18:28 IST RPS storm into the playoffs with a comprehensive win!
18:28 IST Maxwell continues, Smith and Rahane are showing an intent to score singles. SIX! Rahane ends the match with a maximum!
18:26 IST Tewatia continues, Smith flicks the ball towards fine leg for a couple of runs. Smith works the next ball direct to the midwicket, a dot ball. He works the next ball towards long on for a single. Rahane takes a single towards long on. Smith pushes the next one towards cover-point, takes another single. Meanwhile, Pune fans are backing their home team. A dot ball to end the over, RPS 67/1.
18:22 IST Maxwell continues, Rahane takes a single off the first ball. Smith defends the next ball. Smith takes a single off the next. Rahane tries to work the ball past point, a dot ball. Rahane pushes the ball towards long on for a single. Another single to end the over, RPS 62/1.
18:18 IST Swapnil continues, Rahane sweep slogs the ball, Guptill drops the catch, this comes as a surprise, Rahane gets a single off the second ball. Smith gives him back the strike. Rahane takes a single off the fifth ball. A dot ball to follow, RPS 58/1.
18:14 IST Axar Patel continues, Rahane and Smith are just knocking the ball around for singles, no fancy shots. They are not in a hurry to end the match, just cruise towards the victory. 6 singles from the over, RPS 55/1.
18:11 IST Swapnil Singh comes to bowl, Rahane sweeps the ball for a couple of runs towards square leg. He takes a single off the next ball, gets Smith on strike. Smith flicks the ball for a single towards midwicket. Rahane goes on the back foot, takes a single off the next ball. A dot ball to follow. Smith takes a single off the last ball, RPS 49/1.
18:08 IST Smith and Rahane pick up two singles off the rest of the deliveries. RPS 43/1.
18:06 IST WICKET! Tripathi b Axar Patel 28(20)
18:06 IST Rahane on strike, Axar comes into bowl, FOUR! First boundary for Rahane, gets a boundary towards covers. He takes a single off the next ball.
18:03 IST Rahul Tewatia comes to bowl, he starts off with two dot balls to Tripathi. SIX! Tripathi goes big, just goes one knee and slog sweeps the ball for a maximum, that was a clean hit from Tripathi. Two more dot balls to follow, good comeback from Tripathi. Another dot ball to end the over, KXIP 36/0.
17:59 IST Ishant Sharma has been introduced into the attack, Rahane takes a single off the first ball, gets Tripathi on strike. Two slips in place for him but Tripathi is not going to stop, FOUR! He flashes the blade and gets a boundary behind square. A dot ball to follow as he pulls the length back, Tripathi could not get bat on that. FOUR! Tripathi just deflects the ball for a boundary towards deep fine leg. Tripathi punches the next one towards point, takes a couple of runs. Once again, he works the ball towards point, picks up a single, retains strike. RPS 30/0.
17:54 IST Sandeep continues, Tripathi on strike, he tries to work the ball towards fine leg but it was a wide. Tripathi comes down the track and pushes the ball for a single towards mid on. Rahane takes a single off the next ball towards midwicket. FOUR! Tripathi at it again, pulls the ball for a boundary towards midwicket, he is on a roll. Tripathi works the ball for a single towards square leg. Rahane pushes the ball to mid off, a dot ball. Rahane takes a single off the last ball, RPS 18/0.
17:49 IST Mohit Sharma to open from the other side, Rahane guides the ball towards the third man, picks up a single. Rahul Tripathi takes strike, he tries to cut the ball but it goes on the bounce to the slip fielder, Maxwell a dot ball. FOUR! Tripathi goes down the track and hits the ball past covers for a boundary. Tripathi pushes the next one back to the bowler, a dot ball. Tripathi plays the next one towards mid on, another dot ball. A slower bouncer from Mohit, Tripathi pulls the ball for a single. RPS 9/0.
17:44 IST Sandeep Sharma comes to bowl, Rahane on strike, he starts off with a dot ball. Rahane pushes the next ball past covers for a couple of runs. Rahane defends the next two balls, he is not taking any chances against Sandeep who can swing the ball both ways with the new ball. Another dot ball as Rahane drives but finds the fielder, another dot ball. Last ball of the over, Rahane takes a single towards the third man, retains strike. RPS 3/0.
