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GL v/s KXIP Score : GL – 192/4, 19.4 overs; Gujarat Lions Win By 6 Wickets

GL v/s KXIP Score : GL – 192/4, 19.4 overs; Gujarat Lions Win By 6 Wickets
GL : 192/4, 19.4 overs; Gujarat Lions Win By 6 Wickets
T Natarajan to Karthik, FOUR, between extra cover and long off. Gujarat Lions have won this!
T Natarajan to Karthik, no run, full toss outside off. Karthik outside edges the drive on the bounce to Saha.
T Natarajan to Jadeja, 1 run, 136kph full ball. Jadeja wrists it to long-on for a single. 2 needed off 4 now.
T Natarajan to Jadeja, wide, pressure! Pressure! Another wide down the leg-side. This might be very well the end of the match.
T Natarajan to Jadeja, wide, that won’t help! Well down the leg-side, Jadeja does not bother with it.
T Natarajan to Karthik, 3 runs, full toss driven wide of sweeper.
Natarajan will bowl the last over.
16 runs off this over. We almost thought Sandeep Sharma had won the match for Punjab. 8 runs needed off the last over. This is going to be an exciting finish.
Aaron to Karthik, FOUR, Aaron don’t look at Maxi. Short and slow outside off. Karthik cuts past backward point and releases the pressure.
Aaron to Karthik, SIX, had it gone a few inches higher, it would have gone past the reach of earth’s gravity. Short ball and Karthik gets late on the pull, top edges it over the keeper’s head. Goes deep into the stands as well.
Aaron to bowl the penultimate over.
Four runs and two wickets off the over. Lions are jaded now, 24 needed off 12.
Sandeep Sharma to Finch, out Caught by Saha!! Sandeep is behind what happened earlier in the day and he is trying his best to change things on his own. Short ball that kicked off and beat the pull of Finch, took the top edge en route to the keeper. Two wickets in the over and Punjab might feel resurrected after this. Finch c Saha b Sandeep Sharma 2(2). Amazing over, two wickets already.
Aaron Finch, right handed bat, is the new man.
Sandeep Sharma to Raina, out Caught by Gurkeerat Singh!! Mann is the man for Punjab, finally. Takes one at long-on. Raina went for the glory shot, the bat turned in his hand as he attemped the swing on this fuller ball Raina c Gurkeerat Singh b Sandeep Sharma 39(25).
Sandeep Sharma [3.0-0-25-0] is back into the attack.
Amazing 17th over, just four runs off it. This is going to be a tight finish for the Lions and the batsmen need to hold their nerves. 28 runs needed off 18 balls.
Varun Aaron [2.0-0-23-0] is back into the attack.
GL : 158/2, 16.0 overs; 32 runs needed off 24 balls
Mohit Sharma to Raina, SIX, blame the willow, if you are a bowling fan. Or call it a beautiful display of timing, if you support the batters. A gentle chip on this shortish ball where Raina looked deceived for a while. But manages to clear the long-on fence.
11 runs off the over, Mohit Sharma to bowl the 16th over. Punjab need a wicket here.
T Natarajan to Raina, FOUR, steps down does Raina this time. Natarajan wants to out-think him with a slower short ball. Fails. Raina cuts him to the deep point fence.
T Natarajan [1.0-0-12-1] is back into the attack.
Eight runs off the over, the Lions batting has done well today.
Axar Patel [2.0-0-21-0] is back into the attack.
GL : 123/2, 12.0 overs; Smith Falls To Maxwell
Dinesh Karthik, right handed bat, comes to the crease.
Maxwell to Dwayne Smith, out Caught by Guptill!! Drags the length and gets rewarded. Dwayne Smith goes for the slog on this flatter ball, fails to generate enough momentum. Finds one of the tallest members on field stationed at deep mid-wicket boundary. Dwayne Smith c Guptill b Maxwell 74(39). Maxwell strikes! Dwayne Smith falls after a wonderful knock.
Glenn Maxwell [1.0-0-12-0] is back into the attack.
Aaron to Raina, FOUR, and gets this one fine. Shuffled across to a short ball and tucked in the air, but fine leg was not in the ring. Managed to fetch a four in the end.
Aaron to Raina, FOUR, Raina makes room, gets followed by a short ball but does not flinch. Goes with the pull – tennis-like heave – and sends it to the deep mid-wicket fence on the bounce.
Varun Aaron [1.0-0-13-0] is back into the attack.
T Natarajan to Raina, FOUR, full toss on legs. Raina helps it to the deep backward square leg fence.
T Natarajan to Dwayne Smith, SIX, anything up and he decimates it. Fuller ball on the middle and leg. Dwayne Smith keeps the willow straight and beats a leaping long-on.
Suresh Raina, left handed bat, comes to the crease.
T Natarajan to Ishan Kishan, out Caught by (sub)Miller!! Finally the catch has been taken. Ishan Kishan goes for the heave again, was on the move a bit and hence no transfer of weight to impart enough power on the shot. Ends up hitting it low towards the man patrolling the fence at mid-wicket. Was a slower ball and that might have made things a touch different for the youngster. Ishan Kishan c (sub)Miller b T Natarajan 29(24).
