IPL 2017| Rahul Tewatia shines to keep Punjab’s playoff hopes alive

05/09/2017

Rahul Tewatia became the unlikely hero for Punjab fans as his spell of 2 for 18 helped the hosts to secure a 14-run win, which kept their playoff chances alive. Earlier in the day, Punjab posted a total of 167 runs riding on Maxwell’s 44 and that eventually dented Chris Lynn’s brave effort.

Brief Scores: Kings XI Punjab 167/6 (Glenn Maxwell 44, Wriddhiman Saha 38; Chris Woakes 2/20, Kuldeep Yadav 2/34) defeated Kolkata Knight Riders 153/6 (Chris Lynn 84, Sunil Narine 18; Chris Woakes 2/20, Kuldeep Yadav 2/34) by 14 runs

In what was a crucial game for their qualification hopes, Kings XI Punjab were put into bat by Kolkata Knight Riders’ skipper Gautam Gambhir, who brought back Robin Uthappa to don the wicketkeeping gloves, replacing Sheldon Jackson. Kuldeep Yadav replaced Piyush Chawla in the other change for the Kolkata playing XI. On the other hand, demoralized by the loss to Gujarat Lions, and decimated by the loss of Hashim Amla and Eoin Morgan to national duties, Glenn Maxwell made four changes to the side by bringing in spinners Swapnil Singh and Rahul Tewatia along with Manan Vohra and Matt Henry.

Vohra and Guptill's opening onslaught comes to naught

Punjab’s innings started with both Martin Guptill and Manan Vohra finding the gaps with surgical precision. Vohra was the more aggressive of the duo, after he took off against Sunil Narine in the fourth over with consecutive fours and gave the perfect platform for the late surge his team needed. The Kolkata bowlers used the lack of pace off the surface to good effect and varied their pace well thereon to bring the pressure back on Punjab. Sure enough, the pressure told as a short ball from Umesh Yadav put paid to Manan Vohra. Guptill followed soon after, leaving Punjab at 41/2 at the end of the powerplay. With Narine gaining turn, and Woakes varying his deliveries, KKR kept the pressure, despite Marsh briefly threatening, and Punjab only managed 67/3 at the end of 10 overs.

Saha & Maxwell consolidate, but KXIP fail to make it count

Saha had a tough examination, but he kept the scoreboard ticking by picking the singles and couples on offer. Maxwell, meanwhile, helped himself to a few more boundaries and looked intent on getting a big score. The pitch did offer turn but Maxwell planted his front foot forward and took the spin out of equation by hitting straight, high into the night sky and deep into the stands. After hitting two consecutive sixes over cow corner region, Maxwell finally perished to Kuldeep Yadav in the third delivery of the 16th over, leaving the hosts at 127/4 in 15.3 overs. In the slog overs, Punjab batsmen failed to put their foot on the accelerator and could only muster 39 runs in last four overs, to set a 168-run target for the visitors, but with a slight sense that they ended 15-20 runs short.

#Lynnsanity takes charge

Kolkata needed a quick start on the unpredictable Mohali track and they got exactly that, courtesy of some brutal hitting by Chris Lynn and Sunil Narine. The Aussie packed quite a punch in his shots and timed the ball to perfection, driving and slashing the pacers past the infield. Punjab were already under pressure with Lynn in the mood, and to add to their woes, Narine hit some lovely shots to keep the run rate near 10. But the over-aggressive approach proved to be his undoing as he was outfoxed by Mohit Sharma’s slower ball for 18. After Narine’s dismissal, Rahul Tewatia, playing his first IPL match ran riot and dismissed Gautam Gambhir and Robin Uthappa in quick succession. At the midway point, Kolkata were on 73/3 and were still in search of another 95 runs to win the game.

Punjab bowlers choke the life out of Kolkata

With the dangerous pair of Lynn and Manish Pandey on strike, neutrals would have expected the fireworks to be unleashed. But they never came, as the trio of Axar Patel, Tewatia and Swapnil Singh diligently stuck to a nagging line and length, and never gave the duo room to free their arms and aim for the skies. Sure enough, the required rate climbed to 12 runs an over with 3 overs to go when Manish Pandey was the first to crack, skying a Henry delivery, which Axar duly pouched and Lynn perished at 84 on the next delivery, running himself out, betting against Axar’s arm, while chasing an elusive second run. Kolkata still had a sliver of a chance, though, and there were brief indications of a belated onslaught, but Maxwell and co did enough to cap off a fantastic bowling effort with a 14-run victory.