IPL 2014 Match 31 Review: Sandeep Sharma and Batsmen Rout Bangalore Again

In the first match when they met, Kings XI Punjab bowler restricted Royal Challengers Bangalore to 124/8 and then won comfortably by 5 wickets. Today they batted first, and the story was similar. Miller and Sehwag with other batsmen massacred their bowlers and then Sandeep Sharma killed their hopes in just one over. At the end of the match, Kings XI are just one win away from semifinals with 6 matches remaining placed on top at the top of the Points Tally, while with 5 matches remaining RCB now needs to win at least 5 of their remaining 6 matches for any consideration.

IPL 2014 Schedule and Results

Head-to-Head
Kings XI registered their 9th win over RCB in 14 matches. RCB has won 5. In fact Kings XI Punjab registered their 5th consecutive win over RCB.

Player of the Match: Sandeep Sharma
Sandeep received his third Player of the Match award, surprisingly though in a match where Kings XI scored 198 runs. Probably at Bangalore considering strong batting line up, IPL officials expected RCB to chase near 200 runs, and Sandeep’s 2nd over in which he hunted Gayle and Kohli again in the same over was considered the turning point of the match instead of the 29-ball 66 runs by David Miller.

Sandeep knew that after being bowled in the first match, Gayle will try to hit him out. Still he succeeded, again early and overall finishing with 3/25.

1st Over: Gayle got a four and then Sandeep dropped him on last ball.
2nd over: The turning point of the match again. The same over which perished RCB in their first face off too. Instead of being bowled, Gayle was caught behind on almost similar delivery on the first ball. And Kohli nicked it behind on the next ball. Rana managed a single.
3rd Over: After changing ends he bowled the 6th over of the match and had Parthiv Patel caught by Mandeep. He was hit though for 12 runs that included a four by Parthiv and a six by Rana.
4th Over: 18th over of the match, Starc and Aaron take 8 runs of the over with a boundary by Starch.

Kings XI Score 198/8
Sent to bat first, Kings XI openers, Sehwag (24-ball 30 runs) and Mandeep Singh (15-ball 21 runs) gave a perfect start as they reached 60 runs in 6 overs. Both perished by 7th over and score read 68/2. The terrific M Duo started another partnership, but could add only 23 runs in 2 overs as Maxwell (11-ball 25 runs) became second victim of Chahal. Even Captain Bailey (1 run) failed. But with help from Saha (17 runs), Johnson (16* runs), Miller (29-ball 66 runs with 8 4s and 3 6s took them to 198/8.

Chahal was again successful with 2/23, although Albie Morkel, returning after a gap, was most economical bowler of the match with 1/20. Yuvraj Singh gave away 19 runs in just one over. Starch (2/43), Harsha Patel (2/56 in 3 overs), Aaron (1/35) had a forgettable night.

RCB Fell 32 runs Short with 166/9
Devastating Sandeep Sharma again won the battle against the giants and sent the top 3 back in 6 overs, specially Gayle and Kohli in 3rd over, and RCB were 34/3 in 6 overs. Since then the match was so one-sided that AB de Villiers 26-ball 53 runs with 5 6s was sheer entertainment as Yuvraj (3) and others failed miserably. Albit Morkell (8-ball 16 runs), Starc (23-ball 29 runs), Aaron (11-ball 17 runs tried but the asking rate was too much to catch. In the end they managed to reduce the deficit by some runs.

For Punjab, Sandeep Sharma (3/25) was the King, while Akshar Patel (1/22) was the most economical. Johnson (1/25) was also clinical and so was the debutant Shivam Sharma (2/26). Balaji (2/43 in 3 overs) was unusually expensive while Maxwell gave away 24 runs in just one over.

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