• Resilient Rahul seals Kings XI win

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    KL Rahul smashed an unbeaten half-century against the Sunrisers Hyderabad in Mohali to take the Kings XI Punjab to a six-wicket victory, writes ANITHA MADIKIZELA.

    Having won the toss and electing to field first, Kings XI restricted the visitors to 150-4 in their allotted overs at the Punjab Cricket Association IS Bindra Stadium.

    David Warner was the pick of the Sunrisers batsmen with his calculated 70 (62 balls, 6×4, 1×6), with Vijay Shankar making the second-best contribution of 26.

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    The home team’s bowlers worked well in tandem to restrict the rampant Hyderabad outfit, with captain Ravichandran Ashwin, Mohammad Shami and 18-year-old Mujeeb Ur Rahman each picking up wickets.

    The Kings XI chase began with the early wicket of Chris Gayle (16) in the powerplay. Afghan spin sensation Rashid Khan accounted for the Jamaican powerhouse just as he was beginning to unleash.

    Fellow opener Rahul and No 3 Mayank Agarwal then partnered up to take the home side to the brink of victory, before the latter was dismissed in the 18th over. Agarwal had contributed a well-constructed 55 that included three fours and three thundering sixes before holing out to the man at deep midwicket off the bowling of Sandeep Sharma (2-21).

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    Two further wickets fell as Rahul watched from the opposite end, but he held his nerve and calmly carried his side over the line with one ball to spare. The wicketkeeper-batsmen finished with an unbeaten 71 off 53 deliveries (7×4, 1×6) which also earned him the Player of the Match award on the night.

    Tuesday’s IPL action will see a top-of-the-table clash between the second-placed Chennai Super Kings and the table-topping Kolkata Knight Riders at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.

    Scorecard

    Photo: Rahul Gulati/SPORTZPICS/BCCI

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    Anitha Madikizela