Another desert storm at Sharjah!

Rajasthan Royal’s Tewatia shines as he makes his first IPL 50 to beat Kings XI Punjab by 4 wickets.

What a crazy match that was? 449 runs in 39.3 overs! This is IPL. This is T20 cricket for you.

Dream11 IPL 2020’s 9th match between Rajasthan Royals (RR) and Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) was as thrilling as it could get. Sharjah Cricket Stadium being one of the shortest grounds for the ongoing tournament is a nightmare for bowlers. Mayank Agarwal’s (KXIP) century couldn’t be this exciting but Rahul Tewatia (RR) had our jaws dropped. From zero to hero, he has proved his worth.

Happy dug-out of Rajasthan Royals.

Picture courtesy : NDTV Sports

KL Rahul (KXIP’s skipper) came out to bat with Mayank Agarwal after putting to bat first by Steve Smith captaining Rajasthan Royals. The pitch seemed more favorable to batsmen so the Royals felt it would be better to chase down the total. And with Jos Butler returning, any score on the board was gettable.

Kings XI openers were off to a great start. KL and Agarwal have played together for Karnataka at domestic level which is why their coordination was on point. The two of them took quick runs by running between the wickets and also hit the ball for boundaries time and again.

Mayank Agarwal and KL Rahul out in the middle.

Picture courtesy : Cricket Addictor

The 100th 6 of IPL 2020 was hit by Agarwal off Unadkat at 2.5 overs. It was 66 meters long. In the next over, Jofra Archer was given the new ball for he could bowl with a lot of variations. KL welcomed him with 3 back to back boundaries. 50 runs came up for Kings XI in the fifth over with another boundary by Agarwal. Both the batsmen played brilliantly scoring 60 runs in the power play with no loss of wickets. The highest score in the power play record was broken last night after surpassing Mumbai Indians’ 59/1.

The opening partnership kept building up. KL hit aerial shots being in the perfect position to do so and Mayank hit the gaps very well. Soon Mayank reached his 7th IPL fifty with a six off 26 balls. A couple more runs and another 6 in the next ball bought up 100 for Kings XI Punjab. That was 84 meters long. This also meant that the partnership has also hit a century off 54 calls. More than half of the innings was underway.

The lush green and fast outfield supported the batters for they were playing at a run rate of more than 10 per over. A target of 220 (minimum) was the projected score.

The KXIP skipper reached his 17th IPL 50 off 35 balls in the 12th over. He started slow but now had joined the party with hitting sixes all over the park. He maintains the highest strike rate of 369.2 in ‘the slot’ (length of the pitch) vs seamers in this season. He surely is a KLassic hitter with Mayank Agarwal playing all shots (reminds us of Mr. 360) including the famous Nataraj shot played by Kapil Dev and what a ground to play such a shot at!

These two lads out there had the absolute freedom to hammer but they kept their innings under control. They rotated strike soon after hitting boundaries for simple reasons like – they didn’t want to drain themselves and hit a loose shot and wanted the bowler and fielding unit to get annoyed of changing line and length and fielding positions for these 2 batsmen. Nevertheless, they broke another record of scoring not only the highest partnership in all IPL but also highest opening partnership at 183 runs.

Agarwal scored his maiden IPL hundred with a boundary. He did so in just 45 balls. He hit 10 4s and 7 6s.This was the 8th fastest IPL century. The first one is by his teammate Chris Gayle who scored a 100 from just 30 balls against Pune Warriors Sahara in 2013. Agarwal’s century is also the 2nd fastest century by an Indian in IPL after Yusuf Pathan who played for Rajasthan Royals back in 2010. He did so against Mumbai Indians in 37 deliveries.

Mayank Agarwal celebrating his century.

Picture courtesy : My Khel

A good 16th over by Ankit Rajoot bought things under control for it costed just 6 runs. And bang! Here comes the breakthrough they worked for. Mayank walked back to the dugout scoring 106 runs off 50 balls. He batted everywhere but a badly timed shot made the ball land safely in Sanju Samson’s hands.

