Press Trust of India
Mohali, April 17: Glenn Maxwell (32 n o, 14b, 3×4, 2×6) played a blinder after openers Murali Vijay (53, 49b, 5×4, 2×6) and Manan Vohra (51, 33b, 7×4) had put on 97 runs for the first wicket, to help Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) register their first victory in IPL-IX here Sunday.
Chasing a victory target of 153 against the Rising Pune Supergiants (RPS) at the PCA Stadium here, the hosts had slumped to 119 for four in the 17th over, before Mad Max took matters into his own hands to seal victory for his side with eight balls to spare. The fifth wicket stand between Maxwell and Wriddhiman Saha yielded 34 runs in 2.2 overs in which the latter’s contribution was only four.
Once KXIP skipper David Miller (7) was gone, there were ominous signs for the hosts but Maxwell hit a six and four each off successive overs from the two Ashwins – leg-spinner Murugan (3/36) and off-spinner Ravichandran (0/27) to settle the issue. He finished the match with an imperious cover drive off Thisara Perera.
However, KXIP coach Sanjay Bangar was unhappy about the tense moments especially after the start that they got. “Yes, we lost a few quick wickets,” Bangar said after the game. “We were tense, but then Maxwell played the way only he can,” he added.
It looked as if it would be walk in the park before Vohra was trapped leg before trying to sweep left-arm spinner Ankit Sharma. Shaun Marsh (4) was then dismissed by a Murugan flipper which breached his defences. Vijay then edged behind trying to cut and Miller fell trying to hit the spinner out of the ground. But then in came Maxwell and eased all nerves.
Earlier, Pune rode on another fine knock by Faf du Plessis (67, 53b, 8×4) to get past the 150-run mark. The South African and Steve Smith (38, 26b, 5×4) put on 63 runs for the fourth wicket. But in the death, RPS lost quick wickets with Mohit Sharma (3/23) dismissing Du Plessis and MS Dhoni of successive deliveries. So the target of 160-plus remained out of reach for them.
Brief scores: RPS 152 for 7 (Faf du Plessis 67, Mohit Sharma 3/23) lost to KXIP 153 for 4 in 18.4 overs (Murali Vijay 53, Manan Vohra 51, Glenn Maxwell 32 n o, Murugan Ashwin 3/36) by six wickets.
