| 0.0 : Hello one and all! Even though the Indian T20 League began with Bangalore playing Chennai, the real controversies and the competitive nature of the League all began with this very fixture. Rajasthan had hosted Punjab and were coasting to an easy win while chasing 180-odd but then the 'Mankad' of Buttler happened. Ravichandran Ashwin and his Punjab side managed to change the momentum with that and win the game, but the method used by tonight's home side skipper came under the radar. |
| With revenge surely on their minds, Rajasthan head to Mohali and will be looking to post their second win on the trot, after coming off a morale-boosting win against Mumbai. The hosts, on the other hand, have lost their last two games and desperately seek to avoid what happened last year when their second half of the League phase went haywire and they ended up not being able to qualify. Two teams, both desperate for a win, the away side even more. Should be a cracker and the toss could play quit |
| PITCH REPORT - The pitch has a little bit of grass, should have good runs, says Kevin Pietersen from the studio itself. He also reminds us that it is a big ground and it is a kind of a fortress for the hosts, while also being intimidating for the visiting batsmen. |
| TOSS - Ajinkya Rahane calls heads and it is heads. Rajasthan win the toss and elect to bowl first. |
| Rajasthan skipper, Ajinkya Rahane says the wicket looks dry and the team chasing has done well. Tells that statistics is a different thing and it is important to play good cricket for the 40 overs and it is a funny game. Informs Ashton Turner makes his debut, Ish Sodhi and Stuart Binny come in. Tells that it is very difficult to leave Steven Smith out of the squad as he is a very good player but only 4 overseas can play. Admits the win against Mumbai was a good one chasing 190-odd. |
| Punjab skipper, Ravichandran Ashwin says that they were looking to field as well and also mentions that they are playing 3 spinners, so he wanted to make best use of the driest possible conditions. He also hopes that the dew stays away even though there is a bit of cloud cover overhead. When asked about team changes, he mentions he is sad that a last-minute injury to Moises Henriques has disrupted their plans of bringing him in today. He informs us that Punjab have 3 changes - David Miller comin |
| Punjab Playing XI - Lokesh Rahul, Chris Gayle, Mayank Agarwal, David Miller (in), Mandeep Singh, Nicholas Pooran (WK), Ravichandran Ashwin (C), Murugan Ashwin, Mohammed Shami, Mujeeb Ur Rahman (in), Arshdeep Singh (in). |
| Rajasthan Playing XI - Ajinkya Rahane (C), Jos Buttler, Sanju Samson (WK), Rahul Tripathi, Ashton Turner (in), Stuart Binny (in), Jofra Archer, Shreyas Gopal, Jaydev Unadkat, Dhawal Kulkarni, Ish Sodhi (in). |
| The men who matter are out in the middle. Ajinkya Rahane ensures all his men are exactly where he wants them to be. Chris Gayle and KL Rahul are the openers for Punjab, whereas Dhawal Kulkarni has the new ball in his hands for the visiting side. Surely this one is going to be a hard-fought game, where neither team would want to give an inch. All set for ball 1, here we go... |
| 0.1 : D Kulkarni to L Rahul, Good ball to start off with but played well too. On a length just outside off, Rahul takes a nice big stride ahead and defends the ball to extra cover. |
| 0.2 : D Kulkarni to L Rahul, Quick single. A length ball on middle, pushed a little to the right of mid on by Rahul and a single is taken. Good to see Gayle respond to that one. |
| 0.3 : D Kulkarni to C Gayle, On the money to the lefty as well. Just outside off on a length and the ball holds its line as Gayle lets it go past him. |
| 0.4 : D Kulkarni to C Gayle, Left alone outside off once more as there was a little shape on that ball and it went away from Gayle. |
| 0.5 : D Kulkarni to C Gayle, Another similar delivery, closer to Gayle's off stump this time. The ball is eased away with an angled bat for a single down to third man. |
| 0.6 : D Kulkarni to L Rahul, Excellent over first up. The final ball is also on a length and on top of off stump. Defended from the crease by Rahul. |
| Jaydev Unadkat to bowl from the other end. |
| 1.1 : J Unadkat to C Gayle, Good ball just outside off, Gayle lets the ball come onto his bat as he plays it towards cover-point. |
| 1.2 : J Unadkat to C Gayle, Slightly back of a length and just outside off, it is met with by the straight bat of Gayle. The ball rolls towards mid off. |
| 1.3 : J Unadkat to C Gayle, Another one on the money, no room allowed here for Gayle so far to free his arms. Defended off the back foot by the big Jamaican. |
| 1.4 : J Unadkat to C Gayle, SIX! Misjudgement and it could prove really costly. Was in the air for literally ages and Archer was never looking comfortable there. The bouncer from Unadkat, Gayle wanted to hook it away but was not in control of the ball. He ended up top edging it and the ball flew towards fine leg. Archer there in the deep failed to settle down and ended up circling under the ball all the while before finally missing the ball. It dropped just over the rope. Huge miss for the away s |
| 1.5 : J Unadkat to C Gayle, SIX! This time it is off the middle of the bat. A back of a length ball, Gayle stands tall and swats it right back over wide long on for a biggie. 12 in two balls. |
| 1.6 : J Unadkat to C Gayle, On a short length outside off, dabbed down to short third man by Gayle. After a good start to the over, Unadkat ends up conceding 12 runs. |
| 2.1 : D Kulkarni to L Rahul, Pushed confidently to extra cover by Rahul to this ball on a length outside off. |
| 2.2 : D Kulkarni to L Rahul, Good bowling this from Unadkat. Rahul defends this one on a length outside off from the crease. |
| 2.3 : D Kulkarni to L Rahul, Wristy shot to deep square leg to pick up a single this time. |
| 2.4 : D Kulkarni to C Gayle, Well stopped by the keeper! A slower one, read late by Chris Gayle. He adjusts and tries to run it off the face of the bat past the keeper. Almost succeeds but Samson dives to his left and makes a great stop. Saves 4 runs! |
| 2.5 : D Kulkarni to C Gayle, FOUR! This one won't be stopped. Really poor bowling this, while the deep fielders are on the leg side, Kulkarni bowls this full outside off. Gayle gets a thick edge that takes the ball past a diving short third man. The big man has his eyes in one would feel and is going after the bowling now. |
| 2.6 : D Kulkarni to C Gayle, A defensive stroke to end this over from Dhawal. A decent one for Rajasthan, just 5 off it in the end. |
| Jofra Archer is the first bowling change for Rajasthan. |
| 3.1 : J Archer to L Rahul, Good length delivery on middle and off, Rahul leans across to get behind the line and works it in front of square leg for a single. |
| 3.2 : J Archer to C Gayle, The timing on that is superb but it's straight to the fielder. Full and wide outside off, Gayle opens the face and drives it sweetly to the cover-point fielder. |
| 3.3 : J Archer to C Gayle, Shaping away again, from outside off, Gayle opens the bat face and steers it to third man for a single. |