The new man in Glenn Maxwell was expected to play unorthodox shots like Agarwal and score quick runs. But Rajpoot compelled KL to change his game and produce shots instead of playing his natural game. This led to KL hitting a slower ball and getting caught by Shreyas Gopal at third man. The skipper played a slow innings scoring 69 off 54 balls. But this had the orange cap get back on his head from Faf du Plesis (Chennai Super Kings). Whereas, Rajpoot was the only cheapest bowlers from the Royals side and yet had the economy of more than 9 runs per over.

Next, Nicholas Pooran played a couple of good cricketing shots. He continued where KL and Agarwal left off. And set a mammoth target of 223 runs for the Rajasthan Royals to chase down at the run rate of 11+ per over.

With openers Jos Buttler and Steve Smith, the intentions were made clear. They wanted to go big every over and they never put their heads down. Mohammad Shami, a great rhythmic bowler fell prey to Smith’s straight head and good footwork which had the ball sailing towards the boundary rope. But Buttler had to depart in the 3rd over, Cottrell’s second after making 4 runs off 7 balls.

The new man in Sanju Samson hit a 6 off the 2nd ball he faced off Cottrell. He too continued from where he had left against the Chennai Super Kings.

Sanju Samson, what a player he is. I have said for a long time and I think Sanju Samson is probably one of the most exciting players I have seen for a long time. I am surprised that he is not playing all forms of cricket for India, said Shane Warne, former Australian spinner, former RR captain and current brand ambassador for Rajasthan Royals on Instagram live session done by the franchise.

The Kings XI fielded exceptionally well because such was the urgency. Smith and Sanju kept dealing in boundaries. At the end of 4 overs, KXIP were 40/0 whereas RR were 44/1. Speaks volumes on how desperate are the Royals to win each game they go out to play.

Sanju Samson and Steve Smith out in the middle.

Picture courtesy : India Today

Samson hit his 100th 6 in IPL which also bought up 50 for Rajasthan Royals in the 5th over. Sanju had now scored 880 runs for his franchise since 2018. By the end of 6th over, we also witnessed a budding partnership of 50 runs from 24 balls. The score was 69/1 at the end of power play. Another highest of IPL.

It is rightly said that records are meant to be broken.

The 8th over was given to leggie Murugan Ashwin. And what happened on his third ball has widened our eyes. Samson pulled over deep mid-wicket where Pooran leaped full over the ropes to flick the ball inside, just a millisecond before falling on the ground. He saved 4 runs for his team and what an effort! He received a standing ovation from their fielding coach Jonty Rhodes. He definitely can’t get a better student!

“That’s the best I have seen,” Kevin Pietersen said on air.

“This is the best save I have seen in my life. Simply incredible!!” tweeted Sachin Tendulkar.

The next over by James Neesham was full of drama too. The Royals were battling the huge total in a convincing manner. Smith reached his 10th IPL half century. The next ball, 100 was up for the batting side. And just the next ball, Smith was caught by Shami at deep cover. He had to depart with 50 runs off 26 balls. At this stage, the Kings XI had not only broken the partnership but also the momentum for the opposition.

The best and the worst thing was that Samson was yet out on the crease. After M.S. Dhoni’s retirement, Samson could be a huge prospect for the Indian Cricket Team because Samson can keep wickets too. In this innings, Samson effortlessly found the slot and kept hitting the ball. On the other end, Rahul Tewatia kept struggling. He was expected to play a cameo here, instead, he took singles which added pressure on Samson. They together could be a part of a record breaking run chase.

Sometimes the teams get too obsessed with the lefty and righty combination. May be this was the reason to promote Tewatia before Robin Uthappa. Consequently, the Royals management didn’t send their best batters up the order. Which is very crucial because you want your best players facing maximum deliveries. Good fielding by the Kings XI kept building pressure and this made sure that Tewatia’s singles to go in vain.

