Pune Warriors Vs Kings XI Punjab
Gaining a lot from the experience of their skipper Sourav Ganguly, Pune Warriors started with a bang to skittle out the Mumbai Indians in their opening match. To sustain that momentum, they had to win this clash against Kings XI Punjab.
Pune won the toss and the skipper Ganguly immediately shouted "We would like to bat first" dominating the crowd's noise in the newly built Subrata Roy Sahara Stadium at Pune. With a slice of luck Ganguly hit two boundaries followed by a good shot towards fine leg. But he could not control the innings as he got out trying to force the pace. Jesse Ryder at the other end was trying his best to get run out but finally succeeded when he was at 8, Praveen Kumar throwing at the stumps after fielding the ball of his own bowling. Samuels and Uthappa played fluently, but the run rate was around 7 by around 15 overs. It was Smith's 25 off 12 balls and Manish Pandey's 12 of 4 balls which helped Pune post a fighting total of 166/6 from 20 overs. Harmeet Singh was the pick of the bowlers who took 3/24. But he was unfortunate having taken off the attack after bowling 2 beamers in his 4th over which might have been the turning point in the match.
Punjab's reply was unimpressive with openers Valthaty and Gilchrist getting run out cheaply. Mandeep Singh and Abishek Nayar steadied the innings. But they failed to step up the run rate as Pune bowled and fielded magnificently. The asking rate kept climbing and the late assault from Chawla and Bipul Sharma could not help Punjab reach anywhere near the target. Pune Warriors won by 22 runs. Dinda and Samuels bowled splendidly and Rahul Sharma was the most successful bowler claiming 2/34.
It is nice to the two under-rated teams i.e. Rajasthan Royals and Pune Warriors occupying the top two spots in the Points Table, though we are in the very start of a long tournament and there is much cricket left. Another interesting fact is that these two teams are lead by Dravid and Ganguly, two seasoned campaigners who are criticized for their age and agility, but proved their mettle through their wise thinking and brilliant bowling change, etc.
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