Watson, Jadeja pilot Royals past Punjab

22 April 2008

Chasing a challenging total of 167, the hosts were struggling at 99/4 at one stage with the required run rate creeping up and a lack of experienced batsmen in their ranks. Exciting young all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja came to the rescue for the Royals with an opportune knock of 36 not out to ensure the Shane Warne-led team romped home with 11 balls to spare.

Watson blasted 76 runs from just 49 balls – a knock that included five boundaries and five soaring sixes to thoroughly amuse a jam-packed Monday night crowd in Jaipur. India’s Under-19 World Cup member Jadeja kept his calm and gave ample amount of strike to the more experienced Watson. The duo combined for a victorious stand of 69 for the fifth wicket and ensured there were no further hiccups in the Royals’ dressing room.

On the bowling front, the Kings XI Punjab looked really strong with Brett Lee, Irfan Pathan, Sreesanth, James Hopes and Piyush Chawla completing a potent five-man attack. Although, the dew on the outfield didn’t allow the young Indian leggie to grip the ball the way he would have liked to. Pathan (1-21) was the most economical of the lot.

For the Royals, Mohammad Kaif was promoted to open the batting alongside IPL debutant Pakistan’s wicketkeeper batsman Kamran Akmal. The former was quick to depart when a sharp outswinger from Sreesanth got him to edge one to Sangakkara.

Irfan Pathan dropped a catch when brother Yousuf tried to loft a Sreesanth delivery to long on! Soon after, the hard-hitting all-rounder from Baroda attempted a pull stroke off strike bowler Brett Lee but a miscued shot meant that the ball stayed in the air for a good four to five seconds with Lee calling for the catch and grasping it neatly.

The fall of three early wickets brought veteran batsman Darren Lehmann to the wicket who went about his business in his customary manner. He held fort for a crucial 51-run partnership with Watson and took the Royals closer to the target. Pathan dismissed him when the southpaw attempted an ambitious cross-batted stroke and got rapped on the pads, only to be adjudicated LBW.

After massive losses in the first matches, both captains came to the party tonight. Yuvraj Singh top-scored for his side with an aggressive half-century whilst Warnie conceded just 19 runs from his four-over spell and claimed three crucial wickets.