Published: Apr 21, 2015, 11:58 PM (IST)
Edited: Apr 22, 2015, 12:46 AM (IST)
Rajasthan Royals (RR) failed to make it six in six after losing to Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) in the Super Over in Match 18 of the eight edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2015 at Ahmedabad. It was David Miller who scored a superb fifty on the back of a well paced anchoring knock of Shaun Marsh. It came down a Super Over where Kings XI Punjab scored 15 runs and Mitchell Johnson defended that many to seal the win.
King XI Punjab’s chase did not quite start on a good note as Virender Sehwag was run out just in the second over. Murali Vijay got going with a few hits but got a life when Karun Nair dropped him at mid-wicket. It was a simple chance off the bowling of Pravin Tambe, who has been their best bowler in IPL 2015 so far. The move though did not cost as Vijay was run-out in bizarre fashion, when Shaun Marsh hit one back to the bowler, who deflected it to the non-striker’s end to catch Vijay short.
Marsh brought up 2000 IPL runs for him but also saw Glenn Maxwell holing out to Steven Smith at deep mid-wicket off the bowling of Tewatia. He has had a horrid run in the tournament and his shot did not inspire any signs of him trying to come back to form. Read: Shaun Marsh brings up 2000 IPL runs as Kings XI Punjab continue to struggle against Rajasthan Royals in Match 18 IPL 2015
Marsh then combined with David Miller to get KXIP back on track; scoring his 17th IPL fifty. Just when both he and Miller were looking good, Marsh top edged a sweep and the man with the Orange Cap, Ajinkya Rahane took the catch to dismiss him. With 72 runs needed in the last five overs, it was all down to Miler and he did not disappoint playing a blinder. Wriddhiman Saha scored a quick fire 19 in eight balls to get KXIP closer to the total. His wicket was a poor one though, trying to paddle one after having hit Morris for 14 runs in the over already.
With 40 needed in 18 balls, it was Deepak Hooda who was handed the ball. The first ball was swung over mid-wicket for a maximum and that sent shivers down the spines of the Rajasthan supporters. There was a sense of feeling if this over would cost them the match. Miller made them pay with another maximum, his fifth one of the game to bring up his fifty a match winning one at that. But there was more drama to follow as Miller sliced one in the air to sweeper cover for a good catch to Stuart Binny. That over cost them 15 runs but got the crucial wicket of David Miller.
Mitchell Johnson came in and hit his first one down to Rahane at long on, who did all the hard-work of getting there but spilled the chance. Morris was bowling good yorkers but when he tried to vary, he first bowled a wide, then conceded a boundary to fine leg. Morris conceded 11 runs off his over to leave Faulkner 14 to defend of the final over.
The first ball was a couple to deep mid-wicket, where Smith fumbled to pick up the ball. The next one was a couple too despite the chance of a run out. 9 runs were needed in 3 balls, there was another chance of a run-out, but again Smith had a wild throw which cost them the wicket. The next ball again had a run-out chance but this Sanju Samson failed to take the throw from the deep point fielder. With 5 runs needed in 1 ball, Patel then hit a superb boundary over point for a boundary to ensure they had a chance as the match was tied and we had a Super Over.
Super Over:
Chris Morris bowled for Rajasthan as Miller and Marsh came out to bat for the Kings. Morris struck with the first ball as Miller was trapped in front of the stumps. Miller was moving across to play a swipe but was plumb in front. Maxwell got his slice over covers to get off the mark. Marsh then hit a waist high full toss to the point boundary. Punjab made the most of it as Marsh pulled the next one to the mid-wicket fence, followed by a smash down the ground. Marsh missed the penultimate ball and Marsh was run out off the last ball. Rajasthan needed 15 runs to win!
Mitchell Johnson was the bowler for Kings XI Punjab. For Royals, James Faulkner and Shane Watson were the two batsmen. Even for the Royals, Johnson castled Watson first ball of the over. Rahul Dravid was quick to have a word with Smith who came out to bat. Smith got a high full toss too from Johnson and Smith edged it to the third man fence. The next ball was the end of the game as Faulkner swung at one andmissed and Saha effected a run out to catch Faulkner short of the crease to seal the game for them.
Earlier, it was the 95-run stand between Rahane and Shane Watson that set up the big total for the Rajasthan Royals. The openers made full use of the poor bowling from KXIP bowlers and raced away to 90 for zero at the end of 10 overs. Watson missed out on his fifty but Rahane played through to score his 16th IPL fifty and set up the big finish.
The finish did not quite come as KXIP bowlers came back well at the end to keep taking wickets at regular intervals. Deepak Hooda, Karun Nair, Stuart Binny, Sanju Samson chipped in with short cameos to get them post a strong total.
#RajasthanRoyals didn’t have a big finisher but split it into 4. Hooda 19(9), Karun 25(13), Binny 12(4), Samson 5(2). That is 61(28)
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) April 21, 2015
Axar Patel was the best bowler for KXIP; taking two for 30. It was another off day for the rest of the bowlers as everyone was hit around the park. They were good in the field but they did not manage to put pressure on the RR batsmen and they were made to pay for it.
Kings XI Punjab won the toss and elected to field first. With George Bailey injured, Virender Sehwag was named captain of the side. Rahul Tewatia was the replacement for Ankit Sharma. KXIP made as many as three changes, Shaun Marsh, David Miller, Shivam Sharma came in for George Bailey, Thisara Perara and Gurkeerat Singh Maan. Indian Premier League (IPL) 2015: Complete coverage
So the streak for Rajasthan Royals is finally over and KXIP will be relived with a win at last. Shaun Marsh was the anchor for them and he kept them in the game all the while David Miller provided the innings the touch. They though have their issues and will want to work on them and keep the winning momentum going. Rajasthan Royals will not be too worried, they batted superbly but might rue the fact that they did not finish it as they wanted to. They will know that they have enough resources to make up for a loss at this stage of the innings.
Brief scores:
Rajasthan Royals 191 for 6 in 20 overs (Ajinkya Rahane 74, Shane Watson 45; Axar Patel 2 for 30) tied with Kings XI Punjab 191 for 6 in 20 overs (Shaun Marsh 65, David Miller 54; Chris Morris 1 for 34)
Super Over Brief scores:
Kings XI Punjab 15 for 2 (Shaun Marsh 12; Chris Morris 1 for 13) beat Rajasthan Royals 6 for 2 (Steven Smith 5; Mitchell Johnson 1 for 6) by Super Over
Man of the Match: Shaun Marsh!
(Nikhil Popat is a cricket lover and a PotterHead. He can be followed on Twitter @CricCrazyNIKS)
