Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) beat Rajasthan Royals (RR) in a thrilling Super Over in Match 18 of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2015 at Ahmedabad on Tuesday. Ajinkya Rahane extended his lead as the leading run-scorer of IPL 2015, but KXIP came back from behind to pull off a superb win. Shiamak Unwalla brings the highlights of the game.
1. Virender Sehwag makes a captaincy comeback: George Bailey had injured his shoulder in KXIP’s previous game. He did not recover in time, and had to sit out, which meant that crowd favourite Virender Sehwag came to the toss as KXIP skipper. He was back to his own inimitable ways as well. He said at the toss, “I scored a century against England here, so they have to cheer for Virender Sehwag.” Classic Viru! Shaun Marsh, David Miller star as Kings XI Punjab win thrilling Super Over against Rajasthan
2. The Ajinkya Rahane-Shane Watson alliance shines again: Ajinkya Rahane and Shane Watson put on a record century stand in the previous match, and showed no signs of stopping this time either. The duo added 95 for the first wicket, with Watson scoring a good 45 off 35 balls. Rahane extended his lead as the leading run-scorer of IPL 2015 with an elegant 74 off 54 deliveries. Shaun Marsh brings up 2000 IPL runs
3. Cameos galore for RR: Deepak Hooda continued his impressive run in IPL 2015 with a brief but belligerent 19 off nine balls. Karun Nair continued after Hooda’s dismissal; he hit a useful 25 off 13. Stuart Binny then hit 12 off four balls in the end, as the three cameos added up to healthy 56 runs off 26 balls. PHOTOS Rajasthan Royals vs Kings XI Punjab, IPL 2015: Match 18 at Ahmedabad
4. Shaun Marsh and David Miller revive KXIP: Sehwag and Murali Vijay were lost to excellent run-outs from Steve Smith and Rahul Tewatia respectively. Sehwag was beaten to the stumps by a bullet-like direct hit from Smith, while Vijay was unfortunate to be caught short after Shaun Marsh hit one back to the bowler Tewatia. Ajinkya Rahane’s majestic knock takes Rajasthan Royals to 191/6 against Kings XI
Glenn Maxwell failed again, but Marsh and David Miller turned on the heat for KXIP. Marsh joined the rather exclusive 2,000-run IPL club in the course of his 40-ball 65. Miller, meanwhile, hammered 54 off 30 balls to keep KXIP in the hunt even after Marsh’s dismissal.
5. Steven Smith fumbles; Akshar Patel takes it to the Super Over: When it came down to the final over, KXIP needed 14 runs to win with Akshar Patel and Mitchell Johnson in the middle. Johnson took five runs off the first three balls, which put Akshar on strike. He played a nothing shot to Steven Smith at mid on, but pressure got to the usually terrific Australian fielder, and his throw was so wide that the batsmen were able to take two. Akshar took two more off the next ball, and with five runs to win, he sliced Faulkner over point for a boundary to take it to the Super Over. IPL 2015 Highest run-scorer: List of best batsmen in IPL 8
7. The dramatic Super Over: The Super Over was a thrilling affair. David Miller and Shaun Marsh opened, while Chris Morris took the ball. David Miller received a full toss to start with, but missed it completely. The fielders appealed, and the umpire raised the finger. Maxwell could only get a single off the next ball, as KXIP got to one for one off two balls. Morris then bowled a no-ball full toss that Marsh hit for a boundary. He hit another boundary after that before facing a dot ball. The batsmen could only take one off the last ball to set RR 16. IPL 2015 Most 6s and 4s: List of most dangerous batsmen in IPL 8
Shane Watson and James Faulkner then came in for RR, with Mitchell Johnson bowling the Super Over. Just like KXIP, RR lost a wicket with their first delivery, as Johnson speared in a yorker that beat Watson’s attempted drive. Like Morris had for RR, Johnson proceeded to bowl a waist-high full toss that was hit for four! However, unlike RR, KXIP managed to keep their head as Faulkner tried to steal a single only for wicketkeeper Sanju Samson to throw down the stumps as KXIP won. IPL 2015 Highest wicket-taker: List of best bowlers in IPL 8
(Shiamak Unwalla, a reporter with CricketCountry, is a self-confessed Sci-Fi geek and Cricket fanatic. His Twitter handle is @ShiamakUnwalla)
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