| 3.4 : J Archer to L Rahul, Back of a length, angling in on leg, nudged directly to the fielder positioned in front of square leg. |
| 3.5 : J Archer to L Rahul, Moves inside the line of this one, closes the face and works it to short mid-wicket. |
| 3.6 : J Archer to L Rahul, Fine over from Jofra Archer. Conceded just 2 runs from his first. He offers some room outside off, Rahul cuts but can't beat Buttler at cover who dives to his right to stop it. |
| 4.1 : D Kulkarni to C Gayle, Full in length and outside off, some movement away, Chris Gayle drives it to covers. The batsmen run across and take a quick single. There is a shy at the bowler's end which misses. |
| 4.2 : D Kulkarni to L Rahul, Behind a good length, on the fourth stump line, KL forces the punch to the cover fielder. Dot ball. |
| 4.3 : D Kulkarni to L Rahul, Finds the gap but there is a man out there. Kulkarni offers a bit of room outside off as he lands it on a length, Rahul cuts it through point. One run to the total. |
| 4.4 : D Kulkarni to C Gayle, FOUR! Nicely timed. Shortish delivery around off, not much room to work with but that's the power of Chris Gayle. He cuts it hard through point and finds the fence. |
| 4.5 : D Kulkarni to C Gayle, SIX! He's cheeky as well. We're used to his brute force, but he has this side to his game as well. Bumper on off, Gayle just uses the pace on the delivery and ramps it over the keeper's head and the third man boundary for a maximum. |
| 4.6 : D Kulkarni to C Gayle, Taps this down in front of point and scampers across to complete the run. 13 off the over, a good one for Punjab. |
| 5.1 : J Archer to C Gayle, Pacy! On a length on middle, Gayle wanted to slog that over long on and goes through with the shot. The ball goes off the inside edge and runs to short fine leg. |
| 5.2 : J Archer to C Gayle, Defended off the front foot by CG presenting the full face of the bat. |
| 5.3 : J Archer to C Gayle, FOUR BYES! Archer is not impressed. That was an excellent delivery that had the batsman beaten all ends up but he ends up conceding a boundary. A slower short of a length ball, Gayle was foxed by it and is early into the pull. The keeper, Samson though fails to collect the ball or even get a hand on it. |
| 5.4 : J Archer to C Gayle, OUT! The frustration does not last for long! Archer has got the big man! Huge breakthrough. A back of a length delivery closer to the off stump and slightly shaping away from the lefty. Gayle looks to run it down to third man but the touch is too soft and the ball just goes off the shoulder of the blade and to the keeper who makes no mistake this time. The extra bounce did the trick there! Archer and the whole Rajasthan side is pumped up. |
| Mayank Agarwal walks in at no.3. |
| 5.5 : J Archer to M Agarwal, Worked away wristily off the hips for a single to deep square leg. Off the mark straightaway, is Agarwal. |
| 5.6 : J Archer to L Rahul, Pushed back to mid on by Rahul to this fuller length ball. Punjab are 39/1 at the end of the Powerplay. |
| Ish Sodhi is now into the attack. |
| 6.1 : Ish Sodhi to M Agarwal, Slower through the air outside off, pushed towards cover for a single by Agarwal. |
| 6.2 : Ish Sodhi to L Rahul, Fuller and flighted outside off this time, driven away to deep cover for another run, this time off the blade of Rahul. |
| 6.3 : Ish Sodhi to M Agarwal, Sodhi goes slightly shorter now, Agarwal rocks back and pulls this away wide of long on for a couple. |
| 6.4 : Ish Sodhi to M Agarwal, SIX! Clean strike. Flighted on middle and off by Sodhi, Agarwal keeps a nice, firm base and then goes through the line as he hits the ball right over the head of the bowler for a maximum. Excellent shot. |
| 6.5 : Ish Sodhi to M Agarwal, Good batting. Single to follow the boundary ball. Flighted outside off, Agarwal tries to cut the ball late but fails to pincer the gap between backward point and short third man. A single is taken though as the stop is not a clean one. The 50 comes up for Punjab. |
| 6.6 : Ish Sodhi to L Rahul, Oooh! Almost a wicket. Shorter and darted through, Rahul looks to pull it away but ends up inside edging that one onto the pads. The ball rolls towards cover. |
| Shreyas Gopal to roll his arm over. |
| 7.1 : S Gopal to M Agarwal, Agarwal wristily drives this through the covers. One run added to the total. |
| 7.2 : S Gopal to L Rahul, Patted calmly off the back foot towards the off side for a run. |
| 7.3 : S Gopal to M Agarwal, FOUR! Good effort from the fielder in the deep but the ball trickles to the rope and ends up as a boundary. Short one on middle, pulled away wide of deep mid-wicket to his left, Binny runs and tries to stop the ball with a dive but unfortunately cannot keep it in. |
| 7.4 : S Gopal to M Agarwal, SIX! This one is even better. A flighted one outside off, Mayank goes right back over the head of the bowler. The ball flies over the rope at long off. Great batting this by the batsman who has just come in moments back. |
| 7.5 : S Gopal to M Agarwal, Pulled away off the middle of the bat for a single to deep mid-wicket. A single only this time as the ball finds the fielder. |
| 7.6 : S Gopal to L Rahul, Defended from the crease by Rahul towards cover. 13 runs off Gopal's first. |
| Strategic break! Brilliant batting so far from the newcomer Mayank Agarwal, who came in to replace Gayle who looked good as long as he was out there in the middle. His opening partner, Rahul though has looked scratchy and will be really happy that his current partner is going really strong. Rajasthan, on the other hand, will want more wickets to keep the run rate under check. |
| 8.1 : Ish Sodhi to M Agarwal, Short and flat on the stumps, Agarwal pulls it with a little swivel to deep mid-wicket for a single. |
| 8.2 : Ish Sodhi to L Rahul, Fraction straight in line, it's turned through mid-wicket once more. For just a single this time. |
| 8.3 : Ish Sodhi to M Agarwal, Some air given on this, fuller on middle, Agarwal works it in front of square leg and takes off. Runs the first one hard so is able to come back for the second. |
| 8.4 : Ish Sodhi to M Agarwal, OUT! High in the air and Agarwal is gone! He was looking good out there, but has to walk back now. Tossed up quite slow through the air, on middle stump, the batsman gets low and looks to go big once again downtown, as he has so many times already. This time, however, he skies it towards long on where Jofra Archer gets under the ball and takes a very good catch. |
| David Miller next in. |
| 8.5 : Ish Sodhi to L Rahul, Quite full and attacking the stumps, it's kept out off the front foot on the leg side. A quick run is pinched. |
| 8.6 : Ish Sodhi to D Miller, A stifled appeal for an lbw, but that's never going to be given. The leg break on leg, turning in, catches Miller on the front pad as he attempts to flick it away. End of a successful over from Sodhi. |
| 9.1 : S Gopal to L Rahul, Quite slow through the air, some nice shape on it. Drifts in first before turning away. Rahul with the full face pushes it to long off and gets off strike. |
