IPL 2015: Rajasthan Royals beat Kings XI Punjab by 26 runs, Stars and flops
IPL 2015: Rajasthan Royals beat Kings XI Punjab by 26 runs, Stars and flops
James Faulkner was the man-of-the-match in the World Cup final, less than two weeks back and continuing to draw confidence from that, the Australian delivered another stellar show, this time for his Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Rajasthan Royals (RR). He walked in to bat when Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) bowlers were dictating terms and had RR reeling at 75 for 5 in the 11th over.
Faulkner has all the ingredients of a future great and there’s a reason why ex-RR legend Shane Warne rates him so high. The Australian all-rounder seemed to have it all planned. He held the innings together for a while and later exploded. His 46 from 33 balls, helped RR reach to 162, a score they would have been delighted with after finding themselves in the early mess. He was ably supported by newcomer Deepak Hooda, who scored 30 from 15.
Getting 162 was only the half job done; KXIP had plenty of firepower in their batting to chase it down. The score wasn’t going to bother the last year’s runners-up, who have chased down scores in excess of 200 with ease. Faulkner also starred with the ball, as he went on to outsmart all his Australian World Cup winning teammates (Glen Maxwell, Mitchell Johnson and George Bailey) and ended with figures of 4-0-26-3, an all-round show good enough to win him the man-of-the-match.
Match turning points: The wicket of David Miller turned the game in RR’s favour. Dhawal Kulkarni got the dangerous Miller out for 23, when KXIP needed 71 to win from 42 balls. Miller was surely the man capable to do that. Earlier in the 19th over of RR’s innings, Faulkner hit 19 off Johnson’s last five balls and that ensured that KXIP were chasing a total where the required run-rate is in excess of eight a over.
Earlier, KXIP skipper Bailey won the toss and invited RR in to bat. Anureet Singh bowled beautifully with Sandeep Sharma and later Mitchell Johnson struck with crucial blows. Just when RR stand-in skipper Steve Smith threatened to take the game away from Punjab, Johnson dismissed his Australian teammate. However, the moment of the match was Bailey’s catch in 19th over which was a superb tag-team effort by Tim Southee and Karun Nair. Southee jumps at the deep mid-wicket boundary to pouch it with his right hand, loses balance and just before stepping to the other side of the rope, he throws it back to Karun Nair, who too dives across to complete the effort. In the end, it was a well deserved two points for the brilliant Royals against a strong Punjab outfit.
Brief scores:
Rajasthan Royals 162 for 7 in 20 overs [Steve Smith 33 (23), Deepak Hooda 30 (15), James Faulkner 46 (33); Sandeep Sharma 4-1-19-1, Anureet Singh 4-0-23-3, Mitchell Johnson 4-0-34-2] bt Kings XI Punjab 136 for 8 in 20 overs [Murali Vijay 37 (32); Tim Southee 4-0-36-2; James Faulkner 4-0-26-3] – by 26 runs