Steyn hit for 33 in two overs
2008-05-12 20:30
Punjab - An astonishing batting onslaught by the West Australians Shaun Marsh and Luke Pomersbach catapulted the Kings X1 Punjab to an emphatic and comprehensive 9-wicket victory over the hapless Bangalore Royal Challengers in an IPL match at the Punjab Cricket Association Stadium on Monday.
Bangalore managed a mediocre 143/8 in 20 overs.
Punjab just needed 15.4 overs to race to 144/1.
Marsh (74*, 51 balls, 9x4, 2x6) and Pomersbach (34*, 24 balls, 3x4, 2x6) added 102 runs in 9.2 overs for the second wicket as they demolished the highly rated fast bowling attack spearheaded by Zaheer Khan and Dale Steyn.
Steyn conceded 33 runs in two overs, while Khan's four overs cost 35 runs.
Marsh scored his third half-century in the IPL-competition. In fact, his 295 runs at an average of 98.33 have taken on Bradmanian proportions.
In the Bangalore innings, only Mark Boucher, with a fighting 39, off 31 balls, including four fours and a six, played a significant innings in a batting line-up that lacked the urgency and the big hitters to accelerate after a promising start.
Marsh and James Hopes (27, 19 balls, 3x4) added 42 runs for the first wicket in 6.2 overs for Punjab.
Steyn brought back
In a surprising move, Rahul Dravid removed the strike bowler Steyn after he conceded 12 runs in his first over.
Bangalore needed to attack, but relied only on the swing bowler Khan for early breakthroughs.
When Steyn was brought back in the eleventh over, Marsh and Pomersbach smashed him for 21 runs in an over.
Marsh did most of the damage, with nineteen runs coming off his bat.
Pomersbach was equally dismissive of the leg-spinner Anil Kumble by hammering his googly for a six over long off in the next over.
The biggest single problem from a Bangalore-perspective was that they failed to press home their early batting advantage after Misbah-ul-Haq (21, 6 balls, 3x4, 1x6) and Virat Kohli (21) gave them a decent platform as they reached 49/3 in 5.3 overs.
After the departure of Kohli, their middle-order was pedestrian.
In the Punjab-innings, Marsh and Pomersbach needed only 25 balls to accelerate the score from fifty to hundred. Their half-century partnership came off only 29 balls.
TEAMS:
Kings X1 Punjab: Shaun Marsh, James Hopes, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Yuvraj Singh (captain), Mahela Jayawardene, Irfan Pathan, Piyush Chawla, Uday Kaul, Sree Sreesanth, VRV Singh, Gagandeep Singh.
Bangalore Royal Challengers: J Arunkar, Virat Kohli, Mark Boucher, Cameron White, Misbah-ul-Haq, Rahul Dravid (captain), Praveen Kumar, Anil Kumble, Zaheer Khan, Dale Steyn, Vinay Kumar.