| 9.2 : S Gopal to D Miller, Straighter one on middle and off, slightly quicker in pace, Miller wrists it down to long on for one run. |
| 9.3 : S Gopal to L Rahul, Flighted delivery around off, eased through to the long off fielder for one more. |
| 9.4 : S Gopal to D Miller, Nice connection on that. Full and around off from around the wicket, Miller kneels down and sweeps it through backward square leg. Just a single though as there is a fielder in the deep. |
| 9.5 : S Gopal to L Rahul, Turning away from the batsman, just outside off, KL plants his front foot forward, opens his body and drives it through covers. Big gap out there, so two runs are collected. |
| 9.6 : S Gopal to L Rahul, Uses the depth of the crease to go back and works it to mid-wicket. One run taken and that'll be the end of the over. |
| 10.1 : Ish Sodhi to L Rahul, Sodhi provides some pace on this. Shorter and on middle and leg, it's whipped through mid-wicket. Both batsmen run hard and manage to come back for the second. Good running. |
| 10.2 : Ish Sodhi to L Rahul, Floats it up there, the leg break around off, all the batsman can do is play it back to the bowler. |
| 10.3 : Ish Sodhi to L Rahul, Goes with the spin and pushes it into the covers for a run. |
| 10.4 : Ish Sodhi to D Miller, Brings the broom out again. Sweeps this through the vacant square leg area and gets off strike. |
| 10.5 : Ish Sodhi to L Rahul, Against the spin on this occasion. KL turns it away to the leg side and changes ends. |
| 10.6 : Ish Sodhi to D Miller, Miller uses his feet to step out, get close to the pitch and flick it through mid-wicket for one run. Another tidy over from Sodhi, just 6 off it. |
| Jaydev Unadkat is back into the attack. |
| 11.1 : J Unadkat to D Miller, Short of a good length around off, Miller punches this on the up to the right of wide mid off. Only manages to steal a single. |
| 11.2 : J Unadkat to L Rahul, FOUR! A welcome boundary for Rahul and Punjab. Is this the over where KL kicks off? This is a very good shot. Good length delivery around off, Rahul makes room, steps out of his crease and lofts it cleanly over extra cover for a boundary. |
| 11.3 : J Unadkat to L Rahul, Just ahead of a length, on off stump, it's whipped through towards wide long on. Single to the total. |
| 11.4 : J Unadkat to D Miller, Deceives the southpaw well. Unadkat takes the pace off this one as he lands it on a length outside off, Miller hangs his bat inside the line and gets beaten. |
| 11.5 : J Unadkat to D Miller, Another slower delivery, Miller picks it up this time though. Rolls his wrists as he pulls this behind square leg for one run. |
| 11.6 : J Unadkat to L Rahul, Length ball on middle and leg, clipped to the man at deep mid-wicket for a run. Not a bad over from Unadkat, 8 runs from it. |
| Shreyas Gopal has a change of ends. |
| 12.1 : S Gopal to L Rahul, He's fired that in. At 112 kph, it's coming in on middle and leg, full in length, Rahul flicks it through mid-wicket and rotates strike. |
| 12.2 : S Gopal to D Miller, FOUR! Another sweep shot and this time Miller has nailed it. Kneels down and places it through square leg, beating the fielder in the deep. He's played that shot a few times already, executing it well here. |
| 12.3 : S Gopal to D Miller, The googly around off, David closes the face early and gets a safe leading edge on the off side. |
| 12.4 : S Gopal to D Miller, The batsman has played it towards mid-wicket. They pick up a single. |
| 12.5 : S Gopal to L Rahul, Rahul dances down the track to get closer to the pitch and wrists it to long on. Single collected. |
| 12.6 : S Gopal to D Miller, Short and flat around off, Miller punches it down the ground, towards long off, for a single. |
| Strategic break! Rajasthan have pulled things back decently since the wicket of Agarwal. Rahul seems to be struggling for timing out there but it is imperative that he does not lose the wicket before at least improving his strike rate. Punjab will want a grandstand finish to ensure they get to at least an above-par score. The away side will be vying for a few more wickets which will cause the hosts to struggle even more. Meanwhile, Ish Sodhi to bowl out after the break. |
| 13.1 : Ish Sodhi to D Miller, Sodhi shortens the length and keeps it in line of the stumps, Miller whips it through mid-wicket off the back foot for a brace. |
| 13.2 : Ish Sodhi to D Miller, Short again, Miller with a swat which finds deep mid-wicket. One run taken and the 100 comes up for Punjab with that. |
| 13.3 : Ish Sodhi to L Rahul, SIX! That's out of here! A big, big hit from Kl Rahul. Sodhi with another short ball which deserves to be punished. Rahul hangs back, adjusts in the crease and muscles the pull deep into the mid-wicket stands. |
| 13.4 : Ish Sodhi to L Rahul, Going down leg, Rahul pulls it fine down the leg side. Turner at short fine leg moves to his right and stops it with a dive, keeps the batsmen to a single. |
| 13.5 : Ish Sodhi to D Miller, SIX! All 5 balls have been bowled short. Sodhi getting the treatment here. Around leg, Miller makes room for himself and smokes it straight back into the sightscreen for a biggie. |
| 13.6 : Ish Sodhi to D Miller, Wide! Gone for 17 already, still one delivery left. It spins down leg, the umpire signals wide. |
| Ish Sodhi to D Miller, Tossed up on middle and leg, Miller flicks it through mid-wicket and pushes for the second as there's a big gap out there. Gets it quite comfortably too. 19 off the over, an expensive one for Rajasthan. Sodhi doesn't sign off well. He ends with figures of 4-0-41-1. |
| Unadkat comes back on to bowl now. |
| 14.1 : J Unadkat to L Rahul, FOUR! Innovative shot from KL Rahul. Sees that fine leg is inside the ring, so he walks across to this length ball around off and paddle scoops it over the fielder's head for a boundary. The 50-run stand is up with this. |
| 14.2 : J Unadkat to L Rahul, Yorker on off, drilled to cover for a brisk run. Much better from Unadkat, needs to bowl a similar length now. |
| 14.3 : J Unadkat to D Miller, SIX! Miller making full use of the opportunity given to him this evening. A low full toss coming in on middle and leg, the Protea clears mid-wicket with a strong flick. Clean hit. That's a maximum. |
| 14.4 : J Unadkat to D Miller, Full in length and attacking the stumps, it's driven through mid on for a run. |
| 14.5 : J Unadkat to L Rahul, SIX! Breaking the shackles for sure, isn't he? Wow. Just playing with the bowler. Full and outside off, Rahul makes room, stays leg side and lofts it with an open face over the cover boundary for a flat biggie. |
| 14.6 : J Unadkat to L Rahul, A little too straight in line, Rahul clips it through square leg for a couple. A huge over for the hosts, 20 runs from it. 39 have come in the last 2. |
| Shreyas Gopal to bowl out now. |
| 15.1 : S Gopal to D Miller, Fired in as a low full toss on middle, driven hard back to long on for a run by Miller. |
| 15.2 : S Gopal to L Rahul, A sound there! Slight appeal too but in the end the bowler ends up saying it is not out. A flighted ball outside off, Rahul looks to reverse sweep that ball but misses it. The bat hits the ground and that was what the sound was. |
