Twitter Reactions: Rising Pune Supergiant rout KXIP to qualify for the playoffs

In what was supposed to be a must-win game for both the teams, the match turned out to be a one-sided encounter. The Rising Pune Supergiant displayed pure dominance in all the three departments as they went on to win the game by 9 wickets and didn’t just secure a place in the playoffs but qualified as the No.2 team.

Earlier in the day, it was captain Steve Smith who won the toss as Supergiant elected to bat first. They had an unchanged playing XI from their last game. For Kings XI Punjab, Eoin Morgan came in for Matt Henry while Swapnil Singh replaced Manan Vohra. Put to bat first, the Punjab had a terrible start.

Martin Guptill continued his poor run in the IPL as he was dismissed off the very first ball of the game. The overseas duo of Shaun Marsh and Eoin Morgan was also back to the dugout. Shardul Thakur then got the better of both Rahul Tewatia and captain Glenn Maxwell as KXIP were left reeling at 32/5 within the powerplay overs.

They continued to sink in further. While Axar Patel’s 22 (20) provided some solace, it was never going to be enough as Punjab were bundled for just 73 runs. In the beginning of the tournament, not many would’ve rated the Supergiant bowling as a superior one. However, the trio of Shardul Thakur, Jaydev Unadkat and Ben Stokes set out to prove everyone wrong.

Shardul had exceptional figures of 3/19 while the likes of Unadkat, Daniel Christian and Adam Zampa got a couple of wickets each.

RPS didn’t have much trouble as they had a paltry 74-run target to chase. They chased it down for the loss of one wicket, that of Rahul Tripathi who made 28 off 20 while Ajinkya Rahane took his time at the crease to make sure there were no further hiccups.

Axar Patel got the lone wicket as Pune finished it off with 8 overs to spare. Now, they face Mumbai Indians in Qualifier 1 at the Wankhede Stadium. Jaydev Unadkat was deservingly awarded the Man of the Match for his stupendous performance.

Here are some of the amazing Twitter reactions that appeared during the course of the game:

Well that was less then ideal…
Thanks to all the fans that turned up throughout the season to support us. It's been an adventure! Cheers?

— Glenn Maxwell (@Gmaxi_32) May 14, 2017

congrats "Rising Pune Supergiant" & Steve Smith ❤❤@stevesmith49 #Smithy #RPSvKXIP pic.twitter.com/PngL7p6ycm

— Aslam malik (@bajrangi_Aslam) May 14, 2017

#RPS was 7th in #ipl 2016 and this year at 2nd in the league stage table.

Steve Smith is the worst captain.#RPSvKXIP

— Sashank Mishra (@imSashankMishra) May 14, 2017

Steve Smith ? He is on to become another aussie captain to win the IPL. The way RPS fought back after initial matches is inspirational.

— T.H.A.R.U.N (@Tharun_Yeluguri) May 14, 2017

Good move by team management on appointing steve smith as captain for RPS as the team secured 2nd place from 7th place.@hvgoenka

— Ponnarasu (@ponnarasu_1093) May 14, 2017

So all those who were demeaning Steve Smith just because he was appointed as Captain of #RPS, can take this on their faces !#RPSvKXIP #IPL

— Sashank Mishra (@imSashankMishra) May 14, 2017

RPS fans right now: Dhoni in play offs.. and Harsh Goenka too.. #ipl pic.twitter.com/HfssRzUuNH

— Silly Point (@FarziCricketer) May 14, 2017

Me when I got to Goenka's team reached playoffs but then Dhoni is also a part of it#RPSvKXIP pic.twitter.com/osxkPROhUl

— urstrulyKajal (@BanarasiBasanti) May 14, 2017

RPS finished second last in 2016 by beating KXIP. This year they finished second from top after beating KXIP. Turned the table upside down.

