Gujarat Lions put in a clinical performance in their first IPL match to beat Kings XI Punjab at the I.S. Bindra stadium in Mohali.
Commentary:
Karthik finishes it for Gujarat with a boundary over midwicket, and remains not out on 41.
Johnson's into his last. Karthik dispatches the first ball over mid-off, target is less than 20 now. And, Kishan (11 off 8 balls) joins the party, swings it over midwicket for another boundary but the adventure is cut short - Johnson strikes back with a wicket. Karthik's got the last to the boundary - three boundaries and wicket in that. Bravo's the next man in.
That wicket's made it interesting. 30 ball, 28 runs - still firmly in favour of the chasing team though.
RUN OUT! Johnson's kicks the ball towards the stumps and the bails are off before Sir Jadeja (8 off 12 balls) could not make it across. The umpires confirm it after a referral. India Under-19 captain Ishan Kishan comes to the crease.
Sahu continues. Three singles and a double in that over - and Karthik manages to get a boundary off the last ball with a reverse sweep, taking the total to 130.
With only 36 to get off 37 balls, our Lions are well on their way towards a memorable victory on debut. Keep roaring with us. >#GameMaariChhe
— The Gujarat Lions (@TheGujaratLions) >April 11, 2016
Jadeja is the next man and Mohit's back in attack. A couple of singles and a double off that over. And, for the first time the run rate comes below 6; 41 runs required from 42 balls,
Sahu to bowl his second over. Gujarat needs 55 runs from 54 balls.
Here's Sandeep, to bowl his third over. Stumped! Sahu gets the Finch and what a time to get that wicket. Sahu's exposes Finch's weakness, decieves him in flight, beats his bat and Saha catches him out of the crease. Finch's (74 off 47 balls) terrific innings comes to an end.
It's all too easy for Gujarat - they're picking gaps and runs at will. He's tried a slow bouncer, and Finch manages to wait for it ,settles into position, waits for some more time, and guides it along the thirdman region for a boundary. Nine runs came without much trouble. Gujarat Lions 107/2 after 11 overs
Gujarat Lions 98/2 at the halfway mark
Leggie Sahu gets the ball. He would feel lucky after that over, bowled four short ones and has somehow escaped the Finch's punishing willow. But one's smacked for a boundary, pulls it with some power. Nine runs have come off this over.
Axar continues. A quiet over - 1,0,1,1,1,wide,1. Finch's batting on 54 and his partner, Karthik, is on 12.
Gujarat Lions 83/2 after 8 overs
Three fours off the Stoinis over. It's becoming all too easy for the two batsmen - they're picking boundaries at will and regular intervals. Equation still seem to be in favour of the batting side: 79 runs required from 12 overs.
The previous two matches were won the team batting second, will it be any different today?
Axar introduced into the attack. He conceded a couple of boundaries off that over - Karthik and Finch help themselves to a boundary. Eleven runs off that over. Gujarat Lions 68/2 after over no. 7
Another one falls for a slower ball! Stoinis gets Raina caught at mid-on.
MItch is back. Finch somehow manages to get the ball down to thirdman, and gets a boundary. Some skill, that! He's bowled a couple of wides - the left-right batting combination seems to be troubling him. Johnson's seven-ball yields nine runs. It's smooth sailing for Gujarat, they're placed at 45/1 after 5 overs.
From Raina's U.P. team mate Kaif:
Slower ones, bouncers, yorkers- with his variations, >@Bravo has become the best T20 bowler in the world lately. Impossible to pick him. >#IPL
— Mohammad Kaif (@KaifSays) >April 11, 2016
Guj. 36/1 after 4 overs
Mohit Sharma's into the attack. Finch's waiting on the backfoot and the bowler's obliging him with short ones. Two fours of the first two balls and the last - Gujarat Lions upping the tempo. Not a great start to Mohit Sharma's Punjab stint.
Gujarat Lions 23/1 after three overs
Raina launches into the fourth ball, gets the elevation and distance to get a six. Some urgency shown by the batsmen, here. 11 runs came off it. Captain Raina moves to 9.
Mitch Johnson, who's going to bowl at least a good 20 kmph faster than Sharma, comes to bowl. Johnson gets clobbered for two boundaries. Short, wide and fast - just what Finch wanted after a Sharma's slow swinging balls. The over ends at Gujarat's score reading: 12/1
Sharma sends Baz packing, gone for a duck, after the first over, Guj. 1/1
Sandeep Sharma should be a handful on this wicket. And as I type that, he raps Finch on the pads but that going down the leg side. The ball's swinging around quite a bit, posing some trouble for the trans-Tasmanian duo. McCullum goes down the pitch to counter the swing, but ends up missing the ball and gets stumped.
One more over to go, Kings XI 155/4
India Under-19 captain Ishan Kishan drops a difficult one - it was dipping on him as he dived and the ball bursts through his hands. Saha gets a reprieve, will he make use of it? Stoinis, like the previous over, manages to get a boundary off the last over. 170, possible?
Bravo continues with his slower balls. OUT! Saha (20 off 25), trying to muscle one past the midwicket boundary, perishes to a slower ball. And, it's another wicket! Yes, another slower ball. Stoinis is out for 33 off 22 balls. Kings XI finish on 161/6 and Bravo reckons it's a good total.
"As much as I can," says Bravo, when asked about the number of slower balls he likes to bowl. When asked about his record feat, a modest Bravo says, "Malinga is the best bowler in the world, I can't compare myself with him."
