Just before the final count down to the Semi-finals, the Kings XI Punjab kept alive its winning momentum by defeating the top contender Rajasthan Royals by 41 runs in their last league match of the DLF Indian Premier League (IPL) in Mohali on Wednesday.
After posting a resonant total of 221 for the loss of mere three wickets which includes an out do innings of 115 by Shaun Marsh and a scintillating display by skipper Yuvraj Singh (49 off 16 balls), the Kings outshone Shane Warne led Rajasthan to gain confidence.
While chasing such a huge total, it was highly dubious for the Royals to resist but to go after each and every ball which cost them their wickets early. The loss of first two wickets: Mohammad Kaif (1) and Younus Khan (3) cheaply put an impression of a one-sided contest until Niraj Patel (57 off 39) and Yusuf Pathan (39 off 15) propelled the score board.
Players like Mahesh Rawat (23 off 19) and Kamran Akmal (24 off 8) too tried to kept the acceleration on, but the asking rate scaled further with every dot ball and Royals only managed to put 180/7 in their 20-overs.
Earlier putting to bat first, the Kings XI Punjab put on show a fierce start as both the openers S. Marsh (115 off 69) and James Hopes (51 off 35) provided the platform to attain a big total. After the wicket of Hopes, skipper Yuvraj Singh continue the momentum by hitting 2 boundaries and 6 sixes to reach his 49 in just 16 balls.
SE Marsh was the Man of the Match who is also the ‘orange cap’ winner being the leading run scorer with 593 runs at an average of 74.12.
As both the teams are already through to the semi-finals, a win in the match was just to carry on the winning momentum and gain some confidence before the final face-off.
The Royals now has to meet Delhi Daredevils in the first semi-final on Friday with the Kings XI facing the Chennai Super Kings the following day for the rally to mega final.
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