press trust of india
Pune, April 10: James Faulkner (46, 33b, 2×4, 3×6) played what the late Tony Greig would have termed ‘Oh you little beauty’ knock and then took three wickets including that of the dangerous Glenn Maxwell at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium to inspire Rajasthan Royals (RR) to a commanding victory over last season’s runners-up Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) here Friday.
Chasing RR’s 162 for seven, KXIP were never in the fray losing wickets at regular intervals. Save for Murali Vijay (37, 32b, 4×4, 1×6) none of the other KXIP batsmen could handle the seam movement in the pitch. Faulkner was ably supported by Tim Southee (2/36) and Dhawal Kulkarni (1/21). In the end KXIP fell short by 26 runs. Their cause was also not helped by a slow innings from Axar Patel who took 28 balls for his 24 runs.
Earlier riding on Faulkner’s knock, RR reached a commanding score of 162 – a total that did not seem like happening when they were reduced to 75 for five in the 11th over.
Faulkner, who along with country mate Mitchell Johnson, had destroyed the Kiwi batting in the World Cup final, decided to take the latter on in the 19th over off the RR innings. The pace bowler went for 20 runs as Faulkner hit him for two sixes and a boundary. That knock, virtually revived RR hopes on a pitch that has a lot of grass on it.
RR mentor Rahul Dravid, during a break stated on TV that anything over 140 would be a winning score. Faulkner gave Dravid more than what he had bargained for and he ensured a good start for the Royals.
Supporting Faulkner’s efforts were Steve Smith (33, 23b, 5×4) and Deepak Hooda (30, 15b, 1×4, 3×6). In fact it was the 51 runs partnership between Hooda and Faulkner that propelled the RR innings after Johnson had stunned them removing Smith and Stuart Binny within the space of three deliveries in the 11th over of the game.
Brief scores: RR 162 for 7 (James Faulkner 46, Steve Smith 33, Deepak Hooda 30, Anureet Singh 3/23, Mitchell Johnson 2/34) beat KXIP 136 for 8 (Murali Vijay 37, James Faulkner 3/26, Tim Southee 2/36) by 26 runs.
