Rising Pune Supergiant (RPS) on Sunday cemented their place in the Indian Premier League (IPL) play-offs thrashing Kings XI Punjab by nine wickets at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium here on Sunday.

The Pune victory came off a superb performance by their bowlers which was later complemented by their top-rung batsmen to overhaul the meagre 74-run target set by a hapless Punjab.

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Pune now have 18 points in 14 matches and are at the second spot. They displaced Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), who slipped to the fourth spot with 16 points.

Mumbai Indians sit atop the table with 20 points and Sunrisers Hyderabad are at third spot with 17 points.

Chasing 73 posted by Punjab, openers Ajinkya Rahane (34 not out) and Rahul Tripathi (28) forged a 41-run partnership before the latter was dismissed by spinner Axar Patel. Tripathi’s 20-ball knock was laced with four boundaries and one six.

Unfazed, skipper Steven Smith (15 not out) and Rahane then completed the formalities without any hiccups for Pune to overhaul the Punjab score in 12 overs.

Earlier, Riding on some disciplined bowling, Pune restricted Punjab to 73 runs. Axar Patel (22) and Wriddhiman Saha (13) were the major contributors for Punjab’s cause.

Punjab never looked in contention as they started their innings on a poor note. Martin Guptill (0) was dismissed by Jaydev Unadkat on the very first ball of the innings caught at short cover by Manoj Tiwary.

After adding 19 runs to the score with Saha, incoming batsman Shaun Marsh (10) was also dismissed by Daniel Christian in the fourth over and the scoreboard read 19/2.

Punjab’s middle-order suffered a collapse with Eoin Morgan (4), who was playing in place of Manan Vohra, Rahul Tewatia (4) and skipper Glenn Maxwell (0) failing to step up to the occasion. They were all sent packing before seven overs had been bowled.

Saha, who seemed good at the crease, could not handle the pressure and was dismissed by Christian in the 10th over.

Axar Patel, however, showed his temperament and slammed a few boundaries before he was dismissed by Christian in the 12th over.

Lower-order batsmen Swapnil Singh (10), Mohit Sharma (6) and Ishant Sharma (0) were also dismissed in the next three overs to restrict Punjab for 73 runs in 15.5 overs.

For Pune, Shardul Thakur scalped three wickets while Unadkat, Adam Zampa and Christian took two wickets each.

IANS

On a roll after registering their fifth win on the trot, Mumbai Indians skipper Rohit Sharma said Thursday’s 8-wicket win against Kings XI Punjab, will give the team the kind of momentum they needed heading into the business end of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2017.

“So hopefully we can continue our winning streak. The good thing we’ve done is focussing on one particular opposition and we are going to do that again,”

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Chasing a mammoth 199, Mumbai rode on destructive half centuries from Englishman Jos Buttler and young Nitish Rana to thrash the hosts by eight wickets with more than four overs to spare at the Holkar Cricket Stadium here.

“Incredible game to be part of. Something which reminded me of 2014, when we chased 190 against Rajasthan Royals in 14 overs,” Rohit said after the match.

“To be able to chase this target in 15.3 overs is fantastic. The way Jos and Parthiv batted at the start was magnificent. That’s the kind of firepower we have. Parthiv is coming off a great domestic season and he’s taken that confidence into IPL. That’s the kind of start we required chasing 199.”

Rohit also praised South African star Hashim Amla, who fired his maiden T20 hundred (104 not out of 60 balls) to set the tone for Kings XI Punjab’s mammoth 198/4 in the first innings.

“Amla played one of the finest knocks we would ever see but we finished up really well. When we came back to the change room the talk was that the ground is small and we have the batters to do it. That was pretty evident in the first six overs,” he said.

Rohit, however brushed aside any concerns with the bowlers, who were taken to the cleaners by Punjab skipper Glenn Maxwell and Amla in the later part of the innings.

“Not really it’s something which we have to look into. They are proven match winners and they have done it for years, even in international cricket it’s a lot of pressure, it’s always challenging. It’s just about backing them and the management does that,” he said.

“They will come good. It’s just the first half of the tournament, the second half becomes crucial, the table keeps changing so you have to be on the money, you can’t lose momentum,” he added.

