IPL 10, Match 4, Kings XI Punjab v Rising Pune Supergiant - 5 Tracking Points

The battle of the wooden spooners of the 2016 edition of the IPL got underway with the Kings XI Punjab hosting the Rising Pune Supergiant at the Holkar Stadium at Indore. Both these teams had faced off in the last league match of the previous edition and it was the heroics of MS Dhoni that had seen them finish on the victorious side on the day. This was a brand new edition and the teams had revamped their lineups.

The Rising Pune Supergiant had registered a magnificent win over the two time champions Mumbai Indians in their first match of the season. They had looked very impressive on the day and hence the Kings campaign knew they had a tough task on hand. Coming in to the match, the RPS side were put in to bat by KXIP skipper Glenn Maxwell. RPS had a disappointing start with Mayank Agarwal getting dismissed cheaply.

In form players Ajinkya Rahane and Steve Smith perished after good starts. MS Dhoni had a rare failure. It was a fighting fifty from Ben Stokes, assisted by a 23-ball 40 by Manoj Tiwary that saw the RPS put on 163/6 in their 20 overs. In the run chase, Hashim Amla gave a fitting start to the visitors. The middle order could not do much but veteran batsmen Glenn Maxwell and David Miller got the runs going and saw the Kings XI Punjab win the match by 6 wickets.

Here are the 5 Tracking Points from the KXIPvRPS encounter:

1. RPS top order struggle in the powerplay

The venue at Indore was expected to be a batting belter. The pitch promised not to change a great deal but the batsmen of RPS found it very tough early on in the innings. Mayank Agarwal’s horror run with the bat continued as he got out for a duck this time around. Ajinkya Rahane was then joined by Steve Smith at the crease. Both players had scored fifties in the previous match and hence they were the in-form batters of the side.

Kudos to some very tight bowling from T Natarajan, Sandeep Sharma and Mohit Sharma, runs were not easy to come by. Rahane perished on 19 as Natarajan bagged his first wicket. The RPS could only score 35 runs in the powerplay. Even Steve Smith struggled to middle the deliveries and it was tough outing for him as he perished for a 27-ball 26.

2. Midway collapse for RPS

The Rising Pune Supergiant had a very disappointing time as their middle order crashed like ten pins on the day. Barring Ben Stokes, no other middle order batsmen could middle the ball well. Smith departed on 26 after struggling for 27 deliveries. MS Dhoni arrived at the crease amidst huge chants in the ground.

But the former skipper could not do well enough and had  a soft dismissal after scoring only 5. Losing the wickets of Rahane, Smith and Dhoni in the middle order hurt the RPS side in the match. Had any of the middle order batsmen clicked on the day, they could have had posted somewhere close to 180 on the day.

3. Stokes leads the way, Manoj Tiwary plays the supporting role

Ben Stokes arrived at the crease at number 4 and a lot of eyebrows were raised as they expected the likes of  Manoj Tiwary and MS Dhoni to bat higher. However, Stokes proved the move right and played fantastic cricket. Unlike other batsmen who struggled to hit the ball cleanly, Stokes managed to maintain his strike rate.

He took the counter attack to the opposition and ensured that a boundary came in every over since the departure of MS Dhoni. Stokes notched up his first fifty of the season. He was eventually dismissed on 50 off 32 deliveries with 2 fours and 3 sixes. He was dismissed in the 18th over when he attempted to accelerate his innings a little more.

4. Kings XI Punjab in command despite regular jitters

The Kings XI side managed to stay in the run chase despite losing wickets at regular intervals. Hashim Amla and Manan Vohra showed positive intent as they added 25 runs in just 17 balls in the powerplay to unsettle the new ball bowlers from the RPS side. Vohra perished on 14 and was replaced by Wriddhiman Saha.

Saha struck 3 boundaries during his knock of 14 runs. In walked Axar Patel in the capacity of a pinch hitter. He hit 24 off 22 balls with a six and a four to his name. Amla, in the meantime, had also scored 28 off 27 balls with couple of fours and a six. Despite losing wickets, they were always in command of the run chase.

5. Maxwell-Miller back to form

The Kings XI Punjab had missed the sublime form of Glenn Maxwell and David Miller in the previous edition of the IPL. They would be very happy to see their two premier batsmen get back to form. Skipper Glenn Maxwell showed great application as he took his time to settle in during the first dew deliveries of his stay at the crease.

He remained unbeaten on 44 off 20 deliveries to see the team win by 6 wickets on the day. He hit 2 fours and 4 sixes en route his knock that was played with a strike rate of 220. He was well supported by David Miller, who score 30 off 27 deliveries with a four and 2 sixes. The two batsmen added an unbeaten 79 run stand off just 47 balls.