IPL 2018, Match 22, DD vs KXIP - Kings XI Punjab Player Ratings

The Kings XI Punjab have extended their merry run this season. The Kings registered their second win against the Delhi Daredevils in the 2018 edition of the IPL. Playing in the away fixture at Delhi, the Kings were the favorites to win the game. This was largely due to the poor form of the Daredevils. However, the double Ds entered the game with the hope that the home games would turn their fortunes in the season.

In the match, the Kings XI Punjab failed to get the brisk start they had been accustomed to in the season. Aaron Finch opened the innings at Chris Gayle’s expense and the move did not work out. Finch perished after scoring 2. Mayank Agarwal and KL Rahul also departed after getting decent starts. The wickets kept falling at regular intervals with Karun Nair top scoring with 34 in the innings. Towards the fag end, David Miller contributed with 26 as Kings XI Punjab could only muster 143/8 in their stipulated 20 overs.

The story of the run chase was no different either. Wickets falling in clusters proved to be the cause of concern for the Delhi Daredevils yet again. At 76/5, they had seriously crashed big time in the modest run chase. It all boiled down to Shreyas Iyer to steer the side from that precarious condition. Iyer took the game till the very last ball with a fifty to his name. But it was Mujeeb Rahman who dismissed Iyer on the final ball of the over to seal the four run win for the Kings XI Punjab.

Here are the Kings XI Punjab player ratings for the match:

KL Rahul – 3/10

KL Rahul has been one of the key players for the Kings XI Punjab this season. With no Chris Gayle in the lineup, the onus was on Rahul to give a brisk start to the team. Rahul got a good start and scored 23 off 15 deliveries. But he failed to get going and was dismissed in the fifth over of the game.

Aaron Finch – 1/10

The luckless run of Aaron Finch continued in this game as well. Finch, who already has two ducks to his name this season, was promoted at the top of the order to open the innings in absence of Chris Gayle. Finch let the opportunity go and was dismissed on 2 in the second over of the match by Avesh Khan.

Mayank Agarwal – 3/10

Mayank Agarwal has a perennial issue of getting to a good start and then making a mess out of it. Yet again, he got off to a solid beginning to score 21 off 16 deliveries in the game. But he ended up getting dismissed after the decent start and let yet another chance go begging to make it big.

Karun Nair – 7/10

The track at Kotla, Delhi, was not the easiest to bat on. It was on the slower side and demanded some serious skills from the batsman to settle at the wicket. Karun Nair was arguably the only player who managed to stay at the crease for long. He held the Kings XI Punjab innings together with 34 runs off 32 deliveries to his name.

Yuvraj Singh – 3/10

Yuvraj Singh seriously needs to address his game plans ahead of the coming fixtures. His stay at the crease was largely uncomfortable and the fans would like to see the vintage Yuvraj coming out soon on the field. Yuvraj scored just 14 runs in the 17 balls that he faced in the match.

David Miller – 6/10

After being benched for three matches, David Miller got a chance to be back in the playing eleven. The South African certainly did not want to let this opportunity go. He scored a brisk 26 off 19 balls with a six and a four to his name. Albeit the numbers do not look overly impressive, they played a key role in taking the KXIP total over the 140-run mark.

Ravichandran Ashwin – 8/10

Ravichandran Ashwin failed to deliver for his team with the bat on the day. But with the ball in hand, Ashwin proved to be leader from the front for KXIP. In the four overs that he bowled, he managed to keep things very tight. He did not pick up any wickets but gave away just 19 runs.

Andrew Tye – 8.5/10

Andrew Tye justified the tag of being a T20 specialist in the match. He read the pitch well and bowled the cutters to perfection in the game. In the four overs that Tye bowled, he gave away only 25 runs. Also, he accounted for the wickets of Rahul Tewatia and Gautam Gambhir in the game.

Barinder Sran – 4/10

Barinder Sran retained his place in the side but failed to impress yet again. Sran bowled his complete quota of four overs and ended up leaking 45 runs in the game. He managed to take a solitary wicket, that of Liam Plunkett in the penultimate over of the game.

Ankit Rajpoot – 9/10

Ankit Rajpoot was awarded the Man of the Match in the game for his very impressive bowling spell. Rajpoot bowled with the new ball and kept things tight up front. He also managed to get the big wicket of Glenn Maxwell in the match. He returned with figures of 1/23 in the four overs that he bowled.

Mujeeb Ur Rahman – 9/10

Young Mujeeb Rahman was given the tough task of defending 17 runs in the final over. He was up against Shreyas Iyer, who was batting on an unbeaten fifty. Rahman was hit for a six but then had the last laugh in the banter. He dismissed Iyer on the final ball of the match to win the game for his side. Earlier, he had also bagged the big wicket of Rishabh Pant. Mujeeb returned with figures of 2/25 in his four overs.

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