10 off the over, T Natarajan into the attack.
Axar to Dwayne Smith, SIX, just about clears the man at long-on. An almost tossed up ball. Dwayne Smith goes with the swing and muscles it over the fence.
Axar Patel into the attack.
GL : 81/0, 8.0 overs; Kishan, Bravo Give GL A Fine Start
12 off the over, after 8 overs, GL are 81/0. Excellent run rate and no wickets yet, they seem to be on their way to a famous win!
Maxwell to Ishan Kishan, FOUR, how good a shot that is. Look at the placement. Ishan Kishan charges on the front foot, sees the length and shapes back, cuts and beats the man at point and then sweeper who ran to his right.
Maxwell to Ishan Kishan, FOUR, nothing seems to be working. Starts with a short ball, Ishan Kishan camps back and pulls through mid-wicket.
Glenn Maxwell, right-arm off break, comes into the attack.
Axar to Dwayne Smith, SIX, fifty for Dwayne Smith. Dwayne Smith gets a fuller ball this time. Something that was missing so far in this over. Clubs it straight over Axar’s head. Goes a long way.
Axar Patel, left-arm orthodox, is the new bowler into the attack.
Sandeep Sharma to Dwayne Smith, FOUR, right where Smith likes it. Wide of off-stump, he uses his wrist power to smash a drive wide of extra cover.
Sandeep Sharma to Dwayne Smith, FOUR, too full, Smith bludgeons it back over the bowler’s head. There’s no stopping that.
Sandeep Sharma into the attack.
13 runs off the over. Dwayne Smith and Ishan Kishan have given a steady start to the Lions’s chase. After 4 overs, they are 36-0.
Aaron to Dwayne Smith, FOUR, looks to tuck a length ball in the air over mid-wicket, gets a thick leading edge which lobs up and rolls towards third man. Sandeep Sharma tried his best, but he ended up parrying the ball into the boundary boards.
Aaron to Dwayne Smith, FOUR, shortens the length and takes the pace off, Smith had the width to free his arms and he delays the cut shot, that helped him place in the gap on the off-side ring.
Varun Aaron into the attack.
Mohit Sharma to Dwayne Smith, FOUR, slower half-volley outside off, Smith gets to the pitch of it and thrashes it away between mid-off and extra cover.
Mohit Sharma to Dwayne Smith, FOUR, leg-side dross. Smith won’t spare. He clips it behind square, so far that the man at deep square couldn’t reach.
Mohit Sharma, right-arm medium, comes into the attack.
Sandeep Sharma to Ishan Kishan, FOUR, swinging into the pads, no real threat, Ishan Kishan puts it away with a flick of the wrists. No-one at fine leg.
Dwayne Smith and Ishan Kishan are at the crease. Dwayne Smith is on strike. Sandeep Sharma will open the attack. KXIP have set a target of 190 in the allotted 20 overs.
KXIP : 189/3, 20.0 overs; Hashim Amla Powers Punjab With Second Ton
Basil Thampi to Amla, out Lbw!! Some respite, finally. A yorker that tails in a bit around middle and leg, Amla with his back leg deep inside, looking to swing over mid-wicket. Misses due to the dip and is caught plumb in front. Raina walks up to him to congratulate what has been a tremendous ton from one of the modern greats. Amla lbw b Basil Thampi 104(60).
Basil Thampi to Amla, SIX, second hundred this season, mighty Hash has done it on the big stage! Gets a handshake and a hug from his skipper. Cross-seam full delivery wide of off, Amla goes inside-out over extra cover. Crunnnnched off the meat.
Basil Thampi [3.0-0-34-0] is back into the attack.
Sangwan to Maxwell, SIX, mishit? Who cares? It has gone for a six. Maxi, you beast! What power! He looked to have mistimed this full delivery, went for the loft, but the only thing that could have taken that over the long-on fence is his power.
Sangwan to Maxwell, SIX, short and in the swinging arc, Maxwell loads up and hacks it away over deep mid-wicket.
Pradeep Sangwan [2.0-0-12-1] is back into the attack.
Faulkner to Amla, FOUR, low full toss, straight at the stumps, Amla lifts it barrel straight, no-one’s stopping that!
James Faulkner [3.0-0-34-0] is back into the attack
Basil Thampi to Amla, FOUR, width on offer, Amla charges himself for another flay, goes deep and carves it away over point. 17 off the over, Amla is driving Punjab to a big score.
Basil Thampi to Amla, FOUR, oh Amla! You bewdy! He was shaping up to scoop over the keeper, on seeing the yorker dip he stays still and slaps it off the face over short third, all wrists you know. He might have borrowed VVS’ wrists. Seriously! Never seen someone scoring so many runs at ease with pure wristwork.
Basil Thampi to Amla, SIX, Amla knows what’s coming. A slower delivery, he transfers all his weight onto the back foot and bullies the ball over cow-corner. All power!
After 16.0 overs, KXIP are 133-2. Amla is still on the crease.
D Kulkarni to Amla, SIX, don’t worry about this one though. Amla is nailing it off the middle, backs away a touch and fires a full ball over long-on. Got complete hold of it and his bat swing took care of the rest.

