IPL 8: Openers shut Punjab’s case

David Warner’s quick-fire fifty and Trent Boult’s 3-for hands SRH clinical win; keeps KXIP at the bottom.

Quality swing bowling
Down at the bottom of the heap, Kings XI Punjab needed to win this to turn their season around. They are back home in Mohali after the not-so-good campaign in Pune and last season’s runners-up were hoping for a good start to their home run. The team dropped Virender Sehwag and Glenn Maxwell and gave Manan Vohra the licence to thrill. But the team management had perhaps not given much thought that the opposition Sunrisers Hyderabad had Trent Boult and Bhuvneshwar Kumar, two good swing bowlers. And with a bit of cloud hovering over the stadium late in the evening, it was just about perfect for the pace duo to display their wares on the Mohali wicket. (Full Coverage| Fixtures|Points Table)

Boult maintained a line that brought the ball into the pads and troubled openers Murali Vijay and Vohra. The New Zealand pacer removed Vohra with an in-swinger and Kumar followed it up with one that angled into Shaun Marsh, shattering timber.

Scorecard: KXIP vs SRH

Skipper David Warner then introduced Praveen Kumar, another swing bowler. But the former India pacer got a bit of the stick, forcing the captain to hand the ball to leg-spinner Karn Sharma, who put the brakes. It was Moises Henriques who got rid of the dangerman George Bailey and despite Wriddhiman Saha’s efforts, the 151 to win was too daunting for Punjab. Boult picked up Axar Patel and Saha for his man-of-the-match figures of 3/19 while Bhuvneshwar completed him with 2/23.

Batting fizzles out
Dropping Sehwag and Maxwell meant a lot depended on the likes of David Miller and Bailey. But in front of some quality bowling, none of Punjab’s top-order batsmen managed to cross 50. Most of them struggled against the swing and with the openers unable to get going, it put the middle order in trouble. Saha was the lone bright spot with a 33-ball 42, and after his departure, it was as good as over.

Modest total
Up against the explosive David Warner, Sandeep Sharma started with a bang, bowling a maiden. If it gave wings to Punjab’s hopes, then the Hyderabad captain had other ideas. He tore into Mitchel Johnson in his very first over and soon Warner was racing to his fifty. Though Hyderabad lost Shikhar Dhawan to Johnson, Warner was severe on the fellow Australian, milking 24 runs off him. Later, Warner also spoilt Sharma’s bowling figures with four boundaries in one over. With Warner going hammer and tongs at the bowling, Punjab captain Bailey got his spinners into the act. Part-time bowler Murali Vijay and Axar Patel did slow things up but not enough in the long run, for Warner, by the time he departed, ensured the team had a healthy platform upon which to build the innings.

And yet Hyderabad could not capitalise on that start. The middle-order came unstuck and Naman Ojha and Henriques could manage only one boundary in between them from five overs. When Warner left, it looked like Hyderabad would get to 170-180, but the middle-order failed to step on the accelerator. It was only a couple of sixes from Ashish Reddy that they managed to reach 150.

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