Amith Passela
ABU DHABI // Kings XI Punjab are in perfect position to clinch a first Indian Premier League title.
In their first appearance at the Zayed Cricket Stadium on April 18, they made a successful chase of 205 against the Chennai Super Kings with seven balls to spare.
They returned for their second visit on Saturday night and did well to defend a modest 132 to notch their fourth win in as many games by bowling out Kolkata Knight Riders for 109 and record a 23-run triumph.
Sanjay Bangar, the Punjab coach, credited the team’s win to unity and determination.
“It was a fantastic all-round team effort,” the former India all-rounder said. “All of them chipped in for this win. It was all their hard work and execution of the game plan in the middle.”
George Bailey, the Punjab captain, praised his bowlers for an “outstanding” performance to defend a modest total. “We probably left 20 or 30 short on a tough wicket, but we knew we had a chance if we took early wickets,” he said.
“It’s hard to weigh it, but we probably got it wrong. We left too much to do for the tail-enders. Me, Virender Sehwag or [David] Miller needed to stay there.”
Sandeep Sharma, the medium pacer, was the most successful Punjab bowler with three for 23 from four overs.
“It’s good to see Sandeep develop, he’s got great confidence in what he wants to do which makes my job easier,” Bailey said.
Gautam Gambhir, the KKR captain, felt they missed out on an opportunity after his bowlers had done well to restrict the strong Punjab batting to a modest total.
“The bowlers did a fantastic job, we should have chased it down,” he said. “It was chaseable with the kind of dew on the ground.”
It was all over for Kolkata as early as the 12th over after four wickets tumbled in 15 deliveries and the required run rate climbed to 10-plus.
All five Punjab bowlers performed perfectly by bowling a tight line and length and making it difficult for the Kolkata batsmen to score, putting them under pressure.
Punjab removed both openers, Manish Pandey (8) and Jacque Kallis (9), then Gambhir (1), who dropped himself down the order, to have Kolkata in trouble at 19 for three in 5.1 overs.
It could have been four ducks in four innings for Gambhir had the medium pacer Sharma not been too late to grab a return catch off a leading edge from the left hander.
Sharma, 21, provided the breakthrough for Punjab by trapping Pandey in front and having Gambhir caught by Akshar Patel before the rest of the bowlers chipped in with their contributions.
“It’s a big moment for me and I am enjoying it a lot and expressing myself,” Sharma said. “When I’m playing I’m very serious, outside the rope I’m very funny. With the new ball, I swing it really well and I want the new ball and I’m happy for the faith shown in me.”
Sehwag (37 off 30 balls) top scored for Punjab after their main batsman Glenn Maxwell, who had weighed in with scores of 95, 89 and 95 in the previous three games, fell for 15.
Morne Morkel hurled in a yorker to send Maxwell’s leg stump cartwheeling with the score at 58 for three in the eighth over.
Spinners Piyush Chawla took three wickets and Sunil Narine did the mopping up with three wickets from four balls to restrict the Punjab batting to what looked to be a modest total, but it proved otherwise.
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