17:39 IST Ajinkya Rahane and Rahul Tripathi come to bat!
17:30 IST Will RPS chase down the total in a matter of 10 overs? Stay tuned to find out!
17:23 IST KXIP get bundled out for 73, record their lowest score in IPL.
17:21 IST WICKET! Mohit Sharma c Christian b Zampa 6(12)
17:21 IST Zampa continues his over, Mohit takes a couple of runs, he is trying to get on strike. Two dot balls to follow. Mohit goes down the track and hits the ball down the ground, Christian takes the catch and Punjab gets all out for 73. KXIP 73 all out
17:16 IST Ishant c Smith b Zampa 1(5) Another one bites the dust as he tries to go for glory, Zampa gets his first wicket! KXIP 71/9.
.@imShard, “We want to go to Mumbai.” #RangWahiJungNayi #RPSvKXIP
— RisingPuneSupergiant (@RPSupergiants) May 14, 2017
17:14 IST Stokes comes back into the attack, Mohit on strike, three dot balls from the English bowler. Mohit has not been able to get bat on the ball, it seems like RPS are going to get bundled out. Mohit finally manages to take a single towards short fine leg. Ishant on strike, a dot ball to follow. He takes a single off the next ball towards the third man. KXIP 71/8.
17:11 IST Ishant Sharma comes to bat, it seems like he has turned the Test Match mode on. Two slips in place for him, he leaves two balls shouldering arms, KXIP 69/8.
17:08 IST WICKET! Swapnil c Dhoni b Unadkat 10(17)
17:08 IST Unadkat continues, Swapnil on strike, two dot balls to start with, the big question now is, will KXIP reach 100? Edged and take, that’s an amazing catch! KXIP 69/8.
17:05 IST Adam Zampa continues, Mohit and Swapnil are just looking to knock the ball around for singles. Good, sensible batting from the lower order batsmen, pick up five singles from the over, KXIP 69/7.
17:02 IST Christian continues his over, Mohit Sharma comes to bowl, he takes a single off the first ball, nearly a run out there. Swapnil takes a single off the next ball, a dot one to end the over. KXIP 64/7.
16:59 IST WICKET! Axar c Dhoni c Christian 22(20)
16:59 IST Christian continues, Swapnil takes a single off the first ball, Axar picks up a couple of runs off the next ball. KXIP 62/7.
16:56 IST Axar takes a single off the first ball towards long on as Zampa continues. Swapnil on strike, he takes a single towards long off. They do not need to do something cheeky now. Patel tries to hit the ball late, gets a quick single towards short third man. Swapnil tries to work the ball, but could not hit it past the circle. He takes a single off the last ball, KXIP 59/6.
16:53 IST Swapnil Singh comes to bat, he takes a single off the first ball. Patel on strike, he is under pressure, takes a single as well. Swapnil tries to cut the short ball but fails, another dot ball for Christian. Swapnil puts in a dive after hitting the ball into square, takes a couple of runs. KXIP 55/6.
16:49 IST WICKET! Saha c Saha b Christian 13(17)
16:49 IST Daniel Christian comes to bowl, Patel on strike, he takes a single behind point, the ball was in the air for a while. Edged and taken! Dhoni puts in a dive and makes amends for his dropped catch earlier in the powerplays.
16:45 IST Adam Zampa into the attack, Patel drives the ball wide of long off, takes a couple of runs as he plays it into the deep. SIX! Patel goes big, hits the ball over deep midwicket boundary for a maximum, that was a crime from Zampa, bowling this short, it seems like Patel has launched a counter attack. Patel takes a single off the next ball. Another short ball from Zampa, Saha goes back and pulls it, but gets just a single towards deep mid on. Patel pushes the ball towards long on for a single. Last ball of the over, Saha on strike, he comes down the wicket but could not get it beyond the pitch. KXIP 50/5.
