By CricketCountry Staff
Robin Uthappa and Yuvraj Singh hit two sixes in consecutive overs towards the end to register a comfortable victory chasing a target of 113 set by Kings XI Punjab at the DY Patil Sports Academy in Mumbai.
Published: Apr 10, 2011, 08:13 PM (IST)
Edited: Apr 10, 2011, 08:13 PM (IST)
By CricketCountry Staff
Mumbai: Apr 10, 2011
Robin Uthappa and Yuvraj Singh hit two sixes in consecutive overs towards the end to register a comfortable victory chasing a target of 113 set by Kings XI Punjab at the DY Patil Sports Academy in Mumbai.
Yuvraj finished the game with a boundary off Abhishek Nayar after Kings XI Punjab fought back with two quick wickets of Jesse Ryder and Mithun Manhas. They added 60 runs for the second wicket to take Pune Warriors India closer to the target.
Manhas fell after a well-made 35 off Abhishek Nayar, while Ryder was caught behind by Adam Gilchrist off Ryan McLaren.
Ryder and Manhas played cautiously after the early loss of Graeme Smith in their chase of 113 for victory against Kings XI Punjab.
Both Ryder and Manhas smashed the loose balls by the Punjab bowlers and rotated the strike well. Manhas hit the first six of the innings off Piyush Chawala in the sixth over.
Praveen Kumar jolted Pune Warriors India early when he had Graeme Smith caught at covers by McLaren off the very first ball of the innings for a golden duck
Earlier, Pune Warriors India were off to a dream debut in the Indian Premier League campaign after their seamers Alfonso Thomas and Shrikant Wagh’s double strikes demolished Kings XI Punjab top order.
Thomas struck in the first over when Gilchrist was caught by wicket-keeper Robin Uthappa trying to pull a short delivery, while Shrikant Wagh got rid of Shaun Marsh caught at short fine-leg caught by Rahul Sharma in the second after Punjab elected to bat first.
Thomas added more woes to KXIP’s worries when he scalped the wicket of Paul Valthaty in the next, caught by Jesse Ryder at point.
A terrible mix-up between Sunny Singh and Abhishek Nayar in the sixth over worsened KXIP’s position in the match as half of their side was back in the pavilion at a paltry score of 30, and Nayar’s resistence too ended soon when he was caught at backward point off Ryder.
McLaren and Piyush Chawla then steadied the KXIP innings after Nayar’s dismissal, but not without a few niggles. Chawla fell after the useful stand while looking for a big shot off Wagh, after adding 35 crucial runs with McLaren.
South African all-rounder McLaren’s late burst ensured that the stuttering KXIP innings goes past 100, which was brought up by boundary off Thomas in the 19th over. McLaren rounded off a good over for Punjab with a six over deep midwicket.
McLaren then brought up his well-made half century by hitting a boundary off Wayne Parnell, and then a single that took his team to a respectable total.
Brief Scores: KXIP 112 for 8 in 20 overs (Ryan McLaren 51*; Shrikant Wagh 3 for 16, Alfonso Thomas 2 for 27, Jesse Ryder 1 for 9) vs PWI 71 for 3 in 9 overs (Mithun Manhas 35, Jesse Ryder 31; Abhishek Nayar 1 for 6, Praveen Kumar 1 for 13, Ryan McLaren 1 for 26)
Pictures © Getty Images
Pune Warriors India’s Jesse Ryder and Mithun Manhas played cautiously after the early loss of Graeme Smith in their chase of 113 for victory against Kings XI Punjab.
Both Ryder and Manhas smashed the loose balls by the Punjab bowlers and rotated the strike. Manhas hit the first six of the innings off Piyush Chawala in the sixth over.
