Marsh not yet mellowed

If ever there was a batsman capable of hitting six sixers in an over in the Indian Premier League, Yuvraj Singh8217;s name would have featured on top of the list...

If ever there was a batsman capable of hitting six sixers in an over in the Indian Premier League, Yuvraj Singh8217;s name would have featured on top of the list 8212; each of his sixes hit off Stuart Broad in last year8217;s T20 World Championship game is still remembered. But with the tournament entering its climax, the dream might have to be relived in the next edition.

Yuvraj actually came pretty close to re-writing his name on the select list. Spread over three overs, the left-hander hit five sixers off five deliveries and the end result was ballistic: the Kings XI Punjab skipper raced to 49 in just 16 deliveries and before he ran himself out, Yuvraj had hit six sixers and two boundaries.

Yet, he wasn8217;t the day8217;s sole hero. It was one of his teammates, a left-handed batsman as well, his name reading Shaun Marsh. His breathtaking century, 115 in just 69 deliveries against the tournament leaders Rajasthan Royals now adds up to an amazing 593 runs in the IPL so far; more importantly his team, the Kings XI Punjab emerged as the team to snap Rajasthan8217;s winning run. The Aussie southpaw collected another Man of the Match award before the all important semi-final encounter against Chennai.

No wonder Yuvraj would be smiling away heading home tonight, aware of the psychological gains from this match ahead of the semi-final clash with Chennai Super Kings in Mumbai on Saturday. Kings XI Punjab8217;s victory by 42 runs would always be considered big in the context of the nature of the T20 format, and Royals8217;s rampaging form.

Not to take any credit away from the Punjab lads, but Warne8217;s sitting out would also loom large on the result. The mercurial skipper chose to rest himself in this game, preferring to watch the match from the team dugout, as the team8217;s charisma dimmed in his absence. Rajasthan hardly looked the team seen over the last month and for most part were searching for clues to end their misery.

Some may talk about this as a masterstroke 8212; citing the law of averages, and how Rajasthan should be relieved they lost a dead-rubber match than in the semi-final or the final 8212; but teams would probably know where to hit the desert team. It8217;s over to the Russian Roulette now.