Yuvi, Sharma shine; diaspora beats Punjab

When Pune Warriors skipper Yuvraj Singh began his innings in the first ball of the eleventh over, the side needed another 51 off 60 balls with eight wickets in hand. Manish Pandey was batting on 23, while contributions of 15 and 22, from Jesse Ryder and Robin Uthappa had kept Pune in sight of the modest target of 120. 

The first ball from medium-pacer Praveen Kumar was full and Yuvraj edged it to the third-man boundary. It was a lucky start to his innings but perhaps what Pune needed. After seven losses in a row and having no chance of making the play-offs, Yuvraj’s side were playing for pride and could benefit from a bit of good luck. 

Kings XI Punjab felt they had a chance against this Pune side and they would have become even more confident when Yuvraj pulled up in discomfort while taking a sharp single. But the Pune skipper, playing on his home ground, continued to battle it out and top scored with 35. When he departed after making 35 off 15, Pune needed just four runs to win. Though the five-wicket verdict won’t do anything to change the fortunes of Pune this season, its sent Kings XI Punjab to the bottom of the table. Punjab’s total of 119 was their lowest on their home ground. 


On Sunday, the KXIP batsmen suffered a lower-order collapse. Adam Gilchrist couldn’t get going once again. He fell for three off eight balls and once again it was leg-spinner Rahul Sharma, who was in the thick of action. Gilchrist paid the price for attempting a slog-sweep to a ball that was too full and Abhishek Jhunjunwala didn’t spill the catch at deep mid-wicket. 

Paul Valthaty, Shaun Marsh and Dinesh Karthik played cameos. But Punjab have relied heavily on the top three, Valthaty, Gilchrist and Marsh, to make an impact. Their wins have been fashioned by quickfire knocks at the top of the order. But though Valthaty showed early promise by helping himself to four fours, once the bowlers started targetting his body he failed to come up with a Plan B. He fell trying to hit out against Sharma. 

When Marsh departed, deceived by a slower one from Kumar, Punjab were 80 for three in 12.4 overs. But Pune bowlers struck regularly after that. Sharma maintained a good line and length and gave away just 17 and picked up two wickets. Wayne Parnell, Mitchell Marsh and Bhuvneshwar Kumar also picked up two wickets each. 

After the win, Pune coach Geoff Marsh asserted: “We are definitely a better side. We felt there were times we didn’t execute (plans) well. This was our first year, we had a tough time. We had two good games to start with against Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings.