Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) finally notched up their first win in the ninth edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) and what is more encouraging is the fact that it came against the strong Rising Pune Supergaints (RPS). It was a good overall display by KXIP that helped them climb to the seventh spot in the table, while RPS remain at four. MORE: IPL 2016, Match 10, Pick of the tweets: Kings XI Punjab vs Rising Pune Supergiants at Mohali
Half-centuries from openers Murali Vijay and Manan Vohra laid the foundation of the chase for KXIP and it was a classic Glenn Maxwell finish that gave the Kings a much-needed win. RPS leg-spinner Murugan Ashwin did peg them back with three wickets in a span of eight balls but the Maxwell-show sealed it for the Kings.
Earlier, MS Dhoni called it right at the toss and elected to bat. Barring Faf du Plessis and Steve Smith, none of the Pune batsmen made it count. It was not the best of wickets to bat in and credit must also go with the KXIP bowlers. Sandeep Sharma once again, bowled well at the start and it was Mohit Sharma’s three wickets at the end that made the difference in a score that could have been 170.
Chasing 153 was going to be tricky on a wicket that was not the best for batting. Also, the Kings were not in a good form. Pune bowlers let them down. A lot was expected from Ishant Sharma and Thisara Perera but they could not provide enough support to the two Ashwins and Ankit Sharma. Dhoni’s leadership can often take you by surprise. The most baffling part of today’s play was the way he used Irfan Pathan. Irfan was the highest wicket-taker in Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy this season and making his way into the side in place of RP Singh, he was introduced very late into the attack and he bowled only one over. Despite Ishant and Perera going for runs, Irfan was underused.
There were a few hiccups but KXIP pulled it off quite comfortably in the end.
Brief Scores:
Rising Pune Supergiants 152 for 7 in 20 overs [Faf du Plessis 67(53), Steve Smith 38(26); Sandeep Sharma 4-0-23-2, Mohit Sharma 4-0-23-3] lost to Kings XI Punjab 153 for 4 in 18.4 overs [Murali Vijay 53(49), Manan Vohra 51(33), Glenn Maxwell 32(14)*; Ankit Sharma 4-0-27-1, M Ashwin 4-0-36-3] by six wickets.
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