Punjab win Cuttack IPL match with record total

It was paisa vasul for a 45,000 strong crowd with the titanic T20 clash between table toppers Chennai and Punjab producing a deluge of big hits and a record total here at Barabati Stadium on Wednesday. Punjab upset two-time champions Chennai by 44 runs thanks to Glenn Maxwell’s monstrous knock of 90 and his supersonic third-wicekt stand of 135 with David Miller.

Put into bat on a track that turned out to be batsmen’s paradise, Punjab made a record total of 231 for four and then restricted Chennai to 187 for six. With this win, which was their second against Chennai and sixth overall, Punjab advanced to the top of the table with 12 points from seven matches. Though Chennai too have 12 points in their kitty now, they slipped to the second spot for having played one game more than Punjab.

It rained in four and sixes as the Punjab batsmen made mincemeat of the formidable opposition bowling attack on their way to the hightest innings total in the ongoing tournament. In the process, they bettered their own previous highest of 206 for four, which they had mustered in 18.5 overs against the same opposition at Abu Dhabi earlier on April 18.

Virendre Sehwag set the tempo with a cameo 30 off 23 balls and captain George Bailey finished it in style with a 13-ball unbeaten 40. Chennai made a fight-back of sort by dismissing openers Sehwag and Mandeep Singh in space of five runs.

But power-hitters Maxwell and Miller set the stadium on fire by hitting fours and sixes at will. A much-deserved century eluded Maxwell for the fourth time as he was caught by Ravindra Jadeja at deep mid-wicket for 90 which came off just 38 balls and was embellished with six boundaries and eight sixes.

In his earlier three narrow misses Maxwell had got out for 95, 95 and 89. The Aussie run-machine, however, had the consolation of becoming the most rug-getter of the ongoing tournament with a total of 435 runs from seven innings.

His 214-ball overall batting feat so far has produced a whopping 41 fours and 27 sixes. In the process, Maxwell snatched the orange cap from Chennai’s Dwayne Smith, who slipped to second position with a total of 339 to his name.

Providing ideal support of Maxwell, Miller slammed a 32-ball 47 with the help of five boundaries and two sixes. Captain Bailey capped the majestic innings with an unbeaten 40 off just 13 balls. He struck six fours and two sixes.

Chasing a mammoth target of 232, Chennai suffered an early setback as opener Dwayne Smith, their most successful batsman so far, was caught by Mitchell Johnson off Sandeep Sharma for four. Brendon McCullum and Suresh Raina steadied the innings to some extent, putting together 51 runs in the second wicket stand. McCullum scored a 29-ball 33, while Raina contributed a 27-ball 35.

Faf du Plessis and captain M S Dhoni kept Chennai’s chase going with a partnership of 61 runs for the fifth wicket. Du Plessis cracked a 25-ball 52 with the help of seven boundaries and one six, while Dhoni made 23. However, all these efforts could not stop Punjab from scripting a convincing win. Allrounder Maxwell, who also took a picked up a wicket by dismissing Raina, was adjudged the player of the match.

BRIEF SCORE: Kings XI Punjab 231/4 in 20 overs (G Maxwell 90, D Miller 47, G Bailey 40 n.o, V Sehwag 30; Mohit Sharma 2/38) beat Chennai Super Kings 187/6 in 20 overs (F du Plessis 52, S Raina 35, B McCullum 33, M Dhoni 23; M Johnson 2/37) by 44 runs. PoW: Glenn Maxwell.