Rising Pune Supergiant defeated Kings XI Punjab by nine wickets at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune. The clash, which was touted as a virtual quarter-final, ended up being a one-sided affair as the Supergiant dominated the visitors from ball one and romped home.
A resounding victory at home ensured that Supergiant are placed second in the points table and will now face an in-form Mumbai Indians at their fortress.
The unseasonal showers in the city forced the skipper of the home team, Steve Smith to bowl first after winning the toss. There was plenty of moisture in the wicket which resulted in the ball holding up a bit and making it difficult for stroke-play.
The Kings XI Punjab endured a horrendous start in this much-awaited clash as they lost their dangerous opening batsman, Martin Guptill off the first ball of the innings. The Punjab outfit never really got going post this early jolt and lost wickets at regular intervals. They were bundled out for just 73 runs.
The home side chased down the target comfortably in 12 overs with nine wickets to spare, with Ajinkya Rahane top scoring with a run-a-ball 34 runs.
Take a look at the performance of the players in this exciting contest:
Rising Pune Supergiant
Ajinkya Rahane – 9
Ajinkya Rahane has endured an inconsistent run in this edition of the tournament and the Supergiant team management would be pleased with his performance today. He scored an unbeaten 34 and anchored this small run chase. The 28-year old has struck form at the right time in the tournament and will be their key batsman going into the playoffs.
Rahul Tripathi – 8
The youngster has been a revelation for the Rising Pune Supergiant in the tenth edition of the tournament and continued to perform well. The stylish right-hander scored 28 runs in 20 balls with four boundaries and one huge hit over the fence.
Steve Smith – 6
The skipper did not have much to do with the bat in this run chase and was unbeaten on 15 off 18 deliveries.
Ben Stokes – 6
The England all-rounder was playing his last game for the Supergiant in this competition as he will return home for national duties. The most valuable player in the Indian Premier League, Stokes was accurate with his line and length throughout the innings.
He managed to strangle the batting unit of the Kings XI as he just conceded 10 runs in his three-over spell.
MS Dhoni – 5
MS Dhoni is regarded as one of the best wicket-keepers all around the world. The 35-year-old has been outstanding with his glove work throughout the tenth edition of the tournament.
However, he was guilty of dropping Saha early in the innings. The drop did not prove to be very costly though as Saha was later dismissed for 13 runs in the tenth over.
Dan Christian – 8
The Australian fast bowler used all his experience to dent the Kings XI outfit in the middle overs as he picked two crucial wickets of Wriddhiman Saha and Axar Patel. These wickets derailed the visiting side and they were bundled out for 73.
Shardul Thakur – 9
Shardul Thakur has been in tremendous form with the ball and has constantly troubled the batsman with his line and length. He picked up three crucial wickets in the powerplay to stop the Kings XI bandwagon.
He returned with figures of three for 19 from his quota of four overs.
Jaydev Unadkat – 9
Unadkat scalped the big wicket of Martin Guptill on the very first ball of the innings. He returned with figures of two for 12 in his three overs. The 25-year-old was brilliant in the field as he inflicted a run out to dismiss Eoin Morgan for four and followed it up with an outstanding catch to dismiss Tewatia.
Also Read: Jaydev Unadkat’s brilliant bowling and fielding display is SK Play of the day
Adam Zampa – 7
The leg-spinner picked up a couple of wickets at the back end of the innings to help the Supergiant wipe off the tail. Zampa was a bit expensive in his initial overs as he was unable to find the ideal length but came back strongly in the latter half of the innings and conceded just 22 runs in his four overs.
Manoj Tiwary – N/A
Washington Sundar – N/A
Kings XI Punjab
Martin Guptill – 0
The opening batsman failed to give his team a good start and was dismissed on the first ball of the innings. He also dropped Rahane when the latter had scored 20 runs at deep wicket boundary.
Wriddhiman Saha – 4
The wicket-keeper batsman was dropped by MS Dhoni early on but failed to make most of this reprieve. He was caught behind off Dan Christian for 13 in his 17 ball stay at the wicket.
Shaun Marsh – 2
The experienced left-handed batsman failed to bail his side out after the early loss of Guptill as he was caught at mid-off by Steve Smith for 10, trying to drive on the up on a slow Pune surface.
Eoin Morgan – 1
The England captain was run out by a direct hit from Jaydev Unadkat for a run-a-ball four. Tucked into the leg side, Morgan called for a tight single in front of mid-on but was found inches short of the crease.
Rahul Tewatia – 4
The leg-spinner was promoted at number four but the move did not work out well for the visiting side. Trying to pull a short delivery from Shardul Thakur, Tewatia failed to keep it down and was caught by Unadkat. However, the all-rounder was economical in the three overs he bowled, giving away 14 runs.
Glenn Maxwell – 0
The skipper failed to deliver for the Kings XI when the team needed him the most. Coming to bat at number five, the flamboyant batsman was out without troubling the scorers.
Axar Patel – 6
Axar Patel top scored for the Kings XI team with 22 runs off 20 deliveries, including one four and a six off Adam Zampa. The southpaw tried to stabilize the batting unit but kept losing partners at the other end. He was eventually dismissed trying to play the cover drive to a wide ball. Axar returned with the ball and picked up the wicket of Rahul Tripathi in his first over.
Swapnil Singh – 4
The right-handed batsman was out for 10 as he was safely pouched by MS Dhoni after failing to connect a wide delivery from Jaydev Unadkat in the14th over of the innings. Although he could not pick up any wickets for his side, he gave away just six runs in his single over.
Mohit Sharma – 3
The opening bowler just bowled one over in the entire innings, giving away six runs without picking up any wickets. In defending such a low score, the Punjab unit needed some wickets early in the innings but Sharma failed to provide them with any.
Ishant Sharma – 1
The lanky pacer was dismissed for one. Ishant was expensive with the ball as he was smashed for 12 runs in the only over he bowled.
Sandeep Sharma – 3
The swing bowler for Punjab failed to provide his team with any wickets in the powerplay. He conceded 12 runs in the couple of overs he bowled.
Brand-new app in a brand-new avatar! Download CricRocket for fast cricket scores, rocket flicks, super notifications and much more! 🚀☄️