— Shubh AggarWall (@shubh_chintak) May 14, 2017

RCB, DD & KXIP – 3 of the original 8 franchises in 2008 who end 10 years of the #ipl without a title

— Gaurav Kalra (@gauravkalra75) May 14, 2017

The unsold Ishant Sharma would have taken more wickets than sold Ishant Sharma. #ipl

— Silly Point (@FarziCricketer) May 14, 2017

Even in chase of 73, Rahane can't have a SR of 100. #smh

— Nikhil ? (@CricCrazyNIKS) May 14, 2017

good time for a strategic timeout, punjab players can check their travel arrangements to get home asap #RPSvKXIP

— Gaurav Kalra (@gauravkalra75) May 14, 2017

Guptil will only take difficult catches #RPSvKXIP #ipl2017 #ipl

— TheGoanPatiala (@TheGoanPatiala) May 14, 2017

Climax to anticlimax in the race to top four @IPL #KXIPvRPS

— Anjum Chopra (@chopraanjum) May 14, 2017

Shardul Thakur must be feeling great with this performance against his former team KXIP who had sent him back midway last year#RPSvKXIP

— Sarang Bhalerao (@bhaleraosarang) May 14, 2017

Biggest challenge for Maxwell in this match will be to stop Ishant Sharma from giving these 74 runs alone in his bowling. #KXIPvRPS

— Smoking Skills (@SmokingSkills_) May 14, 2017

End of the road for @lionsdenkxip . Zampa cleaning out Mohit Sharma.

— Uddin Lee (@uddin_lee) May 14, 2017

RPS is on fire! Credit to the bowling and fielding ! #RPSvsKXIP

— Sakina Barwani (@sakina_barwani) May 14, 2017

Ishant scored more than Maxwell and Guptill. I bet no one will talk about this. They just discuss his failure. #ipl

— Silly Point (@FarziCricketer) May 14, 2017

I was so looking forward to this game because the game in the evening was gonna be trash, but Kings XI Punjab is crap. #IPL

— Sameer Allana (@HitmanCricket) May 14, 2017

Lord Ishant Sharma is on Strike
Make some noise #RPSvsKXIP

— Gautam Gambhir (@SRKrider1) May 14, 2017

Just wondering… any Punekars called out Adam Zampa "Arey Zampya" at least once??#RPS

— Abhijeet Deobhakta (@AbhiDeobhakta) May 14, 2017

The no. of Punjab players that have got out driving is more than the no. of drivers that get arrested for being drunk in Punjab.#KXIPvRPS

— Sorabh Pant (@hankypanty) May 14, 2017

Sir @virendersehwag Yehi time hai, Bat uṭhao aur dhava bol do RPS pe ! #RPSvKXIP

— The-Lying-Lama (@KyaUkhaadLega) May 14, 2017

Start the car. Looks like RPS will be taking the short drive up to Mumbai #RPSvKXIP

— Gaurav Kapur (@gauravkapur) May 14, 2017

KXIP performance in this match is the proof that drugs problem still exists in Punjab. #RPSvKXIP

— Smoking Skills (@SmokingSkills_) May 14, 2017

Jaydev Unadkat in this IPL:

Taking wickets..
Taking five fer..
Takes Hat trick..
Takes Catches..
Makes Run out..

— Broken Cricket (@BrokenCricket) May 14, 2017

#RPSvKXIP
Sehwag must have told Punjab batsmen to go "all out for a win".
At 32/5 they are halfway there.

— Ramesh Srivats (@rameshsrivats) May 14, 2017

After taking the winning wicket and affecting the winning run out, Unadkat has gone on to take the winning catch. #RPSvKXIP

— Gaurav Sethi (@BoredCricket) May 14, 2017

Unadkat just increasing his price tag for next season.

— Athar ? (@cricdrugs) May 14, 2017

Even after @msdhoni puts down a catch, the crowd starts chanting Dhoni..Dhoni. Such is the reverence he gets in India. #KXIPvRPS @IPL

— Rakesh Saripalli (@rakeshsaripalli) May 14, 2017

Guptill & Marsh picked wrong deliveries to hit on. Left their side in trouble when it mattered the most. Need big partnership #RPSvKXIP #IPL

— Satnam ? (@imSatnam_) May 14, 2017

#KXIP playing with five batsmen again…therefore two quick wickets meant Morgan walking out and not Maxwell. #RPSvKXIP #IPL

— Aakash Chopra (@cricketaakash) May 14, 2017

This Shardul Thakur looks strong.
Skiddy.
Good pace.
Comes faster than batsmen expect.

OK, that last thing sounded weird.#KXIPvRPS

— Sorabh Pant (@hankypanty) May 14, 2017

So the one who loses in #KXIPvRPS will have to go back home & surprisingly Pune is already home. ?????

— Ojas. (@Ojasism) May 14, 2017