Two teams who didn’t quite have the ideal of starts in the tournament so far, squared up against each other at The Newlands, Capetown.
Match no. 15 of the IPL-II was played between the defending champions Rajasthan Royals and Kings XI Punjab. The Preity Zinta owned team won the toss and having batted first managed to score 139/6. In reply, Rajasthan Royals were restricted to 112/7 thereby ensuring that Kings XI Punjab win their second game on the trot after having lost their initial two matches. Kumar Sangakkara was adjudged the ‘Man of the Match’ for his sheet anchor role in reviving the Punjab innings which was tottering at one stage.
It was yet another disciplined bowling performance from the Shane Warne led Rajasthan Royals that saw the Kings XI Punjab get restricted to 139/6. From the very outset, the Punjab team was set on the backfoot after they lost Ravi Bopara to the first ball bowled. The innings never quite gained any momentum as the team kept losing wickets at regular intervals and at the half way stage, had on board a modest 60 for the loss of 4 wickets. It was then left to Kumar Sangakkara and Irfan Pathan to resurrect the innings and they set about the task post the strategy-break. Both of them were particularly severe on Warne who surprisingly ended up being the most expensive of the bowlers conceding 37 runs in his 4 overs without claiming any wicket. Sangakkara was the top scorer for the Punjab team scoring 60 off 51 balls with 7 boundaries and 1 hit over the fence while Irfan Pathan scored 39 off 33 deliveries.
The Rajasthan Royals’ woes with the bat continued and for the first few overs, it appeared that they would fold up again, as they had in their first match against the Bangalore Royal Challengers. Graeme Smith and Swapnil Asnodkar were out cheaply again and at one stage the side was reeling at 42/6. It was only the 7th wicket partnership between skipper Shane Warne and Ravindra Jadeja that ensured their revival and kept them in the hunt for most part of the match. Eventually, though the task seemed too big and they fell short by 27 runs. Yusuf Abdulla was the most successful of the bowlers with 3 wickets while Irfan Pathan and Piyush Chawla chipped in with 2 wickets each. Shane Warne remained unbeaten on 34 while Jadeja was the top scorer with 37 before being yorked by Abdulla in the penultimate over. Their 2nd consecutive win pushed the Kings XI team to 3rd spot on the points table, behind Deccan Chargers and Delhi Daredevils, both of whom are yet to lose a game in the tournament. Rajasthan Royals meanwhile have slipped to the 7th position and whilst its still early days in the league, their 2nd comprehensive defeat means that their Net Run Rate is now the worse amongst all 8 teams.