Miller was named Man of the Match for his unbeaten innings of 46
Image courtesy of: ESPNcricinfo
Kings XI Punjab batsman David Miller hammered an unbeaten 46 to lead his side to a four-wicket win over the Barbados Tridents in Chandigarh.
Miller was well supported at the end by Akshar Patel, who smashed a quickfire 23.
However, Barbados opener Dilshan Munaweera and batsman Raymon Reifer both deserve a lot of credit for scoring valiant half-centuries.
Punjab captain George Bailey would have been brooding over his decision to bowl first after Munaweera and William Perkins amassed a 54-run partnership before Perkins was given out lbw off the bowling of Parvinder Awana for 10 runs.
Awana struck again just five balls later when Munaweera was caught by Manan Vohra for 50, which came off 26 balls and included five boundaries and three sixes.
Munaweera made a gutsy 50
Image courtesy of: ESPNcricinfo
Jonathan Carter made 20 runs before he was caught by Miller at long-on off the bowling of Anureet Singh.
New Zealand all-rounder James Franklin only made 10 runs before he was caught by Awana at fine leg off the bowling of Thisara Perera.
Zimbabwe all-rounder Elton Chigumbura fared no better as he was caught by Singh at mid-off off the bowling of Perera for just three runs.
Jason Holder mustered 12 runs before he was caught by Miller at long-on off the bowling of Perera.
Thanks to Reifer’s unbeaten knock of 60, which came off 42 balls and included three boundaries and four sixes, Barbados finished on 174/6 off their 20 overs.
Reifer scored a valiant 60
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Awana was the pick of the bowlers with three wickets, while Perera snapped up two and Singh chipped in with one.
Chasing 175 to win, Punjab got off to a solid start as Vohra and Virender Sehwag put together a 41-run partnership before Vohra was caught by Carter at short midwicket off the bowