Messi’s back from ban
Kings XI Punjab kept their hopes alive of making the Indian Premier League (IPL) playoffs with a 19-run win over Royal Challengers Bangalore on Friday night.
Sandeep Sharma was the pick of the bowlers as he scalped Bangalore’s top three star batsmen — Virat Kohli, Chris Gayle and AB de Villiers.
Axar Patel, who also impressed with the bat, broke Bangalore’s middle order, while skipper Glenn Maxwell and Mohit Sharma bagged two each to bundle RCB out for 119.
Earlier, Axar Patel’s lusty blows during his 17-ball-38 enabled Kings XI Punjab reach 138 for 7 on a difficult Chinnaswamy Stadium track against a disciplined Royal Challengers Bangalore.
Axar hit three fours and two sixes with 19 runs coming off the 20th over bowled by Shane Watson (1 for 43 in 4 overs) to help KXIP reach closer to 140 — something that looked impossible after 19 overs.
The normally flamboyant Manan Vohra (25, 28 balls) also played a subdued knock hitting a six and a four.
Wriddhiman Saha, India’s ‘Test wicketkeeper’ played like a longer-format specialist trying to drop anchor during his painstaking 21 off 25 balls. He looked completely out-of-sorts as it has been the case with him throughout the IPL.
It was Patel coming in at No 7, who gave the innings some sort of impetus during the end overs with his lovely cameo.
Left-arm pacer Aniket Chaudhary (2 for 17 in 4 overs) gave RCB the breakthrough in the very first over when Hashim Amla (1) got a faintest of an edge to be snapped by Kedar Jadhav behind the stumps.
Martin Guptill (9) was done in by the slowish track as he sliced Sreenath Aravind (1 for 13 in 2 overs) to Pawan Negi stationed at sweeper cover. Shaun Marsh (20) looked elegant during his short stay but trying to hoick Negi (1 for 21 in 3 overs) over long-off saw him offer Mandeep Singh a simple catch.
Vohra played a slog-sweep off Negi effectively, hitting him for a six before trying to repeat the same shot off Yuzvendra Chahal (2 for 21 in 4 overs). He was holed out at long-on by AB de Villiers.
Skipper Glenn Maxwell’s (6) horrendous run with the bat continued as he tried a reverse sweep only to be caught at short thirdman. —