By IANS,
Bangalore : Kings XI Punjab registered their fifth consecutive victory in the Indian Premier League (IPL), defeating Bangalore Royal Challengers comprehensively by six wickets in a round robin match at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium here Monday night.
Kings XI reached the target with 10 balls to spare after restricting Bangalore Royal Challengers to a paltry 126 earlier in the day.
Opener Shaun Marsh (39 off 34 balls) and Ramnaresh Sarwan (31 off 29) were the main run-getters for the visitors. The duo had put the foundation for the run chase with a 54-run first-wicket partnership after James Hopes (5) was picked up by Zaheer Khan (29/2) in the second over.
However, Kings XI captain Yuvraj Singh (1) missed out once again. Medium-pacer Praveen Kumar (22/2) cut short his stay at the crease when he sneaked one off to wicketkeeper Devraj Patil.
Mahela Jayawardena (17 off 22) and Irfan Pathan (17 off 17) eventually saw Kings XI home without further damage.
Royal Challengers bowling was ordinary compared to their opponents on a pitch that had something for the seamers. Apart from Kumar and Zaheer, no other bowler looked penetrating. Experienced Anil Kumble was the most disappointing among the lot, giving 36 runs in 3.2 overs without a wicket.
Earlier, Yuvraj won the toss and elected to field first at a seamer-friendly pitch and his bowlers responded perfectly to his decision by bundling out the Royal Challengers in 19.2 overs.
Royal Challengers skipper Rahul Dravid played a captain’s knock of 60 off 51 balls that was studded with nine fours and a lone six to guide them to 126. He shared a crucial 54-run stand with Virat Kohli (34 off 36 balls) after they were reduced to 15 for three in 3.3 overs.
It was a disappointing performance by Royal Challengers batsmen as five of them failed to open their account. Apart from Dravid and Kohli, no other batsmen got double figures.
Leg-spinner Piyush Chawla was the pick of the Kings XI bowlers, but it was pacer Sreesanth (16/2), who started the demolition in the very first over. In the fourth ball of the opening over, he picked up opener Wasim Jaffer (0) who edged a perfect away swinger to the hands of wicketkeeper Uday Kaul and then cleaned up Cameron White (0) with a delivery that nipped back after pitching. Sreesanth was later adjudged the man-of-the-match for his devastating opening spell.
Jacques Kallis’ (0) awful run in the tournament continued as a reckless mix up with Kohli led to his downfall.
Irfan Pathan (13/1) and V.R.V. Singh (33/1) were the other wicket-takers for the visitors, but Chawla was the most penetrative among the lot, trapping Misbah-ul-Haq in front and then running through the lower order to finish with three for 25.
Indo-Asian News Service