Kings XI Punjab

Rajasthan cruised to an unanticipated win against Kings XI Punjab as they chased down the required target with ease.

Kings XI Punjab 166/8 (20/20 ov)
Rajasthan Royals 168/4 (18.1/20 ov)

A magnificent unconquered 76 by Shane Watson steered the Rajasthan Royals to a six-wicket win over the King’s XI Punjab in the sixth match of the inaugural IPL tournament at the Sawai Man Singh stadium here on Monday.

Watson, who smashed five fours and five sixes in his 49-ball knock was ably supported by Ravindra Jadeja who made an unbeaten 36 with the help of five boundaries and one six. The duo put an unbroken 69-run stand.

Chasing 166 Jaipur got off to a shaky start, losing Mohammad Kaif (five), Yousuf Pathan (seven) and Kamran Akmal (17) early. But then Darren Lehmann (17) after struggling in the beginning put 51 runs for the fourth wicket as Jaipur stayed in contention to clinch the game.

After Lehmann was nailed by Irfan Pathan, Jadeja and Watson not only ensured there no further hiccups in the Jaipur innings but also took the erratic Mohali bowling to the cleaners.

Leg-spinner Piyush Chawla who had a horrid outing against Chennai was once again flayed, giving away 27 runs in his two overs. S Sreesanth accounted for 38 runs in his 3.1 overs as Watson and company took him apart.

Earlier, some disciplined bowling by Jaipur restricted Mohali to 166-8 in their allotted 20 overs.

Powered by skipper Yuvraj Singh’s 34-ball 57, the Mohali team managed a respectable total after Shane Warne’ men dominated proceedings for a sizable passage of the innings. 18 boundaries and seven sixes were hit during the innings courtesy a blazing start and Yuvraj’s flourish in the middle.

Karan Goel (26) got Mohali off to a flier clobbering three boundaries and two sixes before Munaf Patel, who received heavy punishment from the southpaw, cleaned him up with a yorker.

And then the introduction of spin turned the tide as Shane Warne sent back Kumar Sangakkara (20) and James Hopes (16) while Dinesh Salunke scalped Mahela Jayawardene (two) to reduce Mohali to 73-4.