Published: Apr 12, 2016, 01:03 PM (IST)
Edited: Apr 12, 2016, 01:03 PM (IST)
Gujarat Lions (GL), the new guys in the Indian Premier League (IPL) business, left the spectators stunned as they beat hosts Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) by 5 wickets in their very first match of the tournament. Batting first, KXIP got to a good start as the openers Murali Vijay and Manan Vohra as the pair added 78 runs. But as the opening partnership was broken, the following batsmen were not able to make any other major partnership. Mark Stoinis, the star of Big Bash League season 5, was the only one who scored something mentionable adding 33 runs off 22 balls. The team put up a par 161 at Mohali for GL to chase. Full Scorecard: Kings XI Punjab vs Gujarat Lions, IPL 2016, Match 3 at Mohali
For Gujarat Lions, the start had not been an impressive one as Brendon McCullum charged down the pitch just to get stumped in the very first over. Aaron Finch, the man at the other end, looked unstoppable though. Skipper Suresh Raina made a 9-ball 20 while next in, Dinesh Karthik, played a sensible knock of 41 off 26 deliveries and remained not out.
It was Dwayne ‘Champion’ Bravo who stole the show with his 4-for. Bravo bowled brilliantly, not letting the middle-order build up any important partnership while KXIP’s bowling was not as significant as it was being speculated to be. Mitchell Johnson could not pull off any extra-ordinary spell but his run out of Ravindra Jadeja was highly appreciated and has to be one of the highlights of the game. Karthik ended the game perfectly with a boundary. Watch the Full Video Highlights of IPL 9 2016 Match 3 between Kings XI Punjab vs Gujarat Lions here.
Gujarat Lions are next scheduled to play Rising Pune Supergiants while Kings XI Punjab will play Delhi Daredevils in their next match.
