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

Ben Stokes smashed a quick-fire century to guide Rising Pune Supergiant to a five-wicket victory over Gujarat Lions on Monday.

Electing to field first on winning the toss, Pune dismissed the visitors for 161 runs in 19.5 overs but chasing the target, initially made heavy weather of their chase before reaching it with one ball left.

Stokes played a starring role, plundering 103 runs off just 63 balls producing seven boundaries and six hits into the stands along the way.

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Pacers Basil Thampi and Pradeep Sangwan bowled well for the visitors, returning figures of 2/35 and 2/38 respectively.

Young leg-spinner Ankit Soni also bowled well, conceding just 16 runs in his four overs although he was unlucky not to get a wicket.

Pune were off to a shaky start, losing three wickets in the first two overs.

Sangwan struck the first blows for Gujarat, sending back Ajinkya Rahane and Steven Smith in the opening over, while Thampi trapped Manoj Tiwary leg before in the next over with a faster delivery pitched on a fuller length, which surprised the right-hander by the extra pace.

Rahul Tripathy and Stokes then got together and attempted to bring the innings back on track with a 32-run stand which came off 24 balls.

But the partnership was broken thanks to an accurate direct hit by Aaron Finch which caught Tripathy short of the his crease.

Stokes had pushed a James Faulkner delivery towards long-on and completed the first run comfortably. But attempting a second run proved to be disastrous as Finch produced some superb fielding to hit the stumps at the non-striker’s end.

Stokes was then involved in another crucial stand with Mahendra Singh Dhoni as the duo added 76 runs between them off 64 balls to take Pune to a comfortable position.

Thampi brought the partnership to an end with a back of the hand slower ball which Dhoni hit into the hands of Brendon McCullum at long-off.

However, Daniel Christian joined Stokes in the middle and the duo proceeded to carry Pune across the line.

Pune thus bolstered their claim to a play-off spot, as they strengthened their grip on the fourth spot with 12 points from 10 matches.

Gujarat are at the sixth place on the eight-team table with six points from 10 matches.

Earlier, leg-spinner Imran Tahir (3/27) and medium pacer Jaydev Unadkat (3/29) starred for Pune as they bowled out Gujarat Lions for a moderate total.

Gujarat got a very good start, with McCullum (45) and Ishan Kishan (31) putting up a 55-run stand for the opening wicket in six overs.

But Tahir’s smart bowling, coupled with some reckless batting from the visitors, meant that Gujarat needed Dinesh Karthik’s damage control effort of 29 to reach 161.

Jharkhand teenager Ishan was particularly impressive, showing his stroke-making skills after a quiet first three overs. McCullum too matched him shot-by-shot.

Tahir broke the stand as Ishan was caught by Washington Sundar at short third man. Suresh Raina (8) too perished soon, falling short of attempting a double of his own batting as Ajinkya Rahane threw to wicket-keeper Dhoni to get rid of the visiting captain, with Gujarat at 71/2 in eight overs.

South African Tahir continued his fine bowling as he sent back Aaron Finch and Dwayne Smith in successive deliveries in the 10th over, as Gujarat were reduced to 94/4. While Finch gave a return catch, Smith was undone by a googly as he swung his bat.

McCullum, who saw all the wickets crumbling in front of him, was the next one to go, after being caught by Rahane at extra cover off Shardul Thakur’s bowling, as Gujarat lost their fifth wicket for 109 in 11.5 overs. It was a reckless shot from the New Zealander, who should not have taken the risk at that point of time.

Later, Karthik and Ravindra Jadeja (19 off 12) tried their best to take Gujarat past 160.

Unadkat’s three-wicket haul at the death ensured that Pune kept things under control as the left-armer accounted for Jadeja, James Faulkner (6) and Pradeep Sangwan (1).

IANS

Rising Pune Supergiant (RPS) posted 160/6 against Mumbai Indians in their Indian Premier League encounter at the Wankhede Stadium on Monday.

Openers Ajinkya Rahane (38) and Rahul Tripathi (45) were the major contributors for Pune’s cause.

Both openers started off on a good note, slamming more than 70 runs in 10 overs. Rahane and Tripathi forged a 76-run partnership with a healthy 8.00 run rate.

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But just when things seemed going good for the visitors, leg-spinner Karn Sharma provided a much needed breakthrough for the Mumbia Indians in form of Rahane’s wicket.

Karn delivered a top-spin and Rahane got cramped while trying to play a cut shot and as a result, the bowler took a fantastic catch to make Pune 76/1.

Rahane played 32 balls and slammed five fours and a six.

Incoming batsman Steve Smith (17) then joined Tripathi and added 17 runs for the second wicket, but Tripathi was sent packing in the 12th over by Karn. His 31-ball knock was laced with three boundaries and two sixes.

Skipper Smith was also back to the pavilion in the next over thanks to veteran off-spinner Harbhajan Singh, which reduced Pune to 104/3. Smith played 12 balls and hit two boundaries.

Middle-order batsmen Mahendra Singh Dhoni (7) and Ben Stokes (17) then added 22 runs in 3.1 overs before the England batsman was dismissed by pacer Mitchell Johnson in the 17th over.

Dhoni, who played a match winning knock against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in the last match, failed to click this time. While trying a big one, the Ranchi stumper missed the ball completely and got bowled by pacer Jasprit Bumrah.

With scoreboard reading 138/5 in 18 overs, Manjot Tiwary (22) and Daniel Christian (8) shifted the gears. The Bengal batsman took back to back fours in the last over before he was adjudged leg before wicket in the fourth ball of the final over.

The fall of Tiwary’s wicket brought in Washington Sundar (2), who along with Christian completed the proceedings and helped the team to get a challenging 160/6 in their allotted 20 overs.

For Mumbai, Karn and Bumrah scalped two wickets each while Johnson and Harbhajan chipped in with one wicket each.

IANS