Kings XI Punjab riding on a sensational 115 from Shaun Marsh, scored just way too many runs for Rajasthan Royals to score as the Punjab team signed off the IPL league stage with a convincing victory. Chasing Mohali’s 221-3 which came after stand-in skipper Shane Watson opted to field first Jaipur never got close to the asking rate despite some lusty hitting from Niraj Patel Yusuf Pathan and Kamran Akmal and fell short by 41 runs. Going in to bat with the asking rate being above 11 from the first ball it was never going to be easy for Jaipur and Mohd. Kaif was not quite the player for the situation. Patel on the other hand showed his calibre as a batsman as he hammeered four boundaries off S. Sreesanth and kept Jaipur interested for some time. owever the tempo was never really going to go up enough to trouble Mohali. Yusuf Pathan Kamran Akmal and Mahesh Rawat tried their best to get Jaipur going, but the ask was too much. Piyush Chawla capitalised on the Jaipur batsmen’s search for runs and ended up with three wickets for 35 runs off four overs. James Hopes claimed two wickets to add to a half-century while batting. The Indian Premier League seems to be built for the left-handers and Marsh is surely one of those who have made this tournament his own. The Western Australian destroyed the Jaipur bowling to score a rocking 115 as Kings XI Punjab piled up a phenomenal 221-3. Hopes 51 and Yuvraj Singh 49 also came to the party on the hard and true PCA Stadium pitch as the home side making full use of Jaipur stand-in skipper Shane Watson’s invitation to bat first. It was an incredible display of power hitting by Marsh, who combined superb technique with awesome power and none of the Jaipur bowlers had anything to offer in terms of opposition and the visitors were first blasted around by Marsh and Hopes as they scored 133 runs together the ebst opening stand for Mohali in the tournament. But after Hopes departed it was from the frying pan into the fire as in came skipper Yuvraj Singh desperately seeking some form and runs. He got runs and at an amazing rate too blasting away to match Marsh stroke for stroke as the 200 mark came and went in a clash and the home side looked all set to take another win and psychological edge away to Mumbai. Shane Warne decided to put his feet up for the match opting to rest himself before the semi finals. Rajasthan Royals also decided not to play Graeme Smith, who has a hamstring problem and Warne would like to see him fit for the semi finals. He also decided to give Younis Khan who had been cooling his heels in the dugout through the tournament a game. Jaipur play Delhi Daredevils in the semi-finals on May 30 while Mohali take on Chennai Super Kings the next day.
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