| 15.3 : S Gopal to L Rahul, Flighted outside off, Rahul looks to go over cover but gets an outside edge that runs on the bounce to short third man. A single is taken. |
| 15.4 : S Gopal to D Miller, Punched off the back foot to wide long off. A run is taken. |
| 15.5 : S Gopal to L Rahul, Pushed back to the bowler as this one is fired in fast and full. Excellent over so far, just 3 off it till now. |
| 15.6 : S Gopal to L Rahul, Brilliant end to the over. A pacy yorker length ball, Rahul looks to drive the ball but fails to put bat on it. Samson gets a pad on it and concedes a bye. Just 4 runs off this over though and Gopal ends with figures of 4-0-31-0. |
| Jofra Archer is back on. |
| 16.1 : J Archer to L Rahul, Pacy and on the middle and leg stump line, Rahul looks to flick it but gets a leading edge over the head of the bowler for a run. |
| 16.2 : J Archer to D Miller, BOWLED OFF A NO BALL! The off stump goes crashing but the umpire has signalled that no ball straightaway. From around the wicket, Miller goes for the pull but gets a very thin inside edge. The off stump is removed and goes carting. Rahul though has spotted the no ball and asks his partner to run. Three runs are taken as the ball rolls towards the third man fence. That is a no ball and 3 byes signalled as the inside edge is not spotted. The replays show us that it was |
| J Archer to L Rahul, Superb delivery! Really full on middle and leg, Rahul can only jam it back down towards the bowler. Wasted Free hit but the ball was so good. |
| 16.3 : J Archer to L Rahul, FOUR! On a length and following the batsman, Rahul makes room and punches the ball wide of extra cover. The fielders are up in the circle and once the ball beats them, there is no stopping that! That brings up the fifty for Rahul, his 14th in the League! This has been one of his slower innings. |
| 16.4 : J Archer to L Rahul, Yorker length ball on middle, dug out towards long on for a single. |
| 16.5 : J Archer to D Miller, Miller uses the pace of the ball to punch it towards point for a couple of runs. |
| 16.6 : J Archer to D Miller, Beaten by sheer pace! From around the wicket, Miller looks to cut the ball but is beaten by pace. 12 runs off this over, but the bowler looked really fiery in this one. |
| Jaydev Unadkat will bowl his final over. He's been taken for runs so far, but can he end his spell well? |
| 17.1 : J Unadkat to L Rahul, OUT! Unadkat strikes and he lets out a huge roar as he's got the big wicket of KL Rahul. Takes it at a crucial time too. He angles this full ball across, outside off, Rahul opens the face of the bat and hits it uppishly straight to Archer at backward point. He takes a sharp catch there. Partnership of 85 runs comes to an end. Can Rajasthan capitalize from here? |
| 0.0 : Nicholas Pooran is the next batsman. |
| 17.2 : J Unadkat to N Pooran, Pooran gets off the mark. Works this in front of square leg and gets a couple of runs to his name. |
| 17.3 : J Unadkat to N Pooran, Slower short ball on middle and leg, Pooran mistimes the pull through to deep mid-wicket for a single. |
| 17.4 : J Unadkat to D Miller, Takes the pace off it again. Short of a good length outside off, David Miller slaps the pull down to long on and jogs across to the other end. |
| 17.5 : J Unadkat to N Pooran, Rolls his fingers over this as Jaydev bowls the cutter once more, on middle and leg, Pooran tries to work it across the line but it goes off his pads on the off side. A leg bye is taken. |
| 17.6 : J Unadkat to D Miller, FOUR! Miller ends the over in a fine manner. 9 off the over from Unadkat, still, a good over, all things considered. Full and outside off, the southpaw bangs it over covers to send it across the boundary line. |
| 18.1 : J Archer to N Pooran, Really full on off, Pooran goes for the hit back down the ground but fails to find the gap. The ball goes only as far as mid off. |
| 18.2 : J Archer to N Pooran, On a length and Pooran hits it back to long on. The fielder at long on, Binny misfields and allows for the second run to be taken. Archer is not impressed. |
| 18.3 : J Archer to N Pooran, OUT! Pooran departs. The low full toss does the trick this time. The ball on off stump line, Pooran looks to go big but due to the pace of the ball, can only mistime it towards extra cover where Rahane comes running in and takes a smart tumbling catch. Rajasthan finishing well. |
| Mandeep Singh is the new man in for Punjab. |
| 18.4 : J Archer to D Miller, After crossing over the previous ball, Miller powers this pacy low full toss on off down to long on for a single. This is excellent bowling from Archer. Just 3 runs so far in 4 balls. |
| 18.5 : J Archer to M Singh, Make it 3 in five! Another full toss but the pace is such that Mandeep is late in bringing his bat down and can only mistime it towards the right of the bowler where Archer stops it with a good dive. |
| 18.6 : J Archer to M Singh, OUT! Bowled' em! The slower bouncer does the trick now. From the back of the hand, Mandeep looks to go for the pull but ends up chopping the ball back on to the leg stump which is uprooted. Superb stuff from Archer, he ends up with figures of 4-0-15-3!!! |
| Ravichandran Ashwin walks out to bat next. Meanwhile, it is Dhawal Kulkarni to bowl the final over. |
| 19.1 : D Kulkarni to D Miller, OUT! Kulkarni on and Kulkarni strikes instantly. The big-hitting David Miller is out of here. A good knock from him, but his team would have needed him to finish things off here. Fuller length ball around leg, Miller clears his front leg to clear long on. Can only hit it high and into the safe hands of Jos Buttler out in the deep. |
| Mujeeb Ur Rahman is the next man in. |
| 19.2 : D Kulkarni to R Ashwin, FOUR! Ashwin opens his account with the boundary. A length ball on top of off, Ashwin backs off and cuts it wide of point for a boundary. Third man tries to come around but his effort goes in vain. Important runs these! |
| 19.3 : D Kulkarni to R Ashwin, Just fails to find the gap this time. A length ball on off, Ashwin comes down the ground and looks to beat mid off to his left but the fielder there does well to stop it by moving fast. It was Buttler out there. |
| 19.4 : D Kulkarni to Ur Rahman, Yorker down the leg side, right at the base of the batsman. Mujeeb fails to put bat on ball but scampers to the other end as the ball lobs off his pads towards point for a leg bye. |
| 19.5 : D Kulkarni to R Ashwin, SIX! That is struck sweetly and goes sailing into the stands. Kulkarni has done the error of bowling length once more here and Ashwin takes full toll. He pulls this away over deep mid-wicket for a biggie. Huge! |
| 19.6 : D Kulkarni to R Ashwin, SIX! Another one! Cheeky from the skipper and he has played a captain's knock right at the end here. These runs could prove really vital. A full toss on middle, the Punjab skipper comes inside the line and lifts it over short fine leg. The ball goes over the rope. Excellent finish for the hosts after a poor last two overs. 18 runs off the 20th powers the home side to the highest score at this venue this season. |
