IPL 10, Match 43, RCB v KXIP Review: RCB's dismal run continues as Kings XI Punjab humiliate them at home

The Kings XI Punjab had inflicted a severe defeat on their opposition in the previous game. They beat the Delhi Daredevils by a perfect margin of 10 wickets. The win had brought them back in the hunt for the playoffs. However, for that to happen, they needed to win all their remaining fixtures. They were up against the Royal Challengers Bangalore at Bengaluru in the 43rd match of the season.

In the match, RCB had nothing to lose. They were the first team to be out of the race of the playoffs. However, they were still dangerous in the context of the tournament. They were more than capable of being the party spoilers for the other teams. Amidst this situation, both teams locked horns at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in the Friday night encounter.

Coming into the game, it was Royal Challengers Bangalore skipper Virat Kohli who won the toss and opted to field first. They brought back Chris Gayle in the side at the expense of Travis Head. The Kings XI Punjab, on the other hand, went in with an unchanged eleven. In walked the dangerous duo of Hashim Amla and Martin Guptill to open the innings for KXIP. Aniket Choudhary managed to take a faint tickle off the bat of Amla in the very first over. Surprisingly, nobody appealed but Amla started to walk off as he knew he had edged the ball.

Guptill was joined by Shaun Marsh at the crease. The kiwi batsman, who had scored a brilliant unbeaten fifty in the previous game, perished a couple of overs later on a delivery bowled by Sreenath Arvind. He scored 9 before heading back to the pavilion as Manan Vohra arrived at the crease. Vohra and Marsh showed some brief resilience. Marsh, in particular, looked good as he hit three fours during his 17-ball stay at the crease that yielded 20 runs. He was dismissed by Pawan Negi in the 7th over to see Kings XI Punjab stutter at 39/3.

Vohra was then joined by out-of-form batsman Wriddhiman Saha. Another short partnership beckoned for the visiting side before Vohra lost his wicket after scoring 25 off 28 deliveries. The stay at the crease for the KXIP skipper Glenn Maxwell was not long either. He perished after having scored only 6 as Yuzvendra Chahal had him dismissed cheaply. Yet again, it was a leggie who brought his fall.

The innings only seemed to crash further when Shane Watson cleaned up Saha to end his struggling stay of 25 balls that yielded only 21 runs. Had there not been a late blitz from Axar Patel, things could have been worse for the Kings. Axar remained unbeaten on 38 that came off just 17 balls to provide the late impetus to the KXIP innings.

He hit 3 boundaries and 2 sixes during his stay at the crease. Aniket Choudhary, who bowled a maiden in the penultimate over, was the pick of the bowlers with 2/17 to his name. Chahal also bagged 2 wickets in his quota of four overs. KXIP finished with 138/7 in their stipulated 20 overs on the day. The target definitely did not look a daunting one and it was the Bengaluru track that had managed to deceive the players yet again.

What perspired in the Royal Challengers Bangalore was an absolute shocker. Throughout the season, the RCB batting has been letting them down. Considering the minor target in hand, it appeared as if Virat Kohli would anchor the run chase with perfection. However, it was Sandeep Sharma from Kings XI Punjab who scalped the big three wickets on the day.

Sharma accounted for the wickets of Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers, and Chris Gayle on the day. He had Gayle caught on a duck in the very first over. He then bowled Virat in his over on just 6. Lastly, he managed to take the outside edge of the bat of AB de Villiers on 10. Sandeep finished with figures of 3/22 in his 4 overs. Meanwhile, Mandeep Singh, who had opened with Gayle on the day, stood his ground amidst all the crisis.

He found no support from other batsmen though. Wickets of Kedar Jadhav (6) and Shane Watson (3) fell in quick succession. Mandeep’s resistance of 46 came off 40 balls before Glenn Maxwell dislodged his woodwork. At 73/6, the match was as good as gone for the Royal Challengers Bangalore. All-rounder Pawan Negi gave some hope to the local crowd by hitting 21 off 23 balls. But a twin strike from Axar Patel in the 18th over got the Kings back in the hunt.

With 9 down and 28 to win, things were done and dusted for RCB. It was only formality left as Maxwell caught Choudhary in the penultimate over to win the match by 19 runs. RCB bundled out for 119 and the KXIP registered yet another win to defend the lowest total successfully defended at the venue.

Brief Scores:

Kings XI Punjab 138/7 in 20 overs (Axar 38*, Vohra 25, Choudhary 2/17, Chahal 2/21)

Royal Challengers Bangalore 119/10 in 19 overs (Mandeep 46, Negi 21, Sandeep 3/22, Axar 3/11)

Check full scorecard here.