The Rising Pune Supergiant have set up a Qualifier date with the Mumbai Indians, after thrashing the Kings XI Punjab by nine wickets.
It was an unusual scenario for the Supergiant – get knocked out, or finish in the top two. What the victory has done is ensure that they will play at least two more matches in this tournament. The winner between them and the group stage winners the Mumbai Indians will go straight through to the final. The loser will then face the winner between the third-placed Sunrisers Hyderabad, or the fourth-placed Kolkata Knight Riders.
A late burst from the Kings XI gave them a chance of cracking it into the top four had they managed to beat RPS, but they literally saved their worst for last as they were bowled out for their lowest-ever total. Only Axar Patel scored above 15, as they were castled for 73.
Martin Guptill fell first ball, and that set the tone for the rest of the innings. Patel’s 22 was the highest score, while Guptill’s opening partner Wriddhiman Saha was next best with 13, as the bowlers completely dominated proceedings. Jaydev Unadkat (2-12) and Shardul Thakur (3-19) led the way, while Ben Stokes, playing in his last match before linking up with England for the Proteas series, bowled three overs and conceded just ten runs.
The chase was a simple one. Rahul Tripathi took the sting off a potential top-order meltdown with 28 off 20, while Ajinkya Rahane (34) and Steve Smith (15) finished things off with eight overs to spare.
In the dead-rubber match at Delhi, the Royal Challengers Bangalore finally got a win, beating the Delhi Daredevils by 10 runs.
Photo: Cricinfo/IPL
