Kings XI Punjab kept their home win-record intact as they defeated Sunrisers Hyderabad by six wickets in a closely-contested tie in Mohali on Monday. It was Kings XI’s third consecutive win in Mohali this season. They have not lost a single game at this venue in their last seven outings. Kings XI’s chase was anchored by KL Rahul (71 not out) and opener Mayank Agarwal (55) as they were involved in a rollicking partnership of 114 run, which came off 84 balls. Kings XI needed 11 runs in the last over. Rahul and Sam Curran (5 not out) held their nerve and guided their team to victory. Earlier, Sunrisers Hyderabad rode on a steady half-century from David Warner and a late flourish from Deepak Hooda to recover from a sluggish start and post a below par 150 for 4. Warner remained unbeaten on 70 off 62 balls but more importantly held one end to anchor the visitor’s innings. It was an uncharacteristic knock from Warner but he step up the gas to score 100 from the last 10 overs. It was Warner’s fourth half-century of this season.
KKR hand Rajasthan royal drubbing
It took Steve Smith five Indian Premier League games to strike form. The Australian batting ace played an unbeaten knock of 73, to guide Rajasthan Royals to 139-3 against Kolkata Knight Riders. However, it never seemed that would be enough. In the end, it wasn’t as Kolkata Knight Riders pulled off a convincing eight-wicket win, chasing down the target in just 13.5 overs. For the Kolkata outfit, the opening pair of Chris Lynn and Sunil Narine came up with a 91-run stand, which literally ran away with the match. Lynn rode his luck for a half-century, being dropped before a Dhawal Kulkarni delivery hitting the stumps, but refusing to dislodged the bails. With four defeats in five outings, Royals' chances of qualifying for the playoffs are now slim.
Delhi make capital of Challengers’ largesse
There is an unusual calmness on Virat Kohli’s face, or rather he masks his frustration well on most occasions. But there is little else the Royal Challengers Bangalore skipper can do as he marshals a team which slumped to its sixth loss on the trot, on Sunday. In their green match of the season, the home side, who were put into bat by Delhi Captials, came out in neon green outfits. However, only the colour of their uniform changed, not their fortunes. The script played out more or less the same way it has this season – a batting effort which left a lot to be desired, uninspired bowling and dropped catches.
On a tricky M Chinnaswamy stadium pitch, the Captials bowlers, led by the red-hot Kagiso Rabada (4/21) restricted the home side to 149/8. Although they lost a few wickets late in the chase, Prithvi Shaw (28) and skipper Shreyas Iyer (67), who was dropped by Parthiv Patel when he was on 4, had laid the foundation for the team to register a comfortable four-wicket win with seven balls to spare.
MI humble SRH
Young West Indies pacer Alzzari Joseph made a dream IPL debut by recording the best bowling figures in tournament's history as Mumbai Indians picked up a 40-run win over Sunrisers Hyderabad in a low-scoring game. Keiron Pollard hammered an unbeaten 46 off 26 balls, helping Mumbai Indians recover to 136 for seven after an ordinary start.
While Pollard was the stand out batsman, another West Indian in Joseph made all the difference in the bowling department, ending with sensational figures of six for 12 in 3.4 overs. Hyderabad were all out for 96 in 17.4 overs. It was the third win for Mumbai Indians in five games while Hyderabad suffered their second loss in five matches.
CSK on top spot
Led by seasoned Harbhajan Singh, Chennai Super Kings spinners put on a dominating show to help the side reclaim the top position with a 22-run win over Kings XI Punjab. Defending 160 for three, CSK restricted Punjab to 138 for 5 despite half centuries from K L Rahul (55) and Sarfaraz Khan (67). The visitors scored at a low pace and required to score 26 off the last over, bowled by IPL debutant Scott Kuggeleijn. The Kiwi paceman had no trouble defending those runs and also dismissed Sarfaraz. Harbhajan was the best bowler for the hosts with the figures of 4-1-17-2.
Russell blitzkrieg helps KKR beat RCB
Andre Russell once again snatched victory from the jaws of defeat by smashing an unbeaten 13-ball 48 as Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) beat Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) by five wickets in a rip-roaring encounter. Russell came out to bat with KKR needing 67 off 26 balls. Skipper Dinesh Karthik (19) got out in the next over and in the last three overs, the away side needed 53 runs off 18 balls. It is from there that Russell took over, smacking seven sixes and a four to help KKR win with five balls to spare. KKR posted 206/5, their highest run-chase in IPL history. RCB, thus, remained winless after five games.
SRH make short work of DC
It’s taking forever for Delhi franchise, rebranded as Capitals this year, to get rolling in the IPL since it decided to be the breeding ground for young and raw Indian talent. It started with mentor Rahul Dravid’s vision in 2016. Four seasons on, with Ricky Ponting at the helm for two editions now, the investments are yet to pay off handsomely. The deflating five-wicket loss in 18.3 overs after painstakingly scrapping to 129/8 against a tactically smarter and skillfully superior Sunrisers Hyderabad, would have got the franchise management revisiting the drawing board. The Kotla pitch played slow. But then that shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone who has followed cricket at the venue, let alone being a home team. The unravelling of a batting lineup, heavily dependent on the likes of Prithvi Shaw, Shreyas Iyer and Rishabh Pant besides the experienced Shikhar Dhawan, would have made a lot of experts cringe. Save Pant’s chip to long-off, every top-order batsman has been guilty of losing shape and playing across the line.
Mumbai halt CSK juggernaut
Chennai Super Kings suffered their first defeat in this edition of the IPL as they went down to Mumbai Indians by 37 runs. Chasing a challenging 171 runs to win, Chennai batsmen never got going and could manage only133 for eight in 20 overs. Kedar Jadhav waged a lone fight for Chennai as he made a 54-ball 58 but his team never looked like reaching the target after a bad start when they were reduced to 33 for three in five overs. Earlier, Riding Hardik Pandya's blitzkrieg, Mumbai Indians creamed 29 runs in the final over to reach 170 for five against Chennai Super Kings. Hardik then bowled beautifully to take three wickets. He was ably supported by Lasith Malinga who also took three. Jason Behrendorff, playing his first match this season, took wo wickets.
