AGENCY
RAJKOT: Axar Patel did the star turn as laggards Kings XI Punjab rode on the left-arm spinner’s hat-trick to upset table toppers Gujarat Lions by 23 runs in an Indian Premier League (IPL) match here on Sunday.
This was the first hat-trick of the ongoing 9th edition of the league.
Invited to bat by Gujarat Lions skipper Suresh Raina, Kings XI Punjab were all out for 154 in the stipulated 20 overs, but restricted the opposition to 131 for 9 in front of their home crowd at the Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium.
Appointed captain midway into the cash-rich tournament in place of David Miller, Murali Vijay led from the front with a fluent knock of 55. Patel then spun a web around the Gujarat batsmen and finished with impressive figures of 4/21 in his quota of four overs which included a split hat-trick.
With this win, Kings XI Punjab finally managed to turn things around in what has been a nightmarish campaign so far.
Kings XI Punjab now have four points with two wins and five defeats from seven matches, while the Lions, despite the reverse, stayed at the top with six victories and two losses from eight appearances.
Chasing a modest target, the Lions were off to a poor start, losing the dangerous Brendon McCullum (1) with just 13 runs on the board in the second over. Raina was the next to go, being bowled by medium pacer Mohit Sharma, who also accounted for the wicket of McCullum in a similar fashion. (PTI)
score board
Kings XI Punjab innings
M Vijay* c Bravo b Kaushik 55
MP Stoinis st †Karthik b Jadeja 27
SE Marsh c Raina b Kaushik 01
GJ Maxwell c †Karthik b Kaushik 00
Gurkeerat Singh run out (Faulkner/†Karthik) 00
DA Miller c Smith b Kulkarni 31
WP Saha† b Bravo 33
AR Patel c Ishan Kishan b Bravo 00
MM Sharma b Kumar 01
KC Cariappa b Kumar 01
Sandeep Sharma not out 01
Extras 04
Total 154/10
Gujarat Lions innings
DR Smith c Gurkeerat Singh b Patel 15
BB McCullum b Sharma 01
SK Raina* b Sharma 18
KD Karthik† b Patel 02
RA Jadeja c †Saha b Patel 11
DJ Bravo b Patel 00
Ishan Kishan run out (Maxwell/Stoinis) 27
JP Faulkner c Miller b Sandeep Sharma 32
P Kumar c Cariappa b Sharma 15
DS Kulkarni not out 06
S Kaushik not out 00
Extras 04
Total 131/9
