Magnificent spells from skipper Ravichandran Ashwin and Murugan Ashwin proved to be catalysts in derailing Rajasthan Royals’ chase, as Kings XI Punjab’s beat the visitors by 12 runs at the IS Bindra Stadium in Mohali on Tuesday. With this win, the Shers climbed to fourth in the VIVO IPL standings.

Photo: SPORTZPICS

Having been put in to bat, the Shers got off to a strong start courtesy of two massive sixes off the bat of Chris Gayle in just the second over, as the Universe Boss continued from where he left off in the previous match.

Two overs later, Gayle dished out some more punishment, smashing a boundary followed by a six to put the Shers in command, but a cutter from Jofra Archer in the final over of the powerplay feathered off Gayle’s bat and went straight into the hands of the keeper, bringing an end to stylish innings.

In came Mayank Agarwal and continued the onslaught, as he took on the Royals’ spinners and smashed 26 runs in just 11 deliveries, including two sixes keeping the momentum going for the Shers. But a mistimed slog-sweep from Agarwal attained more altitude than distance and went straight into the hands of Jofra Archer at long on, ending his cameo with the scoreboard reading 67/2.

Rahul, having watched his partners do the bulk of the scoring, got in on the act along with David Miller, as the pair added 29 in the next four overs, before putting their foot on the pedal and picking up 19 runs in the 14^th over. The duo continued their assault, scoring 36 off the next three, taking the Shers past the 150 mark in just the 17^th over, with Rahul completing a well-made 50, his third in five matches.

Rahul’s dismissal in the 18^th over, followed by a brilliant 19^th by Archer meant the Shers could only score 12 in those two overs, but a boundary and two sixes in final over by captain Ravichandran Ashwin meant KXIP finished with 182/6.

In reply, the Royals were off to a flyer, scoring 38 in the first four overs, with the dangerous Jos Buttler playing the role of the aggressor, scoring 23 off 16 with two sixes and a boundary. But debutant Arshdeep Singh managed to get rid of the Englishman after he mistimed his pull shot, giving keeper Nicholas Pooran a tough opportunity that he walloped acrobatically, giving the Shers their first breakthrough.

After finishing the powerplay at 54/1, the Royals built on that foundation and picked up 39 runs in the next five overs, with Rahul Tripathi anchoring the innings and Sanju Samson playing the supporting role to the opener. Captain Ashwin decided to keep himself in the attack for a third over and it paid off as his delivery slipped under Samson’s sweep attempt and crashed into the stumps, getting the Shers a much-needed breakthrough. 

The skipper bowled another tidy over and also got rid of the dangerous Tripathi with the final ball of his spell, leaving the Royals needing 56 in the final four overs of the contest. Murugan Ashwin followed the captain’s lead and dismissed Ashton Turner on a duck to put the Shers firmly on top.

Stuart Binny’s strong hitting saw Royals score 31 off the next two overs, needing 23 off the final six deliveries, but the experienced Mohammed Shami kept it tight to win the game for the Shers.