Tewatia scored in single digits even after facing 20 odd balls. Out of no where, he hit a 6 off Ravi Bishnoi in the 15th over. This must have relived Tewatia but he had to go through the same trajectory back to back for his team to win. In the next over, Glenn Maxwell was hammered for sixes by Samson. With Samson’s 15th maximum this season, 150 was up for RR. The partnership also reached 52 of 39 balls. This was just a glimmer of hope for the Royal fans.

Now I am better. The worst 20 balls I have ever played. The dugout knows I can hit the ball long. I knew I had to believe in myself. It was a matter of one six – said Rahul Tewatia at the post match presentation ceremony.

Shami came back hard in his third over, taking a wicket of Samson on the first ball itself. There was no pace in the ball which led to no contact and an easy catch for KL behind the wickets. A splendid innings of 85 off 42 balls came to an end. With the set batsman walking back, the Jaipur based franchise seemed hopeless for they had to make 51 runs in the last three overs.

This feeling of hopelessness and wasting a lot of deliveries sparked a light in Tewatia. With the old ball to Cottrell, Tewatia hit 4 sixes! You read it right! 4 sixes in a row. One of them went straight out of the park. Strong emotions from both the dug outs. We were on the edge of our seats, especially former Indian cricketer Yuvraj Singh

Thanks for missing out on one ball – said Yuvi who hit record-making six 6s off Stuard Broad at 2007 T20 World Cup

The fifth ball was a dot ball. Great comeback by Cottrell but at what cost? It was a relief particularly for Yuvraj Singh but the damage had been done. The last ball also went racing for 5th six in that over. Tewatia transformed his strike rate from 60 to 160, real quick.

Rahul Tewati hitting back to back sixes.

Picture courtesy : The Times of India

The 19th over to Shami was a big blow for both the teams. It involved 2 wickets of Robbie at 9(4) and Tewatia at 53(31) on the first and last ball respectively but it also included 3 sixes, one of them from the new man Jofra Archer. Pushing the Royals to chase down just 2 runs from the last over, the viewership on the digital platform reached a whopping 5.4million.

The last over was given to leggie Ashwin at a very wrong time. He bowled out Riyan Parag for a duck on his second ball googly. Next ball went for a 4, closing the game for the Royals. They won by 4 wickets with 3 balls to spare.

The Kings XI skipper played a great innings the other day, inspite of another 100 from the lion’s den, the show belonged to Rahul Tewatia. This is the most dramatic cameo IPL has ever witnessed and highest successful run chase. Sanju Samson was awarded the Man of the Match award for his crucial knock of 85 runs.

I was hitting it well since the past one year. So I was just sticking to my routine and feeling confident. I am happy to win a few games – Sanju Samson at the post match presentation ceremony.

Pooran’s gravity defying catch was not enough for Tewatia to lose his hope and lose his nerve. Sad day out for Anil Kumble for his team did everything right yet ended on the losing side.

We have to keep our chin up and come back stronger – said KL Rahul, skipper of Kings XI Punjab at the post match presentation ceremony.

Match Summary :

Kings XI Punjab 223/2 (20)

Playing XI – KL Rahul (C & WK), Mayank Agarwali, Karun Nair, Nicholas Pooran, Glenn Maxwell, Sarfaraz Khan, James Neesham, Murugan Ashwin, Ravi Bishnoi, Mohammad Shami and Sheldon Cottrell.

Rasjasthan Royals 226/6 (19.3)

Playing XI – Steve Smith (C), Jos Buttler (WK), Sanju Samson, Robin Uthappa, Riyan Parag, Rahul Tewatia, Tom Curran, Jofra Archer, Shreyas Gopal, Ankit Rajpoot and Jaydev Unadkat.

Winning team – Rajasthan Royals (by 4 wickets and 3 balls to spare)

Points Table – Rajasthan Royals at #2 and Kings XI Punjab at #3

Man of the Match – Sanju Samson

Dream11 Game Changer – Mayank Agarwal

Altroz Super Striker of the Match – Mayank Agarwal

Unacademy Let’s Crack it Sixes – Sanju Samson

CRED Power Player of the Match – Steve Smith

This mysterious game came to an end in favour of the men in pink but we have another nail-biter coming up in a couple of hours.