| Punjab, after all their struggle, have managed to post a very good total on the board. Only 46 runs were scored in the final 5 overs, but that last over of Kulkarni could prove to be all the difference. Being put into bat, the hosts didn't get off to a good start as they lost a couple of wickets and were struggling to score, but Rahul and Miller took it upon them to do the bulk of the scoring. They took their time, settled in and put on an 85-run stand, with the former scoring a fifty. Things we |
| Rajasthan will be disappointed that they let their opponents get to this point really. They were doing well in the first 10, went for some runs in the next few overs after that, but did well in the death overs, barring the final one. Though, when the big runs came, they all came together and everyone got taken for runs. However, despite the chaos around, Archer was phenomenal once again as finished with 3/15 in his 4-over spell. |
| David Miller is caught down for a chat. Miller says that the wicket is a good one to bat on and that the boundary on one side is a massive one while the other side is short so they got to bowl accordingly. He informs that he was actually not going to play tonight and was warming up with some football but an unfortunate injury to Moises Henriques allowed him to come into the side. He states that he tries to keep things simple in his head and play according to the stage and strike the ball as well |
| What will happen in the second half? The target is not an easy one to chase, but the wicket has got better to bat on as the game has gone on. Will Rajasthan be able to take advantage of that and get themselves across the line? Or will the three spinners in the Punjab side have their say on the result? We'll find out soon enough. |
| 0.0 : We are back for the chase. Jos Buttler walks out to open with not Ajinkya Rahane, but Rahul Tripathi! Arshdeep Singh, the debutant has the new ball in his hands. All set, 183 to win, let's go... |
| 0.1 : A Singh to R Tripathi, Rajasthan are away! A length ball outside off, run down to third man for a single by Tripathi. |
| 0.2 : A Singh to Jos Buttler, Angled away from the right-hander, Buttler looks to feel for the ball but misses it. It goes on a bounce to the keeper. |
| 0.3 : A Singh to Jos Buttler, Back of a length outside off, punched back towards mid on. |
| 0.4 : A Singh to Jos Buttler, Quick single, a back of a length ball outside off is punched back to the right of extra cover by Buttler as the batsmen set off for a run. It is completed easily. |
| 0.5 : A Singh to R Tripathi, Nice shape there but the ball was missing leg so the appeal is turned down. This ball on leg comes inward into the right-hander. Tripathi misses his flick and the ball goes off his pads towards the leg side. A leg bye is taken. |
| 0.6 : A Singh to Jos Buttler, Driven to the left of mid off but a diving stop from Mandeep there stops what would have been a boundary otherwise. A single is taken. |
| Mujeeb Ur Rahman to bowl from the other end. |
| 1.1 : Ur Rahman to Jos Buttler, Flatter one on middle, pushed back to the bowler with a straight bat. |
| 1.2 : Ur Rahman to Jos Buttler, Buttler keeps this out towards cover on the front foot. |
| 1.3 : Ur Rahman to Jos Buttler, SIX! Huge! Buttler has had enough. He comes down the track and lifts it over wide long on. The ball goes sailing into the stands. |
| 1.4 : Ur Rahman to Jos Buttler, Pushed off the back foot for a single to deep mid-wicket. Excellent batting, a single after a boundary. |
| 1.5 : Ur Rahman to R Tripathi, Good placement. A flatter one on middle and off to which Tripathi is down the track almost immediately. The ball goes in the gap wide of mid-wicket and for a couple of runs. |
| 1.6 : Ur Rahman to R Tripathi, Pushed wide of mid on for a couple of runs. |
| 2.1 : A Singh to Jos Buttler, SIX! Walk and whack! A short length ball on middle, Buttler comes down the track and whips it over deep mid-wicket. The timing is such that the ball has flown into the stands there. |
| 2.2 : A Singh to Jos Buttler, Punched off the back foot for a quick single to mid off. Another single after a boundary. Rajasthan playing smart cricket. |
| 2.3 : A Singh to R Tripathi, Tripathi looks to drive this through the covers but mistimes the ball off his inner half wide of mid on for a single. |
| 2.4 : A Singh to Jos Buttler, FOUR! The timing. The grace. A length ball well outside off, Buttler just reaches out and times it incredibly behind point for a boundary. The fielder at deep cover had just a little distance to cover but fails to get around as the ball reaches the rope in a trance. |
| 2.5 : A Singh to Jos Buttler, Flicked towards square leg off the hips. A dot ball and some respite for the youngster Arshdeep. |
| 2.6 : A Singh to Jos Buttler, Wide! Slower ball here and the bowler loses his radar. The ball is past the tram line and the umpire signals it as wide. |
| A Singh to Jos Buttler, Good ball! On a length outside off, Buttler looks to push it through covers but fails to put bat on ball. Decent finish from the youngster after being hit for a couple of boundaries earlier in the over. 13 runs from it though. |
| 3.1 : Ur Rahman to R Tripathi, Flatter on off, Tripathi hits it straight to mid off and straight away shouts no to his partner. |
| 3.2 : Ur Rahman to R Tripathi, In the air but safe. Tossed up on middle, Tripathi hits it uppishly towards long on. The ball falls short of the fielder there. Single taken. |
| 3.3 : Ur Rahman to Jos Buttler, Flighted on the pads, Buttler looks to flick but gets a leading edge as the ball spins in to him at the last moment. Luckily the edge falls in no man's land. |
| 3.4 : Ur Rahman to Jos Buttler, Floated on middle and leg, Buttler smacks it wide of long on and gets a couple. |
| 3.5 : Ur Rahman to Jos Buttler, WIDE! Mujeeb misses his line and bowls it quicker down the leg side. Pooran behind the stumps fails to gather it and they run through. Wide signalled by the umpire. |
| Ur Rahman to R Tripathi, Shorter on off, Tripathi pulls it away and gets an easy run. |
| 3.6 : Ur Rahman to Jos Buttler, Wide! Once again Mujeeb misses his line and sprays it down the leg side. Buttler looks to flick but misses. Pooran once again misses. They run a couple. |
| Ur Rahman to Jos Buttler, Floated on off, Buttler pushes it to cover and takes a single. |
| 4.1 : A Singh to Jos Buttler, OUT! The debutant gets his first and what a wicket to get on debut. It's the dangerous Buttler. Punjab needed this wicket and the young pacer has given them that. Good length ball outside off, Buttler shimmies to his off stump and looks to pull. He gets a top edge on it and the ball goes towards short fine leg. Pooran runs to his left. The ball was swirling away from him but he keeps his eyes on the ball and takes an excellent catch with a dive. |
| 0.0 : Sanju Samson is the new batsman in. |
| 4.2 : A Singh to R Tripathi, Back of a length ball, Tripathi pulls it away and gets a single. |
| 4.3 : A Singh to S Samson, WIDE! Arshdeep sees Sanju moving near his off stump so he goes wide on the off side. The ball though is too wide and Sanju shoulders arms to it. Umpire feels it is wide of the tramline and signals wide. |
