IPL 2016: Rising Pune Supergiants beat Kings XI Punjab by 4 wickets at Visakhapatnam, Stars and Flops
IPL 2016: Rising Pune Supergiants beat Kings XI Punjab by 4 wickets at Visakhapatnam, Stars and Flops
MS Dhoni last over heroics helped Rising Pune Supergiants edge past Kings XI Punjab by a whisker in the 53rd game of the Indian Premier League at Visakhapatnam on Saturday. Dhoni powered RPS’ run-chase as he stuck to his guns and smashed big sixes in the ultimate over to carry his team over the line. RPS have now signed off the tournament on a winning note and finished at seventh position in the points table.`READ MORE: IPL 2016, Match 53, Pick of the tweets: Rising Pune Supergiants vs Kings XI Punjab at Visakhapatnam
KXIP won the toss and elected to bat first on a pitch which looked good for batting. Murali Vijay and Hashim Amla once again got their team off to a good start as the duo accounted for 60 runs at the top. Gurkeerat Singh played a good and and accelerated the KXIP innings with some elegant hitting and graceful stroke play. RPS bowlers had a tough day except Ashok Dinda and Ravichandran Ashwin bowled magnificently. READ MORE: Cricket fraternity, twitterati hail MS Dhoni for his last over heroics against Kings XI Punjab
RPS looked good for a big score but kept losing wickets in the death overs which didn’t help them achieve fruitful results. Ashwin was among the wickets and chipped in with four precious one, he bowled with guile and did a commendable job. Rishi Dhawan played some good shots in the end and helped his side in posting 172 runs in 20 overs.
RPS didn’t have a good run in the recent times and chasing was again a big task for a team who lacked confidence. Usman Khawaja and Ajinkya Rahane started well but soon the latter floundered. The ball was in KXIP’s court after the fall of sixth RPS wicket at 86. They needed 87 from 40 deliveries and required a Dhoni special.
Thisara Perera got the momentum going and Dhoni sealed the game in the final over with some mighty blows to Axar Patel. It was a terrific final over as the game would have swung any way till the very last game.
Turning Point: KXIP were on the driving seat till the very last over where RPS needed 23 runs with a set MS Dhoni and Ashwin. Axar Patel was trusted with the ultimate over but Dhoni proved out to be too good for the young left-arm spinner as the skipper smashed three maximums and a boundary to rekindle memories of his initial cricketing days.
Brief Scores:
Kings XI Punjab 172 for 7 in 20 overs [Murali Vijay 59(41), Gurkeerat singh 51(30); R Ashwin 4-0-34-4, Ashok Dinda 3-0-16-1] lost to Rising Pune Supergiants 173/6 in 20 overs [Usman Khawaja 30(29), MS Dhoni 64*(32); Gurkeerat Singh 2-0-15-2, Rishi Dhawan 3-0-21-1] by 4 wickets.