The Hindu : Sport : Smith masterminds royal thrashing for Kings

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Smith masterminds royal thrashing for Kings

Naman Ojha provides ideal support in opening stand; Amit Singh returns sensational figures

— Photo: AP

POWER PLAYER: Graeme Smith gave Rajasthan Royals a solid start that set the base for a splendid victory over Kings XI Punjab.

Durban: Rajasthan Royals rode on Graeme Smith and Naman Ojha’s blazing fifties and debutant pacer Amit Singh’s sensational bowling to trounce Kings XI Punjab by a massive 78 runs and register one of the biggest wins in the DLF-Indian Premier League here on Tuesday.

Put in to bat, Smith (77) and Ojha’s (68) scintillating batting helped Royals post the tournament’s highest total — 211 for four — before restricting Kings XI to 133 for eight.

Best opening stand

Smith and Ojha shared a 135-run stand for the opening wicket, which is so far the biggest partnership of the event.

Chasing the mammoth total, Kings XI Punjab never looked in the hunt and lost half its side with just 39 runs on the board by the eighth over.

Skipper Yuvraj Singh (48) stood tall among the ruins and was the only Kings XI batsman to put up some resistance in a contest which was unexpectedly lop-sided. Yuvraj’s knock comprised three fours and an equal number of sixes.

Kings XI’s demolition was initiated by Amit Sigh who struck with the first and the last ball of his opening over itself to leave Kings XI at two for 2.

The 27-year-old ended the game with dream figures of three for 9 in four overs. Amit first induced an edge from Sunny Sohal (0), whose misjudged shot landed safely with Shane Warne at the slips.

Karan Goel (1) became his next victim while trying to clear deep square-leg. The ball soared in the air for a while before Shane Harwood caught hold of it.

Later, Amit also picked up Yuvraj’s wicket when the Kings XI skipper mis-hit a short delivery to Harwood at square-leg.

Massive blow

Within just three overs of Karan and Sunny’s dismissal, Kings XI was dealt a massive blow when Simon Katich was castled by Siddharth Trivedi off the last ball of his opening over.

Katich (10) attempted to smash a yorker but only managed an inside edge that uprooted his off-stump and left Punjab reeling at 25 for three in the fourth over.

Kumar Sangakkara (10) didn’t last long either, stumped by Ojha off a Yusuf Pathan delivery. Mahela Jayawardene (9) folowed him to the dug-out, departing after hitting a six in the eighth over.

Jayawardene was dismissed by Harwood after the Sri Lankan cut a short delivery only to be caught by Trivedi at third man.

The rest of the Punjab line-up failed to put up a fight as Punjab succumbed to the massive loss.

Smart move

Earlier, Royals was off to its best start of the event making 92 runs in 10 overs before the strategy break. Playing only his second IPL match, Ojha was sent in to open the innings with Smith and the the 25-year-old wicketkeeper-batsman justified the move with a 51-ball knock.

Smith, out of sorts so far in the event, was cautious to start with but soon cut loose. The South African’s innings came off just 44 balls and was studded with 12 boundaries and a six. He was dismissed in the 15th over while trying to loft a Ramesh Powar delivery over long-on, only to be caught by Piyush Chawla.

But before that, Smith and Ojha had laid the foundation for a big total for Royals.

Ojha, who was dismissed for a duck in his first match, gave a perfect start to Royals’ innings, hitting Powar for two massive sixes and a four in the very first over. Ojha struck five boundaries and an equal number of sixes during his knock.

Desperate measures

Kings XI captain Yuvraj Singh tried seven bowlers in a bid to stop the run flow but none could do the trick for him.

Kings XI’s and the tournament’s most successful bowler Yusuf Abdulla conceded 44 runs without picking up a wicket in the three overs that he bowled.

S. Sreesanth, playing his first IPL game after recovering from a back injury, was not as expensive to start with but was taken to task in his fourth and final over, which left him with figures of none for 44. — PTI

SCOREBOARD

Rajasthan Royals: N. Ojha c Katich b Piyush 68 (51b, 5x4, 5x6), G. Smith c Piyush b Powar 77 (44b, 12x4, 1x6), Yusuf c Karan b Piyush 12 (7b, 1x4, 1x6), R. Jadeja c Jayawardene b Irfan 33 (12b, 5x4, 1x6), L. Carseldine (not out) 16 (9b, 2x4), Abhishek (not out) 1 (1b); Extras (nb-4): 4; Total (for four wkts. in 20 overs): 211.

Fall of wickets: 1-135, 2-153, 3-164, 4-203.

Kings XI Punjab bowling: Powar 3-0-33-1, Irfan 4-0-40-1, Sreesanth 4-0-44-0, Abdulla 3-0-44-0, Piyush 4-0-30-2, Yuvraj 1-0-9-0, Karan Goel 1-0-11-0.

Kings XI Punjab: S. Sohal c Warne b Amit Singh 0 (1b), K. Sangakkara st Ojha b Pathan 11 (15b 2x4), K. Goel c Harwood b Amit Singh 1 (4b), S. Katich b Trivedi 10 (13b 2x4), M. Jayawardene c Trivedi b Harwood 9 (11b, 1x6), Yuvraj c Harwood b Amit Singh 48 (37b, 3x4, 3x6), Irfan Pathan lbw b Warne 19 (17b, 2x4), P. Chawla c Jadeja b Warne 6 (7b, 1x4), R. Powar (not out) 6 (7b), S. Sreesanth (not out) 4 (8b, 1x4); Extras (b-1, lb-5, w-13): 19; Total (for eight wkts. in 20 overs): 133.