Kings XI Punjab kept their hopes of making the VIVO IPL 2017 Playoffs alive after they defeated the Royal Challengers Bangalore by 19 runs at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. Batting first, KXIP lacked momentum for most part of their innings, before a final over flourish helped them to 138-7. In the second half, Sandeep Sharma broke the home team’s backbone by dismissing the three big guns in each of his first three overs. RCB were eventually bowled out for 119. KXIP won the match by 19 runs and walked away with two crucial points.

After being put into bat, KXIP got off to a poor start losing the prolific Hashim Amla in the first over. Martin Guptill too was dismissed for a single-digit score in the fourth over. Shaun Marsh (20 from 17 balls) struck three boundaries in his brief knock before he holed out to long-off in the seventh over. Manan Vohra (25 from 28 balls) held one end up for a while before he attempted a slog sweep against Yuzvendra Chahal and the top-edge was snapped up AB de Villiers.

After Glenn Maxwell fell victim to the leg-spinner Chahal, Wriddhiman Saha and Axar Patel stitched together a 34-run partnership – the highest of the match. That partnership was broken when Shane Watson cleaned up Saha’s stumps. Aniket Choudhary bowled an excellent 19th over – in which he did not concede a run and picked up the wicket of Mohit Sharma. But Axar then stepped on the heat and the 19 runs he scored off Watson’s final over made the difference in the final analysis; he put away the first ball over the long-on boundary, and then collected boundaries off third and fourth deliveries. The left-hander finished unbeaten on 38 (17 balls, 3 fours, 2 sixes) and KXIP finished their twenty overs at 138-7.

At half-time, despite Axar’s blitz at the end, RCB have fancied their chances of chasing down 139 quite comfortably. However, the morale in the dressing room would have been shattered after Sandeep Sharma broke the backbone, striking thrice in the first three overs. Chris Gayle stepped out – probably trying to counter the swing the bowler was generating – but only succeeded in edging one to the fielder at point. Virat Kohli, batting one drop, struck a first-ball boundary, but then attempted one aggressive shit too many and had his stumps shattered. In the fifth over, de Villiers drove at an outswinger, only for the ball to take the outside edge and fly to Saha with the gloves. RCB 37-3.

Kedar Jadhav was dismissed in the eighth over, and Watson’s attempted cut was snapped up by Saha. Mandeep Singh – who, after walking out to bat as opener, had watched the innings fall apart from the other end - was sixth over; he made 46 from 40 balls.
Pawan Negi’s 23 was the only other notable score in the run-chase. RCB eventually folded up for 119 – not even batting out their entire allotted twenty overs. It was the fourth time last year’s finalists were bowled out this season.

For Kings XI Punjab, if Sandeep did the damage at the top, the rest of the bowlers combined well to pick up the remaining seven wickets. Axar collected three wickets, while Mohit Sharma and skipper Maxwell chipped in with two wickets each. By dismissing RCB for 119, KXIP had scripted a new record for the lowest total defended in IPL matches at Bengaluru.

Brief Scores

Kings XI Punjab: 138-7 (Axar Patel 38*, Manan Vohra 25, Aniket Choudhary 2-17, Yuzvendra Chahal 2-21) beat Royal Challengers Bangalore: 119 in 19.0 Overs (Mandeep Singh 46, Sandeep Sharma 3-22, Axar Patel 3-11) by 19 runs.

Man of the Match: Sandeep Sharma