| A Singh to S Samson, Good length ball on off, Sanju defends it with soft hands towards point and takes a single. |
| 4.4 : A Singh to R Tripathi, FOUR! Tripathi loves opening the batting and he is making full use of it. Full length ball around off, Tripathi hits it through point for a boundary. |
| 4.5 : A Singh to R Tripathi, Length ball outside off, Tripathi slaps it wide of third man and gets a couple. |
| 4.6 : A Singh to R Tripathi, FOUR! Poor, poor effort from Shami in the field. Harsh on the young pacer. Fuller delivery outside off, Tripathi looks to drive but it goes off the outer half of his bat towards backward point. Shami moving to his left misjudges it and the ball goes past him for a boundary. End of an eventful over. 13 runs and the big wicket of Buttler in the over. |
| 5.1 : Ur Rahman to S Samson, Floated on middle, Samson taps it towards point. |
| 5.2 : Ur Rahman to S Samson, Tossed up on leg, Samson plays it towards mid on for a run. |
| 5.3 : Ur Rahman to R Tripathi, Flighted delivery on middle, Tripathi defends it off the back foot. |
| 5.4 : Ur Rahman to R Tripathi, Tossed up on middle, Tripathi lofts it over mid on for a single. |
| 5.5 : Ur Rahman to S Samson, Flighted delivery on middle, Samson drives it towards mid on for a run. |
| 5.6 : Ur Rahman to R Tripathi, Loopy delivery on middle, Tripathi looks to defend but gets a leading edge towards covers. Rajasthan are 54/1 after 6 overs. A decent powerplay for Rajasthan. |
| Murugan Ashwin is into the attack now. |
| 6.1 : M Ashwin to S Samson, Starts with a shorter delivery on off, Samson strokes it to long off and gets to the other end. |
| 6.2 : M Ashwin to R Tripathi, Once again short, this time a little outside off, Tripathi pulls it to deep mid-wicket and rotates the strike. |
| 6.3 : M Ashwin to S Samson, On middle, Samson flicks it to square leg for another single. |
| 6.4 : M Ashwin to R Tripathi, FOUR! Delicate. No power just pure timing and placement. Short outside off, Tripathi just opens the face of the bat and guides it past the diving Mujeeb at short third man for a boundary. |
| 6.5 : M Ashwin to R Tripathi, Outside off, Tripathi cuts it towards backward point for a single. |
| 6.6 : M Ashwin to S Samson, Tossed up on off, Sanju nudges it to point and keeps the strike. 9 runs off the over. |
| Ravichandran Ashwin is into the attack. |
| 7.1 : R Ashwin to S Samson, Floated on middle, Samson flicks it towards mid-wicket for a single. |
| 7.2 : R Ashwin to R Tripathi, Tossed up on off, Tripathi plays it towards point for a single. |
| 7.3 : R Ashwin to S Samson, Flighted delivery on middle and leg, Samson nudges it towards fine leg. The batsmen get three runs. |
| 7.4 : R Ashwin to R Tripathi, Full on middle, Tripathi drives it towards mid on for a run. |
| 7.5 : R Ashwin to S Samson, Full on middle and leg, Samson drives it towards mid on for a run. |
| 7.6 : R Ashwin to R Tripathi, Short delivery by Mujeeb. It is bowled outside off, Tripathi cuts it through point where Mujeeb slides to stop it and does well to save a run for the team. In the process Mujeeb falls on his shoulder and seems to have injured himself. The batsmen get three runs. |
| Dear me! Huge blow for Punjab and Afghanistan. Mujeeb is down on the ground holding his shoulder. He looks in a lot of pain. Punjab and the whole of Afghanistan will hope that it just a minor blow and nothing more. That will also be the strategic break. The game is evenly poised at the moment. Rajasthan have lost Buttler but Tripathi is looking very good out in the middle along with Samson. Punjab will need a couple of wickets to slow things down here. Meanwhile, it is Mohammed Shami to bowl aft |
| 8.1 : M Shami to R Tripathi, Shami starts with a good length ball on off, Tripathi stylishly drives it wide of deep cover and gets a couple. |
| 8.2 : M Shami to R Tripathi, Length ball around off, Tripathi runs it down to third man and gets a single. |
| 8.3 : M Shami to S Samson, FOUR! Poor, poor delivery from Shami. On the pads of Samson. It is an easy picking for him, he just flicks it away towards fine leg. Murugan runs to his right sand puts in a dive but cannot stop it. |
| 8.4 : M Shami to S Samson, FOUR! Deft touch! Good length ball on off, Sanju waits and waits and then plays it very late and guides it down fine of third man for a boundary. |
| 8.5 : M Shami to S Samson, Length ball outside off, and after hitting two consecutive boundary. Sanju taps it down to third man and takes a single. |
| 8.6 : M Shami to R Tripathi, Dot to finish off the over. 12 runs off Shami's first. The last ball is on the stumps, Tripathi blocks it calmly. |
| 9.1 : R Ashwin to S Samson, On the pads, Sanju flicks it to the on side and gets a single. |
| 9.2 : R Ashwin to R Tripathi, Floated on off, Tripathi taps it towards short third man and looks for a single but Samson says no. |
| 9.3 : R Ashwin to R Tripathi, On middle and off, Tripathi pushes it to point and this time gets a single. |
| 9.4 : R Ashwin to S Samson, On middle and off once again, Samson calmly blocks it. |
| 9.5 : R Ashwin to S Samson, Slower through the air on off, Samson looks to play it on the off side with soft hands. The ball goes towards third man off the outer half of his bat and they take a single. 50-run stand comes up between the two with that single. The two need to carry on now and not throw their wicket away. |
| 9.6 : R Ashwin to R Tripathi, Shorter on off, Tripathi punches it to deep cover and keeps the strike. A very good over from the skipper. Just 4 runs off it. 94 required off 10 overs now. |
| Murugan Ashwin is back on. |
| 10.1 : M Ashwin to R Tripathi, Flatter one on off, patted towards cover for a single by Tripathi. |
| 10.2 : M Ashwin to S Samson, Played really late towards short third man by Samson and a fumble by Arshdeep there allows them to complete the single easily. |
| 10.3 : M Ashwin to R Tripathi, Mistimed pull for a single to deep mid-wicket by RT. |
| 10.4 : M Ashwin to S Samson, Swept away hard but straight to deep backward square leg for a single by Sanju. |
| 10.5 : M Ashwin to R Tripathi, Excellent fielding off his own bowling! A flatter one full on middle, driven back down the ground by Tripathi. The bowler dives to his right and stops the ball well. Prevents any runs. |
| 10.6 : M Ashwin to R Tripathi, Driven to cover by Tripathi. Just 4 runs off this over, a tight one and much-needed for Punjab! |
| 11.1 : R Ashwin to S Samson, Nice shot but only a single. Flighted on middle and leg, Samson gets on one knee and sweeps it hard but there is a fielder at deep mid-wicket so only a run. |
| 11.2 : R Ashwin to R Tripathi, On middle and off, Tripathi milks it to long on and gets a single. |
| 11.3 : R Ashwin to S Samson, On the pads, Sanju flicks it with soft hands towards mid-wicket. The batsmen run the first one hard and get the second easily. |
