Australian all-rounder James Faulkner scored a crucial 46 and then took three wickets as Rajasthan Royals defeated Kings XI Punjab by 26 runs in the Indian Premier League (IPL) here on Friday.
Royals managed to post a respectable 162 for seven, thanks to Faulkner’s fearless batting after being put in on a pitch which had a lot of grass.
Faulkner’s valuable knock, which was studded with two fours and three sixes, came when Royals were gasping at 75 for five. His 51-run partnership with debutant Deepak Hooda (30) was also crucial in the recovery, apart from skipper Steven Smith’s knock of 33 (23 balls).
Pacemen Mitchell Johnson (two for 34) and Anureet Singh (three for 23) shared five wickets between them for Kings XI.
Later, Royals bowlers kept it tight from the beginning, not giving the Kings XI batsmen any free runs and took wickets at regular intervals.
The fielding was outstanding and played a significant role in the victory as they pulled off two stunning catches and an equal number of run outs.
Faulkner (three for 26) accounted for the dangerous Glenn Maxwell and rival skipper George Bailey in his three-wicket burst while Tim Southee took two wickets as Kings XI Punjab finished at 136 for eight.
Kings XI Punjab’s chase got off to a horrible start as Virender Sehwag was out for a golden duck while Wriddhiman Saha was run out for seven.
Maxwell fell to a sensational catch by Tim Southee off Faulkner as Kings XI Punjab lost quick wickets, thanks to superb fielding. The run-rate was not a problem for Kings XI Punjab, though, as it managed to score 51 in the six PowerPlay overs. Opener Murali Vijay was in exquisite touch and his well-timed boundaries were a treat to watch. However, he too was run out and later the run-rate dipped as Royals tightened their grip over the proceedings.
Kings XI Punjab needed 71 off seven overs when Dhawal Kulkarni inflicted a big blow by removing the dangerous David Miller, who had just hit a gigantic six off Southee, for 23. The Punjab batsmen struggled to maintain the required run-rate, leaving skipper Bailey with a lot of work to do. He had no choice but to go after the bowlers.
One such attempted big hit was plucked by an air-borne Southee, but fearing that he would cross the boundary with ball in hand, threw it back and Karun Nair, showing great presence of mind, completed a fantastic catch.
Scoreboard
Rajasthan Royals: Ajinkya Rahane c Axar b Anureet 0 (8b), Saju Samson lbw b Sandeep 5 (6b), Steve Smith c Karanveer b Johnson 33 (23b, 5x4), Karun Nair b Axar 8 (11b, 1x6), Stuart Binny c Saha b Johnson 13 (16b, 2x4), Deepak Hooda b Anureet 30 (15b, 1x4, 3x6), James Faulkner c Miller b Anureet 46 (33b, 2x4, 3x6), Chris Morris (not out) 6 (8b), Tim Southee (not out) 0 (0b); Extras (lb-9, w-12): 21; Total (for seven wkts. in 20 overs): 162.
Fall of wickets: 1-5 (Rahane), 2-14 (Samson), 3-35 (Karun), 4-74 (Smith), 5-75 (Binny), 6-126 (Hooda), 7-160 (Faulkner).
Kings XI Punjab bowling: Sandeep Sharma 4-1-19-1, Anureet Singh 4-0-23-3, Axar Patel 4-0-34-1, Karanveer Singh 4-0-43-0, Mitchell Johnson 4-0-34-2.
Kings XI Punjab: Virender Sehwag c Samson b Southee 0 (1b), Murali Vijay run out 37 (32b, 4x4, 1x6), Wriddhiman Saha run out 7 (4b, 1x4), Glenn Maxwell c Southee b Faulkner 7 (5b, 1x4), Axar Patel b Southee 24 (28b, 2x4), David Miller c Faulkner b Kulkarni 23 (21b, 3x4, 1x6), George Bailey c Karun b Faulkner 24 (18b, 2x4, 1x6), Mitchell Johnson c Southee b Faulkner 0 (4b), Anureet Singh (not out) 0 (3b), Karanveer Singh (not out) 5 (4b, 1x4); Extras (lb-2, w-7): 9; Total (for eight wkts. in 20 overs): 136.
Fall of wickets: 1-0 (Sehwag), 2-32 (Saha), 3-46 (Maxwell), 4-64 (Vijay), 5-92 (Miller), 6-122 (Axar), 7-129 (Johnson), 8-131 (Bailey).
Rajasthan Royals bowling: Tim Southee 4-0-36-2, Chris Morris 4-0-21-0, Dhawal Kulkarni 3-0-21-1, James Faulkner 4-0-26-3, Pravin Tambe 3-0-15-0, Stuart Binny 2-0-15-0.
Man-of-the-match: Faulkner.
Royals won by 26 runs.