16:41 IST Thakur continues, Patel on strike, FOUR! Patel got lucky as he edges the ball but it races away to a boundary, had there been a second slip that would have been caught. Two dot balls to follow as Pune are looking to attack with first slip in place. Patel takes a single off the next ball. Saha on strike, he defends the ball on the front foot towards point. A dot ball to end the over, KXIP 39/5.
16:37 IST Stokes continues, Axar Patel comes to bat, he could not even get bat on the first ball. Axar is definitely under pressure, back-to-back dot deliveries from Stokes, Patel is yet to get off the mark after four balls. WIDE! First runs off the over through extras. Another dot ball as Patel pushes the ball back to Stokes. Last ball of the over, a single off the last ball towards the third man. KXIP 34/5.
16:34 IST Saha defends the last ball of the over, end of powerplay over. KXIP 32/5.
16:31 IST WICKET! Maxwell c Rahane b S Thakur 0(3)
16:31 IST Glenn Maxwell comes to bat, he finally had to come down to take strike after four wickets fell in the powerplays, Thakur bowls a wide to him. Two dot balls to follow, Maxwell is feeling the pressure. Maxwell flicks, in the air and taken, here’s another WICKET! Maxwell departs! KXIP 32/5.
16:28 IST Rahul Tewatia c Unadkat b Shardul Thakur 4(3)
16:28 IST Shardul Thakur continues, WIDE! He bowls one down the leg side to Saha, he lets the ball go. Saha takes a single off the next ball. Tewatia pulls the ball towards short fine leg, WHAT A CATCH? Another wicket for Pune. KXIP 32/4.
16:26 IST Saha takes a single, SURPRISE, SURPRISE! Rahul Tewatia comes to bat, he played a cameo in the previous game. FOUR! Tewatia gets off the mark with a boundary, he looks in good touch. KXIP 29/3.
16:23 IST WICKET! Eoin Morgan run out (Unadkat) 4(4)
16:23 IST Ben Stokes comes to bowl, he bowls a dot ball to Saha. He works the next ball towards the third man for a single, gets Morgan on strike. Stokes comes round the wicket to Morgan, he pushes the ball for a quick single towards mid on, a direct hit on the non striker end, GONE! Morgan departs.
16:20 IST Eoin Morgan comes to bat, he defends the first ball, he has made a comeback into KXIP side. FOUR! Morgan gets off the mark with a boundary as he cuts the ball past point fielder. Marsh defends the last ball of the over. KXIP 23/2.
16:16 IST WICKET! Shaun Marsh c Smith b Shardul Thakur 10(13)
16:16 IST Thakur continues, Marsh on strike, a dot ball to start the over with. So far Pune bowlers have done well to keep Punjab under pressure. Swing and a miss! Marsh could not cut the ball past point, a dot ball. In the air and gone! WICKET! Marsh could not clear the mid off fielder, skipper Smith could not take the catch, second wicket falls. KXIP 19/2.
16:14 IST Unadkat continues, Saha on strike, edged and dropped! That is one of the rarest moments in history, Dhoni drops the catch, Saha picks up a single. Marsh takes a single towards square leg. SIX! Saha flicks the ball for a maximum towards square leg, that will rub salts on wounds after a dropped catch. He comes down the track on the next ball but could not hit it down the ground, a dot ball. Unadkat bowls a cutter to follow, a dot ball as it hits Saha’s bat on the up. Another dot ball to end the over, 8 from it. KXIP 19/1.
16:10 IST Shardul Thakur to open the bowling alongside Unadkat. Saha takes a single guiding the ball towards the third man fielder. Marsh on strike, Thakur bowls one on pads, fielded at short fine leg, a dot ball. FOUR! That ball was asking to be put away, angling on the leg stump, Marsh times it to perfection to get the ball towards midwicket boundary. Marsh pushes for a single towards point but Saha sends him back, a dot ball. Marsh guides the ball towards the third man fielder, a single taken. Saha takes a single off the last ball, 7 runs from the over. KXIP 11/1.
