Rajpoot’s fifer goes in vain as Kings XI lose to Sunrisers
HARA KIRI Bowlers’ day out at Uppal as hosts pull off 13run victory over Kings XI in lowscoring match
HYDERABAD: It was a bowlers’ day out at the Indian Premier League on Thursday. While for Kings XI Punjab the hero was Ankit Rajpoot, for Sunrisers Hyderabad it was their famed bowling unit led by Rashid Khan.
Rajpoot claimed this edition’s maiden five-wicket haul (5/14) as Kings XI restricted Sunrisers to 132/6. In reply, the Kings XI were all out for 119 with Rashid Khan taking three wickets. Kings XI’s hara-kiri can be gauged from the fact they had lost their first wicket on 55. Kings XI’s loss was Sunrisers’ gain as for the second straight match they defended a sub-135 total.
At the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium here, it was all about Rajpoot after Kings XI opted to field first. He generated unusual bounce which the host batsmen found hard to deal with. Captain Kane Williamson has been Sunrisers’ lone consistent performer with the bat so far and Rajpoot started his onslaught with the Kiwi’s wicket in the very first over. Rajpoot surprised the Sunrisers’ top run-getter with a short-pitched delivery as Williamson’s attempted pull landed in the hands of Ravichandran Ashwin at mid-off.
If Williamson’s wicket silenced the 31,000-odd crowd, his next dismissal sent shock waves. Again it was the bounce that caught Shikhar Dhawan by surprise. He poked the ball that was going away and edged to Karun Nair at first slip. The Surisers had lost both their openers in 2.2 overs with only 16 run on board. Coming back in the fifth over, Rajpoot dismissed Wriddhiman Saha whose attempted slog was caught by Andrew Tye at mid-off. Sunrisers went into a cocoon. There was a period of six overs – from 7th to 12th- where no boundary was scored.
Pandey combined with Shakib to stitch a 54-ball 52 run stand. It was only after Shakib departed in the 14th over off Mujeeb Ur Rahman that he upped the ante. He particularly went after Ravichandran Ashwin in the 16th over and hit the match’s first six. Rajpoot however again returned for his last over to pick the wickets of Pandey and Mohammed Nabi to complete his haul.
Kings XI openers Chris Gayle and KL Rahul shared a 55-run stand in their chase but the plot began to change when both departed in successive overs off Rashid Khan and Basil Thampi respectively. Kings XI still needed 56 runs when Sunrisers got their third wicket in the
13th over as Mayank Agarwal was caught at long on by Manish Pandey off Shakib Al Hasan. It was also the Bangladesh player’s 50th IPL wicket.