Kings XI Punjab drub Royal Challengers by 9 wickets

13th May 2008

The formidable Kings XI Punjab have registered a 9-wicket victory over the Bangalore Royal Challengers here at the Punjab Cricket Association Stadium in Mohali tonight as hardship continued for the Rahul Dravid-led outfit who were defeated yet again.

Chasing a modest total of 144, Shaun Marsh led the hosts' charge yet again, smashing an unbeaten 74 to help them attain victory with 26 balls to spare. He was ably supported by Luke Pomersbach who made his debut tonight for the Mohali side. The 24-year-old Western Australia batsman remained unbeaten on 34 runs from 24 balls and exhibited a wide array of strokes. The duo of Marsh and Pomersbach added 102 runs for the second wicket after James Hopes (27) fell victim to Vinay Kumar (1-11) in the seventh over.

Marsh grew in stature and confidence as his innings progressed, bringing up his second consecutive half-century in the DLF Indian Premier League (IPL) after cracking the lethal Dale Steyn for 19 runs in the 11th over of the run-chase. His effortless knock was decorated with nine boundaries and two sixes. He was most obviously adjudicated the Player of the Match for his efforts.

Earlier, electing to bat, the Bangalore team could manage just 143 for eight as their batsmen struggled to negotiate a disciplined bowling performance by opponent pacers.

The Team India pace trio of Sreesanth (3-29), Irfan Pathan (1-23) and VRV Singh (1-15) bowled with awe-inspiring authority and accounted for five of the Royal Challengers' wickets. Singh conceded an immaculate 15 runs from his four-over spell and proved to be the most economical bowler of the match. Piyush Chawla (2-33) chipped in with the crucial wickets of Virat Kohli (21) and Cameron White (10).

Almost predictably for the Royal Challengers, South African glovesman Mark Boucher (39) and captain Rahul Dravid (29) were the only two batsmen to put up some resistance after electing to bat on a pitch which offered plenty of pace and bounce to the likes of Sreesanth and VRV Singh.

The Royal Challengers opted for yet another new opening partnership today as J Arunkumar and Under-19 World Cup winning captain Virat Kohli took to the crease. The duo attempted some flashy shots outside the off stump but failed to strike the ball with any conviction.

Sreesanth struck early when he got rid of Arunkumar (1) on the first ball of his second over when the batsman edged his delivery to first slip Mahela Jayawardena. Pakistan stalwart Misbah-ul-Haq (21) eased off the pressure by hitting some boundaries but did not last long as a Sreesanth delivery pushed him a little too far behind and his foot hit the stumps. Misbah must rue his luck as he was dismissed hit wicket.

Kohli (21) followed his Pakistani teammate when he was castled by Chawla though not before hitting the leggie for a couple of boundaries. Rahul Dravid then joined Cameron White but once again a strong partnership eluded the visitors. The highest partnership of the Royal Challengers innings was between White and Dravid as they added 35 runs for the fourth wicket. The Aussie all-rounder smashed a Chawla full toss straight back to the bowler and that marked the end of the only blossoming partnership.

Boucher's late flourish guided the visitors to 143 but their on-field body language made it evident that the total was just not good enough to defend against the formidable Kings XI Punjab batting line-up - especially when the dew was making it hard for Kumble (0-36) to grip the ball. Also Steyn got smashed for 35 runs from 2 overs and ruined any chances they had of putting up a fight. It was completely one-way traffic tonight - a convincing victory for the Yuvraj Singh-led team.

In a battle of the lowest and highest placed teams in the standings, the Bangalore Royal Challengers will travel to the scenic Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur to face the ever-improving Rajasthan Royals on Saturday.

The Kings XI Punjab will travel to Delhi on Saturday to clash against the Delhi Daredevils.