| 11.4 : R Ashwin to S Samson, OUT! Bowled 'em! The captain strikes and Sanju Samson is out of here. The carrom ball does the trick. It is on off, Sanju looks to play the sweep shot. He misses his sweep and the ball goes on to knock the off pole. 86 needed in 50 deliveries. The good looking stand between these two is broken. Punjab needed a wicket and it's the captain taking the charge from the front. |
| Ajinkya Rahane walks out to bat next at number 4. |
| 11.5 : R Ashwin to A Rahane, Shorter on off, Rahane punches it to the off side and gets a single. He is off the mark. |
| 11.6 : R Ashwin to R Tripathi, Shorter outside off, Tripathi cuts it but straight to the man at point. End of another good over from Ashwin. 5 runs and a wicket off it. 19 runs and a wicket off his 3 so far. |
| Shami is back on. |
| 12.1 : M Shami to A Rahane, FOUR! Valiant effort in the deep from Mandeep. A quicker ball on the pads, Rahane flicks it away through backward square leg and times it excellently. The ball reaches the rope easily by beating the fielder in the deep despite his dive. The 100 comes up for the away side! |
| 12.2 : M Shami to A Rahane, Dabbed down past the keeper for a single by the Rajasthan skipper. |
| 12.3 : M Shami to R Tripathi, FOUR! Clipped away! Really full on the pads, at the base of the batsman. Tripathi clears his front leg, brings his bat down and angles the ball away to the rope at deep backward square leg. Brilliant start to the over for Rajasthan, 9 runs off the first three balls. |
| 12.4 : M Shami to R Tripathi, Good length ball on top of off stump, Tripathi tries to run it down to third man for a single but gets it off the inside half towards point. |
| 12.5 : M Shami to R Tripathi, Back of a length on middle, punched towards long on for a single by RT. |
| 12.6 : M Shami to A Rahane, Angled bat here and the ball goes down for a single to third man. 11 off the over, a good one for the visitors. |
| Mandeep Singh to have a go with the ball now. |
| 13.1 : M Singh to A Rahane, Great effort. Mandeep starts with a good length ball on off, Rahane flat-bats it. The ball was hit with power, Mandeep dives to his right and saves a certain boundary but cannot stop them from taking the single. |
| 13.2 : M Singh to R Tripathi, On off, Tripathi plays it to cover and takes a single. |
| 13.3 : M Singh to A Rahane, Fuller on off, Rahane chips it over the bowlers head and gets a couple as the fielder from long off comes and gathers the ball. |
| 13.4 : M Singh to A Rahane, In the air but safe. Slightly slower on leg, Rahane plays a half- hearted drive uppishly wide of the bowler for a single. |
| 13.5 : M Singh to R Tripathi, Fuller on off, Tripathi strokes it to cover and rotates the strike. |
| 13.6 : M Singh to A Rahane, Good length on off, Rahane drives it wide of cover and gets a couple. Just 8 off the over. Punjab will take it with both hands. |
| Strategic break. The game is well poised at the moment. Rajasthan require 66 off 36 balls. They have 8 wickets in hand but Punjab have done well with the ball and have hardly given any lose deliveries in the last three overs. Murugan Ashwin back into the attack. |
| 14.1 : M Ashwin to R Tripathi, Floated on off, the ball spins away slightly after pitching. Tripathi taps it back to the bowler. |
| 14.2 : M Ashwin to R Tripathi, Shorter on off, Tripathi pulls it away to deep mid-wicket for a single. |
| 14.3 : M Ashwin to A Rahane, On off, Rahane guides it down to third man and gets to the other end. |
| 14.4 : M Ashwin to R Tripathi, Tossed up on off, Tripathi lofts it over covers but there is a man there in the deep so once again just a single. Singles won't hurt Punjab at the moment. |
| 14.5 : M Ashwin to A Rahane, Shorter and slower outside off. The ball sticks on the pitch and comes. Rahane is early in his pull and misses. |
| 14.6 : M Ashwin to A Rahane, Flighted on middle, Rahane sweeps it wide of deep mid-wicket. Mandeep Singh runs to his right and stops the ball with a dive. The batsmen take a couple. |
| Ravichandran Ashwin is back into the attack. |
| 15.1 : R Ashwin to R Tripathi, Full on off, Tripathi drives it towards mid off for a run. |
| 15.2 : R Ashwin to A Rahane, Flighted delivery on middle, Tripathi comes down the track and lofts it over mid on for a run. |
| Stumping appeal taken upstairs. Rahul Tripathi is the man in question. KL Rahul does not look confident. Let's see what the replays have to say. |
| 15.3 : R Ashwin to R Tripathi, NOT OUT! WIDE! Ashwin bowls it wide outside off, Tripathi comes forward and looks to cut but misses it. Pooran takes his own time and takes the bails off. Tripathi survives in the end. |
| R Ashwin to R Tripathi, Floated delivery on middle, Tripathi defends it off the back foot. |
| 15.4 : R Ashwin to R Tripathi, Short on middle, Rahul pulls it towards mid-wicket for a run. |
| 15.5 : R Ashwin to A Rahane, Floated on off, Rahane plays it towards point for a run. |
| 15.6 : R Ashwin to R Tripathi, OUT! Ashwin strikes in the last ball of his spell. Tripathi does not hang long after getting to his fifty and Rajasthan did not want that. The carrom ball has been Ashwin's go-to weapon tonight and has given him his second scalp. It was slightly shorter on off, Tripathi looks to flat-bat it over long off. He does not get the full swing on it and the ball goes straight down the throat of Mayank Agarwal. The crowd is going bonkers here and Ashwin is ecstatic. |
| Ashton Turner is the new man in. |
| 16.1 : M Ashwin to A Rahane, IN THE AIR BUT SAFE! Short on off, Rahane looks to pull but gets a top edge. He was too early in his shot. It goes towards mid off where it falls short of the fielder. The batsmen get two runs. |
| 16.2 : M Ashwin to A Rahane, Short again on middle, Rahane pulls it through square leg for a run. |
| 16.3 : M Ashwin to A Turner, WIDE! Bowls it wide outside off, Turner shoulders his arms to this one. |
| M Ashwin to A Turner, OUT! The other Ashwin strikes now! Turner departs for a golden duck on his League debut! A flighted ball outside off and turning away from the right-hander. Turner goes for the maximum but fails to middle the ball. The bat turns in his hand and the ball flies really high towards long off where Miller comes in a bit and takes a really safe catch. Punjab roaring now! 52 needed off 21 balls. |
| Jofra Archer is the new batsman in. |
| 16.4 : M Ashwin to A Rahane, Short and outside off, Rahane slaps it towards covers for a single. |
| 16.5 : M Ashwin to J Archer, Tossed up wide outside off, Archer looks to cut but gets a bottom edge on this one. |
| 16.6 : M Ashwin to J Archer, Floated on off, Archer plays it towards covers for a run. 6 runs and a wicket from the over. Good over for Punjab. |
| Mohammed Shami is back into the attack. |
| 17.1 : M Shami to J Archer, OUT! Shami strikes with the very first ball and Jofra Archer is a goner. 50 needed off 18, Archer had no choice but to go after it. Back of a length ball on off, Archer goes for the pull. He hits it very well. But to his dismay, KL Rahul runs to his left and takes the catch diving in front. It looks very very difficult for Rajasthan now. |
| 0.0 : Stuart Binny is the new batsman in. |
| 17.2 : M Shami to A Rahane, Back of a length ball on off, Rahane pulls it to deep mid-wicket for a single. |