Kings XI inching towards 150, 146/4 after 18 overs
PK to bowl his last over. He's darting them straight at the batman;s toes - in the blockhole. 1,1,1,1,2.....and Stoinis spoils his figures with a ramp shot - gets a boundary.
Faulkner's showing why he's Australia's preferred death overs bowler. Saha's struggling to keep the scoreboard ticking - runs coming in 1s and 2s. Three more to go, Kings XI: 135/4
PK's back. No boundaries in this over and the run rate is just a shade above 6 now. Four more to go and these two need to get a move on quickly. The score at the end of over no. 16: 130/4
Kings XI: 125/4 after 15 overs
End overs specialist Faulkner's brought into the attack. Stoinis slaps a wide one and beats the point fielder to get his second boundary. Some urgency shown by the batsman - a couple of singles and a brisk two in that over. That's a good over for Punjab, 11 off it.
Man of the moment, Bravo continues to bowl, his third over, this. Stoinis gets a much-needed boundary for Kings XI, who are 114/4 (RR: 8.14) after 14 overs.
As I'm about type about the next over, Jadeja finishes his next. Phew! Five runs off the thirteenth over and the run rate is still looking healthy at 8.23.
Wicket no. 300 for Bravo, beats Malinga as top-wicket taker in T20s
Bravo gets Maxwell, bowls a straight, full one and the stumps light up! Much was expected of Maxwell, but his IPL form continues to be poor. Saha is the next man in. Oh no! Miller gets deceived by a slower one, rushes through with the shot only to see the stumps getting disturbed, again.
' >@DJBravo47 just took his 300th T20 wicket, beating Lasith Malinga. What a >#Champion>#IPL>pic.twitter.com/7PsE3jMN3c
— CPL T20 (@CPL) >April 11, 2016
Kings XI: 98/2 after 11
Runs have dried up after Vohra's dismissal and that's got the better of Vijay (42 off 34 balls) who gets beaten outside the edge and bowled. And that brings Maxwell and Miller together at the crease
After Jadeja, it's Dwayne Bravo (seems like CSK's bowling) into the attack - that's the sixth change Raina has made. No damage, few singles and a double. At the halfway mark, Kings XI are 87/1.
Kings XI: 82/1/0 after nine
Jadeja gets his man after being hit for a six! He gets the dangerous Vohra (38) caught behind. The appeal was initially for lbw but then realises that there an edge and DK had caught it - first wicket for Gujarat. A much needed one!
Kings XI: 71/0 after eight overs
Ladda's getting hammered by Vohra, who's just hit him for a 105m six - that must've been the biggest we seen so far this season. And, he follows that with a boundary. The run rate's picking up, over 8.8 now.
Kings XI Punjab 52/0 after six
Raina introduces spin early, before the end of powerplay overs. Sarabjit Ladda's into the attack.
A close shave for Vijay, he just about manages to keep his foot inside the crease as his fellow Tamil Nadu player Dinesh Karthik whips the bails. Seven came off that over.
You were quick, Dinesh Karthik...but not as quick as MS Dhoni. Needed his lightening quick hands to dismiss Vijay. >#KXIPvGL>#IPL
— Aakash Chopra (@cricketaakash) >April 11, 2016
Kings XI Punjab 45/0 after five
Kings XI openers continue to score runs in boundaries, local lad Vohra scores three 4s in that over.
Punjab 20/0 (RR: 6.66) after three
Kumar continues to trouble the batsmen - he's bowling it full and and wide. Vijay's had enough of it, drives it, standing tall. But Sangwan beats Vijay's bat in the last ball. Runs coming only in boundaries for Kings XI.
Kings XI: 10/0 after two overs
Vijay steps on the gas, deposits the fifth ball over long-on. And, he follows that with a boundary through the covers. That's one way to negate the swing - stepping out and forcing the bowler to bowl to your strengths.
After the first over, Kings XI 3/0
Openers Murali VIjay and Manan Vohra have to contend with Praveen Kumar's big inswingers here. There's prodigious swing on offer and the batsmen manage to run the ball down to thirdman a couple of times. Just two off the first.
Here are the teams:
Kings XI: Manan Vohra, M. Vijay, Glenn Maxwell, Wriddhiman Saha (wk), David Miller (capt), Axar Patel, Marcus Stoinis, Pardeep Sahu, Mitchell Johnson, Mohit Sharma, Sandeep Sharma.
Gujarat Lions: Aaron Finch, Brendon McCullum, Suresh Raina, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Ishan Kishan, Dwayne Bravo, Ravindra Jadeja, James Faulkner, Praveen Kumar, Pradeep Sangwan, Sarabjit Ladda.
Lions' captain Raina wins the toss, and Gujarat will bowl first - it was expected of the winning captain to make the first use of the green pitch.
This is how the pitch looks like at Mohali for >@lionsdenkxip v >@TheGujaratLions game >#IPL>https://t.co/rKukwZpl29
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) >April 11, 2016
Ramiz Raja says the pitch looks "absolutely green" - no surprises there. Toss coming up in 10 minutes.
Read our match preview: Gujarat Lions holds edge over Kings XI
The brief history of IPL points to the debutants making their presence felt, just like Rising Pune Supergiants did on Saturday night. It could well be the turn of first-timer Gujarat Lions to mark its attendance, of course with a victory, at Kings XI Punjab’s home turf.
Gujarat, led by Suresh Raina, holds the edge with three all-rounders — Dwayne Bravo, James Faulkner and Ravindra Jadeja — strengthening the spine and making it appear taller. Names like Brendon McCullum, Aaron Finch, Dwayne Smith, Andrew Tye and Dale Steyn complete the list of carefully picked overseas players. > More...