Will the Royal Challengers Bangalore come back stronger or will the Mumbai Indians continue their winning streak? Great action coming up. Stay tuned!

With Gill’s 70*, KKR register their first win at Dream11 IPL 2020 against SRH!

Shubman gill and Eoin Morgan uplifted the Knight Riders and settled Sunrisers at the bottom of the points table.

The eighth match of Dream11 IPL 2020 took place between Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) at Shaikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi. Skipper David Warner choosed to bat first for sunrisers. The dew was a concern for both teams plus the ground has long boundaries, so bowlers were sure to benifit as compared to the other grounds in UAE.

Picture courtesy: Outlook India

Dinesh Kartik, captaining KKR decided couple of changes for his team. He brought in debutant Kamlesh Nagarkoti and Varun in place of Sandeep and Nikhil respectively. In SRH, Wridhhiman Saha came in for Vijay shankar as the latter had tweaked his back. Nabi came in for Marsh and Khaleel came in for Sandeep Sharma.

Both the teams had a poor start this season so both were here to claim their first victory under the moon. Perhaps, we had only one winner – Knight Riders. SRH had given a target of 143 to chase which the Kolkata franchise did it convincingly, at the loss of 3 wickets and 12 balls to spare.

SRH’s Warner and Bairstow opened the game as KKR’s Narine bowled the first over. First wicket fell for SRH at 3.6 over. Birthday boy Bairstow returned after scoring just scoring 5 runs from 10 without hitting any boundaries.

KKR after getting first wicket of SRH.
Picture courtesy: Twitter/@IPL

After the opener departed, Manish Pandey came in and built a decent partnership of 35 runs with Warner who later was dismissed by Chakravarty. Warner scored 36 runs off 25 balls which included two boundaries and a maximum. As Saha joined Pandey, they added another 60 runs for the total. Manish Pandey hit his half century but was caught and bowled by Andre Russel in the next few deliveries itself. He scored 51 runs off 38 balls. He hit three 4s and two 6s. We should even appreciate Manish Pandey’s half century as he is one of most underated player.

Manish Pandey after scoring an fifty.
Picture courtesy: Twitter/@SunRisers

The pace of the game slowed down. The Sunrisers had just 121 runs at the end of 17 overs. After Pandey, Nabi came in to bat. Unfortunately, Saha was run out on the second ball of the 19th over by the the wicket keeper Karthik. Saha had scored just 30 runs off 31 balls which included a 4 and a 6. Young man Abhishek Sharma came in to bat. He scored just 2 runs from the 3 balls he faced while Nabi scored 11 runs in 8 balls with two boundaries. The final score was 142 for 4.

We can say bowlers of Knight Riders did a good job of controlling the run rate which put pressure on the opponent. Cummin’s spell was the best amongst KKR’s bowling. His figures were 4-0-19-1.

Picture courtesy: Twitter/@KKRiders

In second innings KKR’s Shubman gill and Narine gill opened as SRH’s Bhuvneshwar kumar bowled the first over. First wicket fell for KKR in the second ball of the second over by Khaleel Ahmed. Narine went out for a duck, caught by Warner. Nitish rana came in to bat to support Gill. Rana’s wicket fell in 4.4 over caught by Saha which was bowled by T Natarajan. Rana scored 26 runs of just 13 balls in which he hit 6 boundaries. Skipper Dinesh Kartik also went out for duck. He was caught leg before wicket by Rashid khan at 6.2 overs. But the opener Shubman Gill was still batting on other side, playing shots on all sides of ground. After the skipper, Eoin stayed with Gill.

Picture courtesy: Twitter/@IPL

On the third ball of 13th over, our young man Gill scored his half century and on second ball of 15th over, partnership between Gill and Morgan reached 50 runs. At this stage, KKR had put up 102 runs on the score board. Gill-Morgan now had the license to play a destructive innings especially in the death overs. The completed the team’s target on the last ball of 18th over. Morgan hit a boundary to do and celebrated in style!

