Mumbai look to continue momentum against RR
Kolkata, April 21: The legend of Chris Gayle continued to grow in company of young K. L. Rahul as Kings XI Punjab outclassed Kolkata Knight Riders by nine wickets in a rain- hit IPL encounter here on Saturday.
While KKR scored a competitive 191/ 7 in 20 overs, KXIP had a revised target of 125 in 13 overs after a sharp spell of shower halted play for 95 minutes. Gayle completed a hat- trick of half- centuries with an unbeaten 62 from 38 balls that had five fours and six sixes while Rahul helped himself to a 60 off only 27 balls.
Gayle hit the winning runs six off Tom Curran over long- on as they sealed the issue with 11 balls to spare. Having scored the fastest half- century in IPL, Rahul once again underlined his credentials as an opener in shortest format with nine fours and two sixes as KXIP climbed to the top of the table with eight points from five games.
This was also their first win at the Eden Gardens since 2012. KXIP were 96/ 0 in 8.2 overs, 31 runs ahead of the DLS par score, when rain halted the play at 6.40pm, but there was no let up in intensity for Gayle as he resumed his innings with a huge six over long off to complete his 50 in only 28 balls.
There was further setback in store for KKR as their big- hitting Jamaican Andre Russell was taken off in the fourth over after he seemed to have aggravated his already troubled hamstring. Gayle had launched into Russell hitting two sixes and a boundary when Russell was seen clutching his right thigh as Nitish Rana completed the over. Gayle and Rahul mainly dealt in boundaries against the KKR pace attack of Shivam Mavi and Russell as there seemed to be a race to who will reach the 50- run mark first between them.
The Powerplay overs yielded 73 runs and that killed the contest. Both the On paper it’s a battle of equals, but the Chennai Super Kings appear every bit the heavyweights as they square up against Sunrisers Hyderabad on Sunday.
The teams go into the match with contrasting forms. While CSK are fresh from thumping the Royals by 64 runs at their makeshift home of Pune, the Sunrisers are back home after suffering their first loss of the season - by 15 runs to Punjab in an away match.
Both teams have six points from equal number of wins in four matches they have played so far, losing just once each, but CSK are placed higher with a better run rate courtesy their 200- plus scores against Kolkata Knight Riders and Rajasthan Royals and a near- 200 versus Kings XI Punjab.
The Cauvery water controversy may have driven CSK out of Chennai but the yellow submarine has an ocean called India to call its home, thanks to skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who is adored by fans all over. The Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium will be no different as Captain Cool leads his side in a literally hot game that has a 4 pm start.
Summer having set in, the mercury is rising indeed, and has been consistently crossing 40 degrees Celsius. The Sunrisers would yearn to raise their game too in Sunday’s scorcher as they look to bounce back from defeat, stop the Chennai Express and reposition themselves on the winning track.
For that to happen, their fancied bowling attack has to punch big holes into the super strong Chennai batting players like to attack and now they are well set to launch a brutal assualt. The fielding restrictions didn’t matter a lot as they repeatedly bisected the fielders. Kuldeep Yadav’s first over was taken for 13 runs. Earlier, Chris Lynn, who has had a quiet time so far, got into his groove in his 74 off 41 balls ( 6x4, 4x6) en route to his maiden halfcentury in this IPL to lift KKR to a challenging 191/ 7. line- up that boasts of latest centurion Shane Watson, Suresh Raina, Dhoni, Sam Billings, Dwayne Bravo and Ravindra Jadeja. Not to forget opener A. T. Rayudu, for whom it will be an emotional homecoming, having reached higher echelons of cricket after honing his skills here in Hyderabad. He’s been here earlier in a Mumbai Indians jersey too.
Mystery spinner Rashid Khan who got caught in Gayle storm in the previous match against Punjab will look to find his mojo back and hope the opposition has not sorted him out.
The hosts have not quite had stable starts all through and will hope inform Shikhar Dhawan recovers in time from injury — he was hit on the elbow by a Barinder Sran delivery in the match against Punjab Kings. However, team mentor V. V. S. Laxman did not reveal much on Saturday and said a call on Shikhar would be taken on matchday. Captain Kane Williamson has been consistent with the bat though while middle order batsman Manish Pandey’s halfcentury in the previous game must have brought cheer to the Orange camp. However, will that be sufficient against a constructive CSK bowling attack that includes the likes of Watson, Bravo and Imran Tahir is the question. Jaipur, April 21: Having finally found the winning touch, Mumbai Indians will look to continue in similar vein when they lock horns with beleaguered hosts Rajasthan Royals in an Indian Premier League game here on Sunday.
Two- time champions Mumbai Indians were off to a horrible start this season, suffering three successive reverses, before skipper Rohit Sharma came to the team’s rescue with a blazing 94 against Royal Challengers Bangalore.
The 46- run drubbing of RCB has raised the morale of the players, and Mumbai Indians are seeking a similar outing against Rajasthan Royals, at the Sawai Man Singh Stadium on Sunday. Sharma was the reason behind the team breaking the run of losses and he is again going to be a key man for Mumbai Indians. West Indian Evin Lewis played his part with the bat, scoring 65, and then there are the likes of Kieron Pollard and the Pandya brothers — Hardik and Krunal. That Pollard has recovered from an injury is definitely good news for MI. Another positive development is Hardik’s 5ball 17 the o t h e r night. MI’s b o w l e r s too are feeling confident after they were able to withstand the fire power of the likes of Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers.
Led by India seamer Jasprit Bumrah, the Mumbai Indians bowling attack looks good with M. J. McClenaghan, Hardik, Mustafizur Rehaman, Mayank Markande and Krunal. The visitors are currently placed sixth with two points, having lost three of their four matches, but the situation is not new for the visitors as they have effected dramatic turnarounds in the past. The hosts, on the other hand, were demoralised by Shane Watson’s belligerent century last night and they have very little time to recover from the massive defeat against Chennai Super Kings. Captain Ajinkya Rahane will need to lead by example and inspire confidence in his players, besides making optimum utilisation of his meagre resources. Sanju Samson lit up the campaign with his 94 in one of the games, but the rest need to deliver. In bowling, seamer Jaidev Unadkat has been ordinary so far. The home team are missing their mentor, the legendary Shane Warne.