MATCH 45: Manan Vohra's fireworks were enough for Punjab to seal a last-over win at the Kotla.
Manan Vohra's momentum saw Punjab through.Kings XI Punjab became the first team to confirm their seat in the playoffs with a four-wicket win over bottom-placed Delhi Daredevils, but what should have been a comfortable chase turned into a scramble for the finish line. Against the best chasing team in the competition, Daredevils had to come up with their best batting effort but they frittered away a strong platform in the last four overs to post 164. Kings XI also suffered a few hiccups after a typically blistering start and despite experimenting with their batting order, got home in the final over with two balls to spare.
An impetuous shot by George Bailey - caught in the deep in the penultimate over - gave Daredevils a sniff and it came down to nine needed off the last over. Akshar Patel, the unlikely hero with the bat for Kings XI, was well set on 41 off 34 balls when Rishi Dhawan joined him. The pair ensured there were no dot balls in the final over from Wayne Parnell to pile on the pressure, and with four needed off three Dhawan pulled to the deep midwicket boundary to seal the win.
Kings XI's openers, Virender Sehwag and Manan Vohra blazed 67 off 6.2 overs with Vohra the more dominant partner. Vohra's sixes down the ground stood out, particularly the back foot punch off Mohammad Shami that sailed over deep cover. But in trying to clear Imran Tahir, he found M Vijay at long-off and went for 42 off 19 balls.
It was another of those days in which Glenn Maxwell and David Miller failed. Both fell trying to attack the spinners - Maxwell off Tahir and Miller off JP Duminy. Kings XI were comfortably placed at 95 for 4 off ten overs but they yet again had a contingency in the event of a Miller-Maxwell no-show. Interestingly, Bailey promoted Akshar over himself and it wasn't a bad ploy.
NOT BOGGED DOWN
Akshar ensured he never got bogged down, looking for singles and keeping the required rate within manageable levels. Having moved to 18 off 19 balls, he had a productive over off Parnell, fetching three boundaries, though he was lucky when an inswinging yorker deflected off his pad to third man. It was adjacent to the stump and yet, given as runs. A six off Jaydev Unadkat brought it down to 11 off 12 but there was still room for drama and the capacity crowd at the Kotla had to see the home team slump to its seventh straight defeat.
After being put in, Kevin Pietersen and Dinesh Karthik were commanding in their stand of 71 for the second wicket. Karthik was not afraid to play audacious shots off the seamers, such as his sweep off Sandeep Sharma that went flat over square leg. Pietersen took 18 off an over from Beuran Hendricks and by the end of ten overs Daredevils were at a comfortable 84 for 1.
Just when a maiden tournament fifty was there for the taking, Pietersen fell to his old nemesis - the left-arm spinner. Batting on 49, he faced Akshar and played down the wrong line off one that turned and beat the bat. Karthik meanwhile was dominant against the spinners, lofting exquisitely down the ground.
Daredevils took 30 off overs 15 and 16 but it started going downhill with a spurt of wickets. Their best finishers, Duminy and Kedar Jadhav failed and the responsibility fell on Karthik for late acceleration. When Karthik departed for 69 caught at deep square leg, his was the fourth wicket to go down in the space of nine balls. Daredevils managed only 20 off the last three overs and in the end, fell short by at least another 15. [CYCIPL]
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