Winning Scenes…
Picture courtesy: Twitter/@IPL

SRH’s two bowlers bowled decently which were Rashid khan with bowling figures of 4-0-25-1 and Mohammad nabi with bowling figures of 4-0-23-0. But all of their efforts went in vain.

Shubman Gill made 70 runs off 62 balls with five boundaries and two maximum. Keeping his wicket safe, he showed his patience and calmness. Eoin Morgan also played a great innings, giving his quickest cameo of 42 runs from 29 balls, hitting three fours and two sixes.

Gill and Morgan together paved an easy way for victory of KKR. It was a low scoring match and keeping seven wickets in hand, they registered their first two points for this season.

“We have been working really hard. I think one of the advantages of having all-rounders and it is a privilege to use them whenever I can. The fact that we have been able to groom the youngsters is pleasing It feels good to see the youngsters doing well”. – Winning captain Dinesh Kartik in post-match speech.

Shubman Gill was given a Man of the match award as he pulled victorious innings for KKR.

I think the ball wasn’t spinning much and was easy to hit down the ground. I have practised power hitting in the last couple of years. I think it was important for us to win. There weren’t any long conversations with Morgan. We were just trying to anticipate what the bowlers can try and do. As an opener it is my duty to see my team through. – Man of the match Shubman Gill

MSD’S PLAN TO BAT DOWN THE ORDER BACKFIRES AS DC BEAT CSK BY 44 RUNS

Chennai Super Kings lost against Delhi Capitals by 44 runs. DC’s victory marked their second win this season while CSK has lost both their games so far.

On 25th September 2020 seventh match of Dream11 took place between Chennai Super Kings and Delhi Capitals at Dubai International Cricket Stadium. Team DC were forced to field after losing the toss.
CSK decided to make one change in their team, replacing pacer Lungi Ngidi with Josh Hazlewood.

Team DC made a few changes changes of their own owing to the circumstances wherein Ravichandran Ashwin was replaced by Amit Mishra as he was injured and Mohit Sharma replaced speedster Avesh Khan.
DC opener Prithvi Shaw gave their innings a good start, hitting two fours and one six in the first over, while in the next over, when CSK’s Sam Curran was bowling, Prithvi Shaw continued adding fours.

CSK’s spinners were below par and both Shaw was determined to stay at the crease for a big innings. In seventh over, he was on the offensive against CSK’s Piyush Chawla. Meanwhile DC’s Shikar Dhawan went after CSK’s Jadeja.

With a strong opening partnership things were in DC’s favour till the 10th over. But soon the game changed for Capitals as Chawla dismissed both Dhawan (35 off 27 balls) and Shaw (64 off 43 balls). Chawla had Dhawan was stumped by Dhoni in the 10th over, while Shaw ended up lbw in the 12th over.

In the 13th over we saw Rishabh Pant and Shreyas Iyer on pitch. Pant and Iyer both added 58 runs to the score and played relatively safe till 19th over.

Picture courtesy: NDTV

It was then, when CSK captain Dhoni took a wicket and Capital’s pacer exited. After the last over, Delhi Capital’s posted 175/3 on board.
While on the field, DC has decided to not give away runs easily. And DC’s Kagiso Rabada and Azar Patel kept the bowling lines tight giving away only a couple of runs from their opening overs. While CSK’s Shane Watson was looking set to let loose both him and Murali Vijay were back in the hut by the six over with only 34 runs of the board for CSK.

Following the disaster, Faf du Plessis (43 off 35 balls) and Kedar Jadhav (26 off 21 balls) tried to plough the game back with a strong partnership and kept the hope alive for the team. But the wickets kept falling and Nortje bowling got Jadhav was out in the 16th over when Dhoni walked in. Despite the situation, there still seemed space for Dhoni to break even. But in the 18th over, Kasigo Rabada dimissed du Plessis.

Picture courtesy: Hindustan Times

The pressure kept mounting and all hope was lost when CSK needed 45 to win off the final over. Both Dhoni and Jadeja were dismissed by Rabada in the final over.

