IPL9 - Rising Pune Supergiants lost to Kings XI Punjab at Mohali

The loss of Rising Pune Supergiants to Kings XI Punjab in IPL9 at Mohali is a result that should ask RPS captain M S Dhoni to carry out an introspection. It was his team's second loss on the trot and one common thing in both the losses is his decision to bat first after winning the toss. RPS is a new team and the players have yet to gel - hence, if he had decided to field first, probably the losses could have been avoided.
However, it was a happy moment for KXIP - they had lost four of their last five games at Mohali but this time, the ensured that there was plenty to cheer for with a six-wicket win over Rising Pune Supergiants.
This has been reported in iplt20.com dated 17 April 2016.

Batting first, RPS posted a score of 152 for 7 which was never adequate. The RPS innings will go down in history of IPL as a T20 game without a single six!! KXIP bowlers Sandeep Sharma (2/23) and Mohit Sharma (3/23) stifled the Pune batsmen and did not allow them to score freely.
In reply, needing 153 to win, KXIP openers Murali Vijay and Manan Vohra laid a solid foundation by their half-centuries. Their opening stand of 97 put saw them in a commanding position. There was understandable panic when they lost four wickets for just 22 runs. First Manan was picked up by Ankit Sharma, and then, leggie Murugan Ashwin claimed Vijay, Shaun Marsh and David Miller in quick succession. It was a surprise comeback for RPS but, Glenn Maxwell saw them through with an unbeaten 32 off just 14 balls with three fours and two sixes.
Manan Vohra was declared the Man of the Match for his 51 runs off only 33 balls

Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org

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Gujarat Lions, new entrant in IPL9, debut with an emphatic win against KXIP

It was a dream debut in IPL9 for Gujarat Lions when they beat Kings XI Punjab emphatically by five wickets - KXIP scored 161 for 6 and GL replied with 162 for 5 in 17.4 overs. While doing so, Dwyane Bravo recorded his best IPL figures with a four-wicket haul and became the only player in IPL to have a combo of 1000 runs and 100 wickets.
This has been reported in zeenews.india.com dated 12 April 2016.

Gujarat Lions won the toss and decided to field. KXIP openers Murali Vijay (42) and Manan Vohra (38) put on 78 runs in 8.2 overs to lay a strong foundation for a big score but he later batsmen could not capitalize on the start. Ravindra Jadeja (2/30) removed both the openers and Dwayne Bravo (4/22) caused most damage by dismissing big-hitting David Miller and Glenn Maxwell in space of three balls in the 12th over.
Captain Suresh Raina (20) fell early but Finch was solid at the other end, rattling up a 65 stand for the third wicket Dinesh Karthik (41 off 26 balls). Aaron Finch hit 74 runs off 47 balls and was declared the Man of the Match.


Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org

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Virat Kohli, the dependable, steers India to the semifinals of World T20

It was a do-or-die situation for India as they took on Australia in he World T20 match at Mohali and, a defeat would have meant the end of the road. But - dependable Virat Kohli steered the Indians to victory with 5 balls to spare. It was a familiar situation with Kohli and Dhoni at the crease for putting the finishing touches to a tough match when a slip would have meant disappointment. This has been reported in hindustantimes.com dated 28 March 2016.

Batting first, the Aussies got off to a fantastic start scoring 63 runs in the first 6 overs but, then, the Indian bowlers put the squeeze on and the Australians kept losing wickets at Tuareg intervals. They ultimately finished with 160 runs on the board - a far cry from a 200+ score that they would have expected with the sort of beginning they had.
In reply, Indians took off on a shaky start with both openers going out cheap and Virat Kohli came to the crease. And, it was tugh gong for him - he lost Suresh Raina soon and, when Yuvraj Singh pulled his hamstring muscles , Kohli had to continue with the game with a limping partner Yuvraj and watch the asking rate rising. It was then that his captain M S Dhoni came to the crease after the fall of Yuvraj's wicket and Kohli's innings gained momentum. He found gaps in the field at will and left the Australians stunned.
Virat Kohli scored 82 (9x4, 2x6) not out and was the obvious choice for the Man of the Match.
India will now face West Indies in the semi-final in Mumbai on March 31 while New Zealand play England the previous day in Delhi.


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IPL8 – Chennai defeats Punjab at Mohali to retain the top of the table position

#IPL8 #CSKvsKXIP #fafduplessis #pawannegi #sureshraina Chennai Super Kings retained their winning momentum and defeated Kings XI Punjab convincingly to remain on top of the points table scoring 18 points in 14 matches. KXIP won the toss and elected to bat first and Wriddhiman Saha (15) quickly hit a six and a four but fell to the guiles of diminutive left-arm spinner Pawan Negi.
This has been reported in timesofindia.indiatimes.com dated 16 May 2015.

It was the spinners Pawan Negi (2/25 in 4 overs), Ravichandran Ashwin (1/14 in 4 overs) and Ravindra Jadeja (1/18 in 3 overs) who gave away a total of only 57 runs to capture 4 wickets.
CSK managed to restrict Kings XI Punjab to 130/7 in 20 overs and getting it was like chicken feed to CSK batsmen. Faf du Plessis (55, 41 balls) and Suresh Raina (41 no, 34 balls) added 92 runs for the third wicket to lay the foundation of a victory that was achieved in just 16.5 overs.
By finishing on top of the table, CSK will play the first qualifier and, in case they lose, will get another chance when they will face the winner of the 'Eliminator' between teams placed third and fourth.
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IPL8 – RCB lose to KXIP by 22 runs, courtesy Duckworth-Lewis

#IPL8 #Wriddhiman #KXIPvRCB #Mohali It was a rain affected match at Mohali where the home team Kings XI Punjab got the better of the visiting Riyal Challengers Bangalore by 22 runs, courtesy Duckworth-Lewis. This has been reported in timesofindia.indiatimes.com dated 14 May 2015.

RCB won the toss and send in KXIP to bat. Batting first, Kings XI Punjab posted 106 for 6 in 10 overs with Wriddhiman Saha hitting 31 runs off only 12 balls. Considering the changed playing conditions of the game which started nearly 3-hours after the scheduled time, Saha was promoted as opener. He did not disappoint his captain. He launched an all-out attack from ball one and, a quickfire innings from David Miller (14 off 4) and Axar Patel (20* off 15) put KXIP in a comfortable position.
In reply, RCB could score only 84/6 even though they began with a flying start scoring 33 runs in 2.5 overs but, Anureet Singh scalped Virat Kohli for 19 and Chris Gayle soon left after scoring 17. Axar Patel got the wicket of AB de Villiers (10) and Dinesh Karthik (2) fell to Beuran Hendricks. For RCB, Mandeep Singh was the top scorer and, RCB finally fell short by 22 runs.
Due to this loss, RCB moves down to 5th position on the points table.
(Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org)

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