Englishman Buttler, who struck form with a 37-ball 77, said the wicket was perfect for his kind of stroke play and more satisfying as he was desperate to get back among the runs.

“Found really good touch in the tournament, been desperate to kick on, nice to put in a contribution. Striking the ball well, it’s a small ground and a fantastic wicket,” said Buttler, who was adjudged the man-of-the-match.

“Luckily we won the toss, you’d think 200 was a really good score. I think today, chasing that kind of total was great for me because I could go from ball one without thinking. I’ve put a lot of pressure on myself, trying too hard to score the runs. Today, when you’re chasing a big score, you can relax and play your shots. Keep a still base and do the rest,” he added.

IANS

Delhi Daredevils rode on an all-round effort to register their second successive win, beating Kings XI Punjab by 51 runs in an Indian Premier League (IPL) match at the Feroz Shah Kotla.

Chasing a mammoth 189, Punjab could never recover from the three early jolts for just 31 runs and were restricted to 137/9.

Left-arm spinner Shahbaz Nadeem rocked the visitors with two early wickets — Manan Vohra (3) and wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha (7) — before South African all-rounder Chris Morris dealt another blow with the wicket of opener Hashim Amla (19) inside the first five overs.

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Amla looked good during his brief 12-ball stay, slamming four boundaries before a flick off a slower full toss from his countryman Morris landed on Sam Billings’ hands at deep square leg.

Saha, however got out to a stunning low catch by Delhi skipper Zaheer Khan at extra-cover after facing five balls and sending the ball to the boundary once.

With the team struggling at 31/3, David Miller (24) and Eoin Morgan (22) put on 33 runs for the fourth wicket to take the visitors past the 50-run mark. Morgan and Miller batted cautiously, striking the occasional boundaries to take the Punjab side to 64 before Australian pacer Pat Cummins packed back the South African after facing 20 balls and hitting three fours.

Leg-spinner Amit Mishra then jolted Punjab with the key wicket of skipper Glenn Maxwell for a duck in the very next over.

Mishra couldn’t have asked for a better occasion to claim his 50th wicket at the Feroz Shah Kotla as Punjab were found tottering at 65/5 midway through their innings.

Miller then survived a low catch by Zaheer off Corey Anderson but failed to capitalise and got out to the same bowler trapped in front off a full toss after facing 28 balls and hitting a four.

Left-arm spinner Axar Patel, 44 from 29 balls raised Punjab’s hopes for a little by lofting the likes of Mishra, Anderson and Zaheer for three sixes but it was too late for the visitors as the asking rate kept on mounting.

For Delhi, Morris was the pick of the bowlers with figures of 3/23 while Nadeem and Cummins took two wickets apiece. Mishra and Anderson chipped in with one wicket each.

Earlier, Daredevils rode on opener Sam Billings’ half century and a breezy unbeaten 39 from New Zealand’s Corey Anderson to post 188/6 after winning the toss and electing to bat. Anderson’s electrifying knock came from just 22 deliveries and included three fours and as many sixes after Billings set the platform with a 40-ball 55.

Delhi were off to a flier with the opening duo of Billings and last match’s centurion Sanju Samson (19) putting on 53 runs.

Both mostly dealt in boundaries as the Punjab bowlers erred in line and length in the early part of the innings.

Young Samson started the onslaught from the first over when he flicked medium pacer Sandeep Sharma for four down the legs before adding another to bring up eight runs. Billings on the other hand, started with a pull over mid-on off Mohit Sharma before meting out special treatment to pacer Varun Aaron, slamming three consecutive boundaries in his first over.

Playing his first match of the season, Shreyas Iyer (22) raised 41 runs with Billings for the third wicket.

South African all-rounder Morris struck an 8-ball 16 to help Delhi cross the 150-run mark before Sandeep induced him to pull a short ball only to find Mohit’s safe hands at the square leg boundary.

Anderson then added the late surge, sending Patel to the cleaners for two consecutive sixes as the 19th over yielded 16 runs before pacer Pat Cummins (12 not out) joined the party in the final over, fetching 19 runs. Despite taking two wickets, Aaron was quite wayward in his line and length, leaking four wides and a no ball in his four overs which cost 45 runs.

IANS