With this the Capitals sealed their second win this season in a row.
The Man of the Match was titled to Prithvi Shaw. His determined and focused batting in first over itself not only gained score but motivated the teammates too. Overall it was a nail biting match between the youngest one and oldest experience of the field.
Now, it would interesting to how it turns out to be between Kolkata Knight Riders and Sunrisers Hyderabad. Do let us know in the comments below.

KL Rahul’s century sails victory for Kings XI Punjab against Royal Challengers Bangalore!

Happy Kings XI dugout for beating RCB with a huge margin of 97 runs.

Kannur Lokesh Rahul. What an innings by this young man! He stole the show with his KLassic power strokes making 132* off 69 balls. After putting on to bat first by Virat Kohli led Royal Challengers Bangalore, the Kings XI Punjab skipper KL Rahul played an anchor role to take his team towards victory.

KL Rahul opened the innings alongside Mayank Agarwal. Both of them got to a decent start. They batted throughout the power play and built a partnership of 57 runs in 7 overs after which Agarwal was bowled out by Yuzvendra Chahal. Agarwal contributed 26 runs off 20 balls.

Chahal strikes early, dismissing Agarwal

Picture courtesy : Instagram/@iplt20

Another partnership was built up between the skipper and the left handed Nicholas Pooran. They added 57 runs off 37 balls. This gave Pooran the license to hit biggies but failed terribly as the ball safely landed in Ab de Villiers’ hands at mid-off. Pooran badly executed the over pitched delivery by Shivam Dube.

Glenn Maxwell came in at number 4. Chahal was put to bowl for an interesting contest between the two lads. Maxi and Chahal have played 8 innings against each other out of which the leggie has dismissed Maxi on 5 occasions. However, Maxwell sneaked a single of Chahal’s only delivery to him, which was also Chahal’s last over for the innings. Anyway, Maxwell had to walk back cheaply in the next over off Dube. The Australian batter scored just 5 runs off 6 balls before he was caught by Aaron Finch at covers.

Karun Nair was the new man to support his captain playing beautifully on the other end. Nair scored 15 off 8 balls that he faced, for he gave maximum strike to his Kannada companion.

Rampant Rahul was playing exceptionally well. He hit his 17th IPL 50 in 36 balls, 68% of those runs came in 4s and 6s. Being the quickest runner that he is, he took runs in singles and doubles without getting tired. His performance on Dubai’s batting pitch was above par. The RCB bowlers struggled to dismiss him for when he played a loose shot, he was dropped by Virat Kohli twice (83 and 89 respectively) at the boundary between 6 balls.

Quite honestly I was nervous but I knew if I spend time in the middle, hit a few balls from the middle of the bat, it will all settle down. – KL Rahul at the post match presentation ceremony.

A few more stylish shots kept the scoreboard ticking. The Kings XI touched 150 runs in the 18th over. And then it was KL’s show for he scored his 2nd IPL century with a boundary over short third man. He took off his helmet and appreciated the applauses from his team mates and owners and did the “I don’t hear anything” celebration. KL Rahul has certainly, shut the noise with his hundred.

KL Rahul celebrating his century in style

Picture courtesy : Business Standard

Consequently, the wicket-keeping opener set a standard for all batsmen. KL completed 2000 IPL runs in 60 innings beating master blaster Sachin Tendulkar (63), which is the fastest by any Indian batsman. KL’s 132* is the highest score in IPL by any Indian and any Captain. The rightly admired leader of the pack is also the current holder of the orange cap with 153 runs, given to the batsman with highest runs in the tournament.

Playing with a strike rate of over 190, KL Rahul made sure that all the bowlers are punished and made RCB pay the price for winning the toss. While Umesh Yadav and Dale Steyn were brutally punished, the young boys Dube and Navdeep Saini controlled the run rate. Chahal gave his best giving away just 25 runs and picking a wicket of Mayank Agarwal in his quota of 4 overs.

Yet, the Royal Challengers had a mammoth total of 207 runs to chase.

