Pune Warriors India shine on their home ground against Kings XI Punjab - Review

The Subrata Roy Sahara Stadium was packed for its inaugural match of the Pune Warriors India vs. Kings XI Punjab. PWI were playing in their own city for the very first time and the 40,000 plus screaming fans were a welcome motivator. The pitch itself was unexplored. What it proved to be was a slow one, giving the batsmen few opportunities to exploit. While both teams’ bowling and fielding was exceptional and unyielding of many runs, PWI managed to capitalize on more opportunities, putting them in a position that KXIP could not catch up to. The result was as expected, PWI won the match against KXIP by 22 runs.

PWI won the toss and chose to bat. Their line-up was quite different when compared to their last game, setting off much debate among spectators. Ganguly opened with Ryder, but like last time, the captain could not get many runs. 20 runs and 3.6 overs later, he was out after reacting badly to Mascarenhas’ diversified bowling. While Ryder’s lack of confidence and awareness got him run-out with only 8 runs, the partnership of Marlon Samuels at no. 3 and Robin Uthappa at no. 4 became the important run-collector for PWI. With 81 runs over the span of 10 overs, Samuels and Uthappa brought their team into a secure position. Callum Ferguson at no. 5 couldn’t do much in the way of runs and was dismissed after 6 balls and 3 runs. Steven Smith came in at no. 6 after Ferguson’s wicket was lost at the hands of Harmeet Singh who caught and bowled him. Harmeet Singh became a formidable opponent, taking the wickets of Samuels, Ferguson and Uthappa. But he was given the “Red Cap” for two consecutive no balls and the over was passed on to Bipul Sharma. With Harmeet Singh out of the way, Smith and Pandey (who came in at no. 7) took complete advantage to make the last two overs of PWI’s innings count by scoring 25 runs off 12 balls and 12 runs off 4 balls respectively. By the time Smith was bowled by Faulkner at 19.4 overs, PWI’s score had exceeded the expected 150 and reached 166. Rahul Sharma, who came in last, did not score off the two balls he faced, but Smith and Pandey had done all the damage possible for KXIP.

The second innings began with Valthaty and Gilchrist opening for the visitors. An unaccepted appeal for an LBW for Valthaty in the third over caused massive confusion on the field, in the midst of which Gilchrist and Valthaty found themselves together at the striker’s end. While PWI jumped at the opportunity, Valthaty saved his captain’s wicket by stepping out of his crease and sacrificing himself. Mandeep Singh came in at no. 3, and was joined by Abhishek Nayar when Gilchrist was run out 6 balls later. Mandeep Singh and Abhishek Nayar finally showed some retaliation and took their team forward, each scoring 24 runs off 23 and 28 balls respectively. Hussey, Chawla and Masceranhas contributed as much as possible against PWI’s bowlers, making 18, 16 and 5 runs respectively. Bipul Sharma, who came in at 15.1 overs and stayed till the end of the innings was the major contributor to his team’s score, with 34 runs. Faulkner (3) and Praveen Kumar (1), although made some good attempts, were unable to match the required run rate.

Spot on bowling, combined with an unpredictable pitch were responsible for much of the batsmen’s incapability to score as well as desired. Dinda conceded 13 runs in his 3 overs and took 1 wicket. Harmeet Singh took 3 wickets and conceded 24 runs in 3.2 overs. The pitch was conducive to the bowlers, allowing them to be at their economical best. PWI’s aggressive batting in the dying overs and their ability to use more opportunities to their advantage as compared to KXIP, gave them the required edge. Steven Smith got the maximum 6s in the match award and Marlon Samuels got the Man of the Match award – both well deserved.

Adam Gilchrist, the captain of KXIP, holds the title for a reason. He knows where they fumbled and why, he knows where his players lack and he’s not one to shy away from responsibility. The players of KXIP have tremendous potential and now, it’s up to Gilchrist to eradicate those drawbacks and turn his team into the best it can be.

According to Ravi Shastri and the other players of the PWI, Sourav Ganguly is the catalyst that is bringing about their victories. The team that was at the bottom of the table in the previous season doesn’t have much to lose. Their fearless play is a result of the self-confidence that their captain instigates within them. Although Ganguly himself admits that they will have to work just as hard every time, increasing wins and consequent expectations are making it necessary for him to prove his fast growing title of being a “Great Captain”.

What next

KXIP and PWI will come back on the field next to face each other once again on the 12^th of April, 2012, but this time, at Mohali, Punjab’s home ground. With KXIP looking to settle scores, this one is building up to be a cracker of a game.