| 17.3 : M Shami to S Binny, FOUR! Binny is off the mark and in some style. Back of a length ball on off, Binny pulls it and pulls it hard through deep mid-wicket for a boundary. |
| 17.4 : M Shami to S Binny, SIX! 10 off 2 and Binny won't try thinking. Good length ball on the pads, Binny pulls it over the fine leg fence for a maximum. |
| 17.5 : M Shami to S Binny, On middle and leg, Binny whips it to mid-wicket and gets a single. Cannot make it 14 or 16 off 3. |
| 17.6 : M Shami to A Rahane, Oh, Rahane misses it and he is upset with himself. Full toss at a very good height, Rahane hits it straight to cover but gets a single. 13 off the over. 37 needed off 12 now. |
| Arshdeep to bowl the penultimate over of the game. |
| 18.1 : A Singh to A Rahane, Fuller outside off, Rahane moves to his off stump and looks to play it to the off side. The ball goes straight back to the bowler off the bottom edge. |
| 18.2 : A Singh to A Rahane, Good length ball on off, Rahane flat bats it over cover and wide of the fielder in the deep. Gets a couple. |
| 18.3 : A Singh to A Rahane, OUT! Arshdeep Singh is showing his class and composure in his very first game. Rahane cannot do much and has to walk back. Length ball around off, Rahane gets on one knee and looks to sweep it. He just manages to get a top edge and the ball goes behind. Mohammed Shami from short third man runs to his left and takes a very good catch. 35 needed off 9 balls. And Shreyas Gopal is the next batsman in. |
| 18.4 : A Singh to S Binny, SIX! This is out of here. Why didn't Rahane give Binny the strike early? Can he pull a rabbit out of his hat here? Back of a length ball on off, Binny lofts it high and over the mid-wicket fence for a maximum. |
| 18.5 : A Singh to S Binny, Fuller outside off, Binny swings his bat but misses. |
| 18.6 : A Singh to S Binny, SIX! Just the way Rajasthan wanted the over to finish. 23 needed off the last over now. Binny has given them slight hope here. Full ball on middle and leg, Binny smokes it straight into the sightscreen. |
| Mohammed Shami to bowl the final over. 22 to defend! |
| 19.1 : M Shami to S Gopal, OUT! Agarwal does not have to move and the crowd in Mohali has found its voice again! A length ball on middle and leg, Gopal wanted the big one and goes through with a slog. Can't free his arms and the ball goes high towards long off where Mayank is stationed and takes the catch comfortably. 23 needed in 5 balls now, Binny back on strike. |
| The new man in is Jaydev Unadkat. |
| 19.2 : M Shami to S Binny, DOT BALL! Gayle with some antics as well. A yorker on the leg stump line, Binny tries to get under it but fails to time the ball. All he can do is dig it out towards point and the ball goes just as far as Gayle there who acts coyly trying to let the ball through allowing Binny to go for a single which he surely is not going to take. |
| 19.3 : M Shami to S Binny, Bit of a fumble but does not cost much. Full and straight on middle, Binny hoists it hard towards long off. Mayank Agarwal there misfields it but then saves it with a dive. Two taken. |
| 19.4 : M Shami to S Binny, Yorker on middle and leg, Binny moves back and hits it towards long on. Mayank Agarwal gets to the ball and throws it at the keeper's end. Pooran demolishes the stumps but Binny is quick and gets the second easily. |
| 19.5 : M Shami to S Binny, Full on off, Binny strokes it wide of cover and gets a couple. |
| 19.6 : M Shami to S Binny, FOUR! It does not matter though! PUNJAB WIN BY 12 RUNS! A length ball on off and Binny gets under the ball and gets it over cover. Agarwal runs from long off to try and stop the ball but fails to keep it in. No harm done. Punjab win and the crowd here is going bonkers. A win after two losses. Very important one! |
| A comfortable victory in the end for Punjab. 12 runs maybe the margin but the writing was almost on the wall for the last 3 or 4 overs, despite a few lusty blows from Binny in the end. Mohammed Shami had an over left in the bank and 23 runs proved too much to get in the final over. The victory for Ashwin and co. comes as a much-needed tonic for the hosts who were losing their way over the last few games. |
| When the chase began, Rajasthan got off to a steady start due to their two openers Buttler and Tripathi. Buttler though in an attempt to remain on top, lost his wicket. His team really needed him to make a big one tonight as he has been one of the main cogs in this batting line-up. Samson, who came in next at number 3, and the skipper who demoted himself to number 4, failed to score much. The debutant Turner fell for a first-ball duck and in the end, it proved too much for Binny despite him scor |
| Earlier in the evening, Rajasthan ended up conceding plenty of runs in the last over and it was the Punjab skipper Ashwin, who scored those runs. He made 17 off 4 balls and then turned up with the ball to turn the screws along with his namesake. Surely a captain's performance to ensure his team is back on track as far as the tournament goes. Also takes his team into double figures as far as the points tally is concerned. |
| Rajasthan skipper, Ajinkya Rahane says that 182 on this wicket was chaseable and it was just a matter of a couple of sixes in the end. Credits his bowlers for the way they bowled and thinks it was a good game overall and there cannot be too many complaints. Reckons that they lost wickets in clusters in the middle which cost them. Says that Tripathi was struggling in the middle order so they decided to send him up the order and he decided to come in the middle. |
| Murugan Ashwin comes in for a talk. He says that they just wanted to bowl well and they executed their plans. Tells us that he and the other Punjab bowlers wanted to make use of the long boundaries and they were just trying to make them hit in that area. Credits his captain, Ravichandran Ashwin for helping him out and says he has played a lot of cricket with his namesake which helps him. Murugan feels that the ball was coming nicely on to the bat but they bowled well and ended up on the right si |
| Punjab skipper and Man of the Match, Ravichandran Ashwin says it's important to get the momentum as it's the right time in the tournament. Feels that it's incredibly tough to chase on this wicket and goes on to state that they did well in the first innings with the bat. Credits his bowlers for delivering at different moments in their defense. On Arshdeep Singh, he mentions that he gets lateral swing and he has high hopes from him going forward. Continues saying that he works on his variations an |
| So that is all from this game. A much-needed win for the hosts of tonight, Punjab means there are three teams now on 10 points each and the race for the playoffs is heating up! The Indian T20 League action goes from North to South on Wednesday as Hyderabad host high-flying Chennai in what is a crucial game for the team from Telengana so that they can keep up the pace with the top 4! Join in for the coverage of the same. That one will begin at 2000 local (1430 GMT). Till then, take care and cheer |
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