this pitch and anything less than 200 would be surprising. Kartik is losing his cool now. Bowls a wide and is disgruntled at Bowden. 21 runs in the over. Kartik has gone for 39 in his 3 overs.
Well Shane Watson wants to keep his onslaught going from the other end. After couple of boundaries, he lofts over covers for one more. And the fifth ball was in the slot by Awana and Watson isn’t going to miss out on such loose deliveries. Six! 13 runs from the over.
The more I watch Sanju Samson play I realise how terrible I was as a batsman
Watson goes for the slog weep but the inside edge goes for four. Dropped! Watson played this one in the air and Miller misses a regulation catch.
Yes, there comes another confirmation, this is Samson’s evening. The last ball of the ninth over was lofted over the bowler’s head for a maximum. Watching a young player big shots is one thing but with that pure timing, you know here’s the next big thing in cricket. Strategic timeout taken and Rajasthan look good despite the loss of two wickets. What kind of role does Shane Watson play now!!!
Akshar Patel comes back in to the attack. The fourth ball was short and wide, Watson cuts it for a four.
Murali Kartik comes in to bowl and strikes on his first delivery. Came round the wicket bowling across the left-handed Nayar, pitches outside leg and hits him on the pad while the batsman was trying to sweep. Marais Erasmus raises his finger. Poor decision but Nayar has to walk. Skipper Watson is here. But all these complications are happening on one end while Samson is in his own universe. Makes room and lofts Kartik over extra-cover for a six. Phenomenal timing.
OUT! Nayar 23(20)
Single on the first ball for Samson. Nayar then picks a couple. Mitchell Johnson concedes some gifts for Nayar. Delivers a length ball and Nayar hammers it over the bowler’s head for four and the umpire signals it a no-ball. And the free-hit is lofted over midwicket for a boundary. Is it the flat deck or Johnson is really unimpressive? Anyway a good run for Royals in the powerplay.
+1 Mr. Harsha.
there is something about sanju samson…..if he hits only three shots, those are the ones you will remember #PepsiIPL2014
Abhishek Nayar is making his intent clear but hasn’t been in the best of touch. First ball from Awana was wide and the next one was pulled aerially and the pick a couple. Single on the next ball. But this match seems might witness a Samson magic. He pulls the fourth ball for a boundary. There was not much height for that shot but then players gifted with timing can make anything happen.
Sanju Samson is the new batsman and he doesn’t need any time to absorb the pressure. A boundary hit through extra-cover with neat timing and the last ball was much better. Picked the length early and hammers it over midwicket for a six. Poor start for Balaji but credit to the batsman for playing two brilliant shots.
#STATBYTE: Out of eight overseas players allowed between them today, Kings XI Punjab & Rajasthan Royals have SEVEN Australians! #IPL
Rahane picks a single on the second ball of the over from Parvinder Awana. The next ball, Nayar pulls but doesn’t get the timing right. Balaji at deep squareleg fields and the batsmen run two. Nayar on the fourth ball comes down the track and plays through the line. Lovely timing this time around and it’s the first six of the match. But he messes up on the last ball of the over. Calls for a single but turns it down, Rahane was too far ahead and Bailey hits the bulls eye. Big wicket for Punjab, the man in-form walks back.
OUT! Rahane 13(8)
Nayar not looking confident now, will be interesting to watch as another failure might force Rajasthan to rethink on their opening strategy…
@bhogleharsha benefit of doubt to Paddy Upton for now. Don’t mind a bit of left-field thinking in an attempt to revive Nayar’s career.
There comes Mitchell Johnson but the batsman at the other end is packed with confidence. Rahane pulls the second ball with authority towards squareleg for four. The next delivery he drives neatly through covers and picks three. Perhaps the England players are watching this and feel convinced that Johnson can be scored off! Seven runs from Johnson’s first over.
With Mitchell Johnson in the ranks, George Bailey gets Akshar Patel to start the bowling. Abhishek Nayar defends the first balls and then picks a single playing towards midwicket. Rahane on the fifth ball came down the track and hits past the diving extra-cover fielder for four. Single on the last delivery.
Toss: Kings XI Punjab have won the toss and elected to bowl against Rajasthan Royals. George Bailey leads Punjab and Shane Watson will captains Rajasthan. Punjab make a change as Murali Kartik comes in for Rishi Dhawan. Rajasthan bring in Steve Smith for Brad Hodge as he is ill.
Teams:
Rajasthan Royals: Ajinkya Rahane, Shane Watson (c), Sanju Samson (wk), Stuart Binny, Steven Smith, Abhishek Nayar, James Faulkner, Rajat Bhatia, Kane Richardson, Dhawal Kulkarni, Pravin Tambe.
Kings XI Punjab: Virender Sehwag, Cheteshwar Pujara, Glenn Maxwell, David Miller, George Bailey (c), Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Mitchell Johnson, Akshar Patel, Murali Karthik, Pawan Awana, Laxmipathy Balaji.
Hello and welcome to the live coverage of the Rajasthan Royals vs Kings XI Punjab Indian Premier League (IPL) match at Sharjah. I am Abhijit Banare and I will be bringing you the live updates. This is one of those games in IPL where you can give a fancy name like Royals vs Kings. Both teams have begun well, Punjab with a thumping win in a high-scoring encounter while Rajasthan scampered home in the last over against Sunrisers Hyderabad. It’s going to be an interesting clash where the Rajasthan bowling attack has been tough to get away with due to their slower bowlers. But they will have a task to keep the explosive Punjab batsmen quiet especially against Maxwell who bats the same on all pitches. Meanwhile Punjab’s bowling attack isn’t the best and Rajasthan batsmen can take some advantage from it. Punjab is one of the favourites for a title finish with the quality of their overall playing XI and going by their previous win, they will be considered favourites to win this one.
Squads:
Rajasthan Royals: Shane Watson (c), Ajinkya Rahane, Brad Hodge, Sanju Samson, Stuart Binny, Ankush Bains, James Faulkner, Pravin Tambe, Kevon Cooper, Unmukt Chand, Steven Smith, Ben Cutting, Deepak Hooda, Iqbal Abdullah, Karun Nair, Vikramjeet Malik, Abhishek Nayar, Dhawal Kulkarni, Kane Richardson, Dishant Yagnik (wk), Tim Southee, Rahul Tewatia, Ankit Sharma, Amit Mishra.
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