Bangalore Royal Challengers were looking a very weak side in IPL T20 season 2 especially under the captaincy of Kevin Pietersen. However, today was a new day as the captaincy was handed to previous test captain of India and legendary spinner Anil Kumble. Anil Kumble won the toss and decided to bat. Most the Bangalore Royal Challengers batsmen failed to score much but a useful 35 runs off 19 balls by Roelof van der Merwe helped them reach a competitive total of 148/9 in 20 overs. For the Kings XI Punjab, Yusuf Abdulla took 4 wickets for 36 runs while Irfan Pathan took 2 wickets for 19 runs. However, the highlight of the first innings was a hat-trick by Kings XI Punjab captain as he took Robin Uthappa, Jacques Kallis and Mark Boucher of consecutive deliveries as he finished his bowling figures at 3 wickets for 22 runs. Kings XI Punjab started brilliantly as Yuvraj Singh scored a brilliant 50 off 34 balls but none of the other batsmen could hold long after his departure. Kings XI Punjab could only finish at 137/7 in their 20 overs and lost by 8 runs. Yuvraj Singh was awarded the Man of the Match for his hat-trick and blazing knock of 50 runs.
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written by Swapnil
\\ tags: anil kumble, Bangalore Royal Challengers, hat-trick, ipl t20, irfan pathan, Kings XI Punjab, yusuf abdulla, Yuvraj Singh
Kings XI Punjab seems to be making a comeback again as they beat Mumbai Indians by 3 runs in the 20th Match of IPL T20 season 2. Yuvraj Singh won the toss and decided to bat. The Kings XI Punjab batsmen struggled with the bat and they managed to score only 119/8 in their 20 overs with the help of an useful 45 runs off 44 deliveries by Kumar Sangakkara. It seemed like Mumbai will achieve this easily but they also struggled with the bat and even a valiant innings by J P Duminy (59 off 63 balls) could not help them win the match. Mumbai Indians could score only 116/7 in their 20 overs while Irfan Pathan (2 wickets for 20 runs) and Yusuf Abdulla (2 wickets off 19 runs) excelled with the ball for the Kings. Kumar Sangakarra was awarded the Man of the Match for his 45 runs off 44 deliveries.
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written by Swapnil
\\ tags: ipl t20, irfan pathan, Kings XI Punjab, kumar sangakkara, Lasith Malinga, Mumbai Indians, yusuf abdulla, Yuvraj Singh
Winners of IPL T20 season 1 Rajasthan Royals are not looking the same side this year. Kings XI Punjab beat Warne’s boys by 27 runs to score their second consecutive win in IPL T20 season 2 while Rajasthan Royals suffered their second consecutive defeat. Yuvraj Singh won the toss and decided to bat. The Rajasthan Royals bowlers bowled exceptionally well in the initial overs and the Kings XI Punjab were reduced to just 48/4 in 8.2 overs. But then Kumar Sangakkara (60 off 51 balls) and Irfan Pathan (39 off 33 balls) batted brilliantly to guide the team to a competitive total of 139/6 in their 20 overs. Amongst the Rajasthan bowlers, Kamran Khan and Munaf Patel bowled very well and finished at 2/15 and 2/24 respectively in their 4 overs. The target of 140 seemed quite easy but Rajasthan Royals had a severe batting collapse and ended with only 112/7 in their 20 overs. Shane Warne and Ravindra Jadeja did considerably well for the Rajasthan Royals batting while Yusuf Abdulla, Irfan Pathan and Piyush Chawla excelled with the ball. Kumar Sangakkara was declared the Man of the Match for his 60 runs.
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written by Swapnil
\\ tags: irfan pathan, Kamran Khan, Kings XI Punjab, kumar sangakkara, Rajasthan Royals, Shane Warne, yusuf abdulla, Yuvraj Singh
Kings XI Punjab were the semi-finalists in IPL T20 season 1 but this year they failed to impress with two consecutive losses in their first two matches. Rain was also not favorable and Preity Zinta’s team had matches affected by rain too. Bangalore Royal Challengers was not very impressive too under new captain Kevin Pietersen with two consecutive losses although they won their first match against Rajasthan Royals. Today’s 11th Match of IPL T20 season 2 was important for both sides. Pietersen won the toss and decided to bat but he was himself unimpressive once again and went off for a duck. However, some good batting by Jacques Kallis (62 off 46 balls), Ross Taylor (35 off 22 balls) and Jesse Ryder (32 off 21 balls) helped the Challengers to reach a total of 168/9 in 20 overs. Yusuf Abdulla and Irfan Pathan had the best bowling statistics for the Kings with 4/31 and 3/35 respectively. The Kings started their batting without taking much risks and Ravi Bopara (84 off 59 balls) steered the Kings XI Punjab to victory with valuable contributions from Yuvraj Singh (30 off 17 balls) and Kumar Sangakkara (26 off 18 balls) with one over to spare. Ravi Bopara was awarded the Man of the Match for his 84 runs off 59 balls.
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written by Swapnil
\\ tags: Bangalore Royal Challengers, ipl t20, irfan pathan, jacques kallis, Jesse Ryder, kevin pietersen, Kings XI Punjab, kumar sangakarra, Preity Zinta, ravi bopara, ross taylor, yusuf abdulla, Yuvraj Singh
Kolkata Knight Riders and Kings XI Punjab had both loss their first match and both of them wanted to open their points tally with this match. Kolkata won the toss and put Kings XI Punjab to bat. With good batting from Irfan Pathan (32 off 17 balls), Yuvraj Singh (38 off 28 balls), Mahela Jayawardena (31 off 19 balls) and Kumar Sangakarra (26 off 24 balls), Punjab reached a competitive total of 158/6 in their 2o overs. Sourav Ganguly was the best bowling figures for the Knight Riders picking up 4/24 in his 4 overs. But KKR went off to a flier with Chris Gayle (44 off 26 balls) and Brendon Mccullum (21 off 16 balls) smashing the weak King XI bowling lineup for fours and sixes. Rain then interrupted the match but the results were in favour of Kolkata Knight Riders who won the match by D/L method. Chris Gayle was awarded the Man of the Match for his fiery innings of 44 off 26 balls.
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written by Swapnil
\\ tags: brendon mccullum, chris gayle, ipl t20, irfan pathan, Kings XI Punjab, Kolkata Knight Riders, kumar sangakkara, mahela jayawardena, yusuf abdulla, Yuvraj Singh
