Kings XI Punjab, Mumbai Indians put up clinical all-round performance to defeat their respective opponents

Indore/Mumbai, May 7: Indian Premier League (IPL) remains a hot topic for Sunday as Kings XI Punjab put up all-round performance to defeat Rajasthan Royals by 6 wickets while Mumbai Indians registered a comprehensive victory over Kolkata Knight Riders by 13 runs.

Notably, Kings XI Punjab registered their sixth win of VIVO IPL 2018 when they defeated the Rajasthan Royals by 6 wickets. At their adopted home ground Holkar Cricket Stadium in Indore, KXIP won the toss, opted to field, and restricted the visitors to 152-9. KL Rahul’s unbeaten half-century and useful contributions from Karun Nair and Marcus Stoinis helped the home teams all past the finish line in the 19th over.

The hosts lost two wickets early but recovered through a partnership between Rahul and Karun Nair. KXIP slipped briefly yet again when Karun and Axar Patel were dismissed within two overs. Rahul then took charge, and in the company of Stoinis guided his team home; the fifth wicket pair were involved in an unbeaten 68-run partnership.

For RR, the wickets were shared by four bowlers. K Gowtham would be the most economical bowler, returning figures of 3-0-18-1. Jofra Archer successfully set up and dismissed Gayle, but conceded 43 runs in his 3.4 overs. Anureet Singh and Ben Stokes picked up a wicket each. Jaydev Unadkat, who has had a difficult tournament, bowled three good overs conceding only 11 runs, but was taken for 15 runs in his final over.

Earlier in the evening, the Royals rode on Jos Buttler’s half-century to get to 152-9. The English opener created his own opportunities to score runs, was quick off the blocks and helped himself to his second half-century in two innings. He kept losing partners at the other end as several of his teammates were dismissed for low scores.

Sanju Samson, batting at four, made 28 from 23 balls before he picked out deep square-leg, while Shreyas Gopal, batting at nine, contributed an unbeaten 24. There were only two partnerships of note in the RR innings Buttler dominated the 32-run second-wicket partnership with Ajinkya Rahane, and then added 49 with Samson for the third wicket.

Among the KXIP bowlers, Mujeeb ur Rahman and Andrew Tye returned five wickets between them, while Axar returned the most economical bowler, conceding only 21 runs in his four overs. Ankit Rajpoot and Ravichandran Ashwin chipped in with a wicket each.

Earlier, in the evening, Mumbai Indians continue to remain relevant in VIVO IPL 2018 after they defeated they Kolkata Knight Riders by 13 runs at Wankhede Stadium. After scoring 181-4 batting first, the defending champions restricted KKR to 168-6. The win was MI’s fourth in ten matches this season, while KKR, with this loss, now have five wins and as many losses.

The Mumbai Indians, put in to bat, were provided a rollicking start by their opening pair. Suryakumar Yadav and Ewin Lewis added 56 in the first six overs and extended their partnership to 91 before the latter’s miscue landed in the hands of a short third man in the tenth over.

Yadav, who had battled the trying conditions, batted on until the fifteenth over before he became Andre Russell’s second victim. The MI middle order struggled to come to terms with the heat and the surface conditions; Rohit Sharma fell victim to his nemesis Sunil Narine, as did Krunal Pandya.

It was left to the younger of the Pandya brothers to provide the end overs flourish as Hardik, hit a six down the ground, but was also lucky to collect a few boundaries through outside edges. MI was 95-1 at the halfway stage and could only add a further 86 in the back half.

KKR, who surprisingly changed their opening pair, lost both openers Chris Lynn and Shubman Gill in 3.1 overs. Robin Uthappa and Nitish Rana, batting at three and four respectively, added 84 runs in 9.2 overs, with the former dominating the partnership.

KKR’s run-chase was derailed when both batsmen were dismissed in the space of six balls. From 112-2in 12.2 overs just before Uthappa’s dismissal, KKR could only add 56 runs in the remaining 7.4 overs. The visitors needed 43 off the last three overs, but could only add 29 runs to their total.

Statistics of the two Matches:

Rajasthan Royals vs Kings XI Punjab

Rajasthan Royals 152-9 (Jos Buttler 51, Sanju Samson 28, Mujeeb ur Rahman 3-27, Andrew Tye 2-24) lost to Kings XI Punjab 155-4 in 18.4 overs (KL Rahul 84*, Karun Nair 31) by 6 wickets.

Man of the Match:

Mujeeb ur Rahman, for his bowling spell of 4-0-27-3.

Mumbai Indians vs Kolkata Knight Riders

Mumbai Indians 181-4 (Suryakumar Yadav 59, Evin Lewis 43, Hardik Pandya 35*, Andre Russell 2-12, Sunil Narine 2-35) beat

Kolkata Knight Riders 168-6 (Robin Uthappa 54, Nitish Rana 31, Dinesh Karthik 36*, Hardik Pandya 2-19) by 13 runs.

Man of the Match:

Hardik Pandya, for his all-round performance (35* & 2-19)