16:05 IST Unadkat continues his over, Shaun Marsh comes to bat. He is not looking to attack early one, just trying to find the gaps on the offside field. FOUR! That one just missed the fielder diving at covers, first boundary for Punjab. A dot ball to finish off the over. KXIP 4/1.
16:01 IST WICKET! Guptill c Manoj Tiwary b Unadkat 0(1)
16:00 IST: It seems Saha and Guptill are opening for KXIP. Saha is fresh of a 93.
15:55 IST: The players are taking the field, RPS get into a huddle, Smith is speaking in there. Last-minute preps happening.
15:37 IST: Tripathi will hold the key when RPS chase.
“There has been some rain in the last couple of days,” Smith says. “The wicket has retained some moisture. We are playing the exact same team.”
15:35 IST: Morgan in for Henry and Swapnil Singh for Manan Vohra.
Rising Pune Supergiant: 1 Rahul Tripathi, 2 Ajinkya Rahane, 3 Steven Smith (capt), 4 Manoj Tiwary, 5 MS Dhoni (wk), 6 Ben Stokes, 7 Dan Christian, 8 Washington Sundar, 9 Shardul Thakur, 10 Jaydev Unadkat, 11 Adam Zampa
15:30 IST: The flick of the fate will happen any time now. RPS win toss they will bowl first. Pune will chase, that is what they have opted to do.
Welcome to inUth’s live digital coverage of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2017’s Match 55 between Rising Pune Supergiant (RPS) and Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) at Maharastra Cricket Association, Pune. This clash will be the final showdown as it is a virtual quarterfinal for both the sides. Both of them need just one win to book their place in the IPL 2017 playoffs.
KXIP have paved their way through after upsetting the table toppers in the previous few matches and keeping themselves alive in the tournament. They will be in high spirits after beating table-toppers Mumbai Indians (MI). RPS are in a dire need of a win as their net run rate will not take them through to the playoffs. RPS lost their previous game against Delhi Daredevils (DD) and need their A game today to make their last season in IPL a memorable one.
KXIP skipper Glenn Maxwell is in splendid form along with Martin Guptill, they will provide the firepower for the visitors. It will be interesting to see whether Wriddhiman Saha once again opens the innings or not. Saha scored 97 in the previous game and will be looking to play a similar innings today as well. In the bowling department, the Sharmas, Sandeep and Mohit have been doing well. Though, it will be interesting to see whether Ishant Sharma gets a chance or not.
In RPS side, they need Ajinkya Rahane to fire up the order as he is due for a big inning. Rahul Tripathi is in good form. Steven Smith has not been able to convert starts into a big score lately. But, RPS need Ben Stokes to fire as he will leave for England before the playoffs, they need a final ‘one-man’ show from Stokes who could not deliver with the bat in the previous game. Although a lot depends on MS Dhoni and his finishing skills. RPS have a lot of firepower in both bowling and batting department and this is a chance for them to convert it into a playoff berth.
Kings XI Punjab: Martin Guptill, Wriddhiman Saha(w), Glenn Maxwell(c), Shaun Marsh, Axar Patel, Manan Vohra, Rahul Tewatia, Matt Henry, Mohit Sharma, Ishant Sharma, Sandeep Sharma, David Miller, Gurkeerat Singh Mann, Anureet Singh, Nikhil Naik, Marcus Stoinis, KC Cariappa, Armaan Jaffer, Pardeep Sahu, Swapnil Singh, Hashim Amla, Varun Aaron, Eoin Morgan, Darren Sammy, Rinku Singh, T Natarajan
Rising Pune Supergiant: Ajinkya Rahane, Rahul Tripathi, Steven Smith(c), Manoj Tiwary, Ben Stokes, MS Dhoni(w), Daniel Christian, Jaydev Unadkat, Adam Zampa, Shardul Thakur, Washington Sundar, Ankush Bains, Ashok Dinda, Rajat Bhatia, Ankit Sharma, Ishwar Pandey, Jaskaran Singh, Baba Aparajith, Deepak Chahar, Usman Khawaja, Mayank Agarwal, Rahul Chahar, Lockie Ferguson, Saurabh Kumar, Milind Tandon
