CLT20 Highlights: Wriddhiman Saha Steers Kings XI Punjab to Victory
Kings XI Punjab won their fourth successive game in the Champions League Twenty20 when they beat Cape Cobras in Mohali on Sunday.
Kings XI Punjab have already made it to the semi-finals and they finished unbeaten in Group B. Catch all the highlights here: (SCORECARD | POINTS TABLE)
23:25 (IST): The losing skipper Vilas calls it as he sees it.
"We knew we had to put a big score with such a strong batting line up. We tried out best out there but unfortunately not good enough. Came in rusty and started too slow and playing catch up is very tough. The spinners bowled beautifully." he said.
Bailey was ecstatic by the way his boys played.
"Good fightback with the ball and we did the job with the bat. It was a tired wicket, holding up a little bit and it was pretty clinical in the end. Wonderful job, he does through the innings. He contains, he takes wickets and he does it with a short sleeved shirt which is pleasing. They bowl very beautifully together. I reckon he's a little lucky tonight," he said.
Man of the match Akshar Patel is happy with the team support.
"I'm very happy with the captain and the management's support. I do very well in batting and bowling," he said.
23:06 (IST): It's all over. Saha finishes with 42 not out and Punjab are winners by 7 wickets.
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22:56 (IST): Saha doing his job as Punjab set to wrap things up. Punjab 122/3 in 17 overs, Target: 136.
22:45 (IST): WICKET! Maxwell is out trying to cut the ball and Cobras have their man. Punjab 108/3 in 14 overs, Target: 136.
22:35 (IST): Maxwell's presence at the crease is always intimidating for the opposition. Punjab 87/2 in 12 overs, Target: 136.
22:26 (IST): WICKET! Sehwag fails to capitalise on his luck and falls for 23. Punjab 74/2 in 9.1 overs, Target: 136.
22:21 (IST): A lucky break for Sehwag as he is given the benefit of the doubt by the third umpire. Punjab 68/1 in 8.4 overs, Target: 136.
22:09 (IST): WICKET! Vohra departs and Cobras have a much needed wicket. Punjab 41/1 in 5.2 overs, Target: 136.
22:02 (IST): Punjab looking well set to reach the target with ease. Punjab 36/0 in 5 overs, Target: 136.
21:52 (IST): Sehwag and Vohra settling in as Punjab chase 136. Punjab 18/0 in 3 overs, Target: 136.
21:43 (IST): Kleinveldt bowls a decent first over. Punjab 4/0 in 1 over, Target: 136.
21:25 (IST): So it's all over, Punjab have bundled out Cobras for 135 in 18.3 overs.
21:20 (IST): WICKET! Kleinveldt is out trying to hit a big one. Cobras 135/9 in 18.2 overs.
21:16 (IST): WICKET! Another stumping and Philander is gone. Cobras may not bat out 20 overs. Cobras 132/8 in 17.2 overs.
21:14 (IST): WICKET! Kemp is stumped off Akshar and Punjab clearly in control.
21:11 (IST): WICKET! Van Zyl's stumps are dislodged by Anureet. Cobras 124/6 in 16.3 overs.
21:06 (IST): WICKET! Engelbrecht (5) is bowled by Akshar and Cobras are in all sorts of trouble. Cobras 122/5 in 15.4 overs.
21:04 (IST): Punjab clawing back in after some quick wickets. Cobras 118/4 in 15 overs.
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20:52 (IST): WICKET! Levi hits it back to Maxwell and Punjab get their man. Cobras 105/3 in 13 overs.
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20:43 (IST): WICKET! Ramela falls to Perera. Cobras 84/2 in 9.4 overs.
20:31 (IST): WICKET! Amla is gone and Punjab can breathe easy for a while. Cobras 60/1 in 6.3 overs.
20:23 (IST): Amla is on the rampage as he hits Perera for five fours on the trot. Cobras 58/0 in 5 overs.
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20:12 (IST): Levi and Amla scoring at a good rate. Cobras 24/0 in 3 overs.
20:00 (IST): Anureet Singh bowls a good first over. Cobras 4/0 in 1 over.
19:56 (IST): Here are the teams for today's game:
Cobras: Levi, Amla, Ramela, Van Zyl, Vilas, Engelbrecht, Kemp, Philander, Peterson, Kleinveldt, Mgijima
Punjab: M Vohra, Sehwag, Saha, Maxwell, DA Miller, Bailey, Perera, Patel, Singh, Singh, Awana
19:38 (IST): Punjab have won the toss and will be bowling first.
AIMING FOR MORE
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They have made the semifinals but Kings XI Punjab will not take things easy when they take on Cape Cobras in a Group B encounter here on Sunday, the team's coach R Sridhar has asserted.
KXIP on Friday registered a massive 120-run win against a hapless Northern Knights. In their next match, the George Bailey-led side take on the Cape Cobras, who have just one win from three outings.
Sridhar told reporters here that the team was not going to lower its guard in any way despite having stormed into the semi-finals.
"Winning is a good habit and we would like to stick to this habit. We would be sticking to our plans, doing our basic stuff and be on top of our game, as far as we are concerned. We would like to go into knockouts with four wins behind to take the confidence," he said. (Read: Kings XI Punjab Aim to Finish Unbeaten in Group Stage)
SEHWAG RESPECTS THE PITCH
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Senior batsman Virender Sehwag was full of praise for his young opening partner Manan Vohra, whose 32-ball-65 set the tone for an emphatic victory for Kings XI Punjab over the Northern Knights on Friday.
Infact, Sehwag said that he wanted to present Manan, with one of his bats had he scored a century.
"I offered to give Manan my bat if he could score a hundred. Unfortunately he couldn't," said a smiling Sehwag, who did not have too many charitable things to say about the Mohali pitch.
"It wasn't a pretty good wicket for T20. It was stopping and gripping and turning and as a batsman you will stop and think whether you want to go for your shots. But credit to our batting side. They were chasing 216, they had to go after the bowling and we had two good spinners," said Sehwag.
Vohra, on his part said, "It was a good day for me, I was hitting the ball well and I thought I could carry on."
What was his reaction when Sehwag told him that he would present him with one of his bats, Vohra said, "I told him I was waiting for it, but I miscued a short ball. More patience, more consolidation, more singles which I'm not doing right now." (Read: Mohali Pitch was a Challenge for Batsmen, Says Virender Sehwag)
BLOWING AWAY THE NORTHERN KNIGHTS
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Kings XI Punjab put up yet another dominating performance as they outclassed Northern Knights from New Zealand by a whopping 120 runs to enter the semi-finals in their maiden appearance in the Champions League T20.
Asked to bat, Kings XI Punjab put up a massive 215 for five, courtesy blazing half-centuries from openers Manan Vohra (65 off 32 balls) and the veteran Virender Sehwag (52 off 37 balls) and a 102-run opening stand between them.
In reply, Northern Knights started off well in the Powerplay overs before their chase ran out of steam and they were skittled out for a paltry 95 in 15.2 overs.
KXIP with three wins from as many matches now have 12 points to their credit and have clinched a place in the semi-finals with four other teams fighting for the other three spots.
The 'Pink Panthers' from New Zealand, who had done well at the start of the tournament, found it difficult to handle the young spin duo of leg-spinner Karanveer Singh (4/15 in 3.2 overs) and left-arm spinner Akshar Patel (2/16 in 4 overs) during the middle overs. (Read: Virender Sehwag, Manan Vohra Fifties Help Kings XI Punjab to Semis)