D Kulkarni to Shaun Marsh, out Caught by Finch!! High into the night sky and straight into the bucket hands of Finch at long-on. Perfect length from Kulkarni, didn’t let Marsh plan his swing, just held it back a touch and ensured he messed up the timing. Marsh lofted it straight, no distance, regulation catch. Shaun Marsh c Finch b D Kulkarni 58(43)

D Kulkarni to Shaun Marsh, 1 run, slower delivery outside off stump, Marsh pushes it towards point and raises his bat for a fifty. Another sensible innings from the Aussie.

Dhawal Kulkarni [2.0-0-9-0] is back into the attack.

Ankit Soni to Amla, SIX, this time he connects well. Flighted delivery outside off stump, not as wide as the previous one. Amla goes straight down the ground and clears the fence.

Ankit Soni to Amla, 1 run, fifty for Amla. The century stand is raised as well. Flighted delivery on the stumps, Amla mistimes the lofted on-drive to long-on. This has been a fine innings from the South African batsman. It’s been a good mix of aggressive hits with gentle nudges.

Faulkner to Shaun Marsh, FOUR, full and down the leg-side, Marsh easily glances it past short fine leg, Ishan Kishan runs to his left in the deep and dives but the ball wins the race. Excellent shot.

James Faulkner [1.0-0-15-0] is back into the attack after the time out.

It’s 72-1 after 9 overs and Amla and Marsh are looking well set on the crease. This could be a big score for the KXIP.

Jadeja to Shaun Marsh, FOUR, and again. As soon as Marsh comes on strike, Jadeja forgets words like “flight, air-time, tossing.” MS Dhoni has to be behind the stumps to give him advice when he is under pressure. This is a big outfield and maybe he need not be afraid to toss a ball up. It’s flat, quick, short, Marsh pulls it nicely past the deep mid-wicket fielder.

Ravindra Jadeja, left-arm orthodox, comes into the attack

Faulkner to Amla, FOUR, that is pure wrist power. This was the slower ball, but it went too full, meaning that the batsman had a bit of extra time to react, Amla flicked nicely along the ground through mid-wicket.

Faulkner to Amla, SIX, Amla welcomes Faulkner with a lovely off-driven six. Length delivery just outside off stump, Amla waits and lofts it easily over the top. Faulkner was surprised how Amla managed to time it so well despite there being no wild swing of the bat.

James Faulkner, comes into the attack.

Basil Thampi to Amla, 1 run, dropped. Jaddu it is! Went to his right – not his natural side. Got both hands to it and he’s livid with himself for putting it down. Short of a length delivery outside off stump, Amla punches it uppishly, hit very well, backward point flew to his right, there was a dive but the ball popped out. Huge mistake by Jadeja.

Over 2 – Amla hits Sangwan for two consecutive fours, oozing class and form in ominous warning to the Gujarat bowlers

Sangwan to Guptill, out Caught by Basil Thampi!! This was coming. The approach to the pitch when he came out to bat wasn’t that positive. He got a friendly ball on the pads first up, only managed to flick it behind square without power, then mistimed a hat-trick of balls before this one and Sangwan has got him with a bumper. Guptill wasn’t expecting this from the pacer. Was looking to come forward, surprised by the bouncer, tries to pull off the back foot, Sangwan has a man at deep mid-wicket precisely for the top-edge and the man in the deep made no mistake as it came off the outside half of the bat. Guptill c Basil Thampi b Sangwan 2(5). Shaun Marsh, left handed bat, comes in to bat.

Guptill and Amla are at the crease. Guptill is on strike. Sangwan will open the attack.

Teams:

Kings XI Punjab (Playing XI): Hashim Amla, Martin Guptill, Shaun Marsh, Glenn Maxwell(c), Wriddhiman Saha(w), Gurkeerat Singh Mann, Axar Patel, Mohit Sharma, Varun Aaron, Sandeep Sharma, T Natarajan

Gujarat Lions (Playing XI): Dwayne Smith, Ishan Kishan, Suresh Raina(c), Dinesh Karthik(w), Aaron Finch, Ravindra Jadeja, James Faulkner, Dhawal Kulkarni, Pradeep Sangwan, Basil Thampi, Ankit Soni

Maxwell: We have won the last couple of games and the confidence is there. We don’t mind batting first. It is a big game, coming of two wins and will be nice to make it three. We have three tough games coming up against top teams, hope we win tonight. We have got one change: Gurukeerat Mann comes in for Vohra.

Raina: We are going to bowl first. The wicket looks good and might do something with the new ball. Our strength is batting and we will stick to chasing. We have not done well as a team, pretty disappointing. Still need to show character and go out there and enjoy ourselves. Something around 160-180, with the fast outfield should be chaseable. McCullum misses out with a hamstring injury. Dhawal Kulkarni comes in.

Gujarat Lions have won the toss and have opted to field

About the author

Aiman

Keenly interested in sports of all sorts, I am a physicist by training and curious about everything.