The second innings started with left handed Devdutt Padikkal and right handed Aaron Finch. After a great debut in the first match, Paddikal was caught out after making just one run from 2 balls in the first over by Sheldon Cottrell. The new batsman Joshua Philippe was plumbed for a duck in the next over by Mohammed Shami. Virat Kohli, in at 4, fell prey in the 3rd over. The pressure built up on the skipper made him play big shots leading to mistakes. He was caught by Ravi Bishnoi after making just 1 run from 4 balls.

Virat Kohli’s early dismissal turned out to be fatal for RCB

Picture courtesy : Twitter/@RCBTweets

A partnership was forming between ABD and Finch. Finch was caught leg before wicket but a review by RCB at the right time changed the original decision by the on-field umpire. With 2 great batsmen at the crease, the pressure was on the young bowler Bishnoi. His first over turned out to be very expensive for he gave 2 extras and 3 boundaries, totaling at 15 runs. Perhaps, Bishnoi with a big heart came back stronger and bowled Finch for 20 runs off 21 balls. Murugan Ashwin on the other end dismissed ABD for 28 runs off 18 balls. Both these batsmen were looking very dangerous but the spinners had their work done.

Ravi Bishnoi celebrating Finch’s wicket.

Picture courtesy : Twitter/@KingsXIPunjab

The score was 60 for 5 at the end of 9 overs. The next 5 wickets also fell down in the following 8 overs. The total was too big for the tailenders to chase down. After ABD was dismissed, just three 4s were hit by the RCB batsman. Whereas, KL Rahul had single handedly hit thirteen 4s and four 6s in his innings. He never lost his balance in doing so.

All in all, a very bad day for RCB especially the skipper for dropping catches and getting dismissed for just a run. Virat will have a few things to think about before his next game against Mumbai Indians, who are returning after a huge win over Kolkata Knight Riders.

I take brunt of it, I dropped some chances. Maybe if we had restricted them under 180, we would not be under pressure from ball 1 in the chase. – Virat Kohli at the post match presentation ceremony

With Anil Kumble alongside, the Kings XI Punjab are on top of the points table with +2.43 net run rate. Special mention to the captain for hitting in the gaps and playing with a straight bat, rousing us with the sweet noise of the bat and ball. Rightly deserved, he was lauded with awards at the post match presentation including the Man of the Match award.

Mohammad Shami and KL Rahul posing with their coloured caps for taking highest wickets and scoring highest runs, respectively, in the tournament so far.

Picture courtesy : Twitter/@KingsXIPunjab

Match Summary :

Kings XI Punjab 206/3 (20)

Playing XI – KL Rahul (C & WK), Mayank Agarwali, Karun Nair, Nicholas Pooran, Glenn Maxwell, Sarfaraz Khan, James Neesham, Murugan Ashwin, Ravi Bishnoi, Mohammad Shami and Sheldon Cottrell.

Royal Challengers Bangalore 109/10 (17)

Playing XI – Devdutt Padikkal, Aaron Finch, Virat Kohli (C), AB de Villiers, Josh Philippe (WK), Shivam Dube, Washington Sundar, Navdeep Saini, Umesh Yadav, Dale Steyn, and Yuzvendra Chahal.

Winning team – Kings XI Punjab (by 97 runs)

Man of the Match – KL Rahul

Dream11 Game Changer – KL Rahul

Altroz Super Striker of the Match – KL Rahul

Unacademy Let’s Crack it Sixes – KL Rahul

CRED Power Player of the Match – Sheldon Cottrell

Unquestionably, a perfect day for the Preity Zinta owned Kings XI team. But, it also happened to be one of the darkest days for the entire cricket fraternity. We lost Dean Jones earlier in the day. All the players wore a black band on their sleeves to show respect to our beloved Prof. Deano. The cricket world will never forget Australia’s greatest batter and fielder who set the bar for generations to come.

As the showman Prof. Deano was, the show must go on. With just a few hours remaining for another interesting match between the experienced, Dhoni led Chennai Super Kings and the youngest captain Shreyas Iyer’s Delhi Capitals.

Dean Jones

Picture courtesy : The Indian Express

Who’s your pick for tonight? Let us know in the comments below!