Kings XI Punjab defeated Pune Warriors India by seven wickets and clinched the thriller to give their fans some moments rejoice. David Miller and Mandeep Singh batted brilliantly to take their side to a sensational win and smacked Luke Wright and Rahul Sharma all over the ground. Aaron Finch, Yuvraj Singh and Robin Uthappa also played some crucial knocks and helped Pune set up a humongous total of 185 on the board.
Here we bring to you the hit and flops from the match.
Hits
David Miller: Miller was simply outstanding. The way he exploded against PWI was a treat to watch as he scored 80 off just 41 balls. He took the match away from PWI by scoring five fours and five sixes.
Mandeep Singh: Mandeep Singh played a scintillating knock of 77 runs in 58 balls. He once again proved his ability to bat for longer duration in this shorter format. He scored seven boundaries in his knock and displayed some great batting sense.
Aaron Finch: Finch once again came hard on Kings XI bowlers and smacked 64 off 42 balls which included eight fours and two sixes. He gave PWI a blistering start with Robin Uthappa and added 83 runs for the first wicket. He has proved again and again that he can bat for good 10-15 overs and do some great damage to the opposition. He just needs to be bit more consistent.
Luke Wright: Wright played a great cameo as he came up with six fours and one six in his knock of 34 runs off just 11 balls. Wright was bit awful with the ball as he got smacked for 35 runs in his 2.5 overs.
Yuvraj Singh: Yuvraj was looking in good touch with the bat as he scored 34 runs off 24 balls. His stay gave PWI gave much needed momentum as he hit two fours and three sixes. He also picked up one wicket by giving away just 15 runs.
Robin Uthappa: Uthappa was once again looking steady in his approach as Finch was mercilessly beating down the bowlers. He scored 37 runs which was studded with four fours. He just needs to continue this form with bit more aggression which will give PWI a definitive edge in upcoming matches.
Flops
Parwinder Awana: Awana ended up with a figure of 1/38 in his four overs. He got smashed for three fours and two sixes. His inconsistent line and length cost him plenty of runs. He was unsure of whether to bowl short-off length or full length.
Azhar Mahmood: Mahmood got smacked for 42 runs and was the most expensive bowler for Kings XI. He kept on bowling that predictable line and got smashed for four back to back boundaries by Luke Wright. He gave away six fours and one six in his spell of four overs.
Adam Gilchrist: Gilchrist got dismissed early as he chased the widish delivery which was angled across by Bhuvneshwar Kumar. He got out for four runs. He needs to fire much more than what he has done till now.
Ajantha Mendis: Mendis started off well by getting Mahmood out but after that he had very tough time with the ball. He got smashed for four fours and one six and ended up with the figures of 1/38.
Rahul Sharma: Rahul had no clue where to bowl and how to restrict the batsmen. Just like other bowlers, he also went for plenty of runs. He gave away 28 runs in three overs.
By Amit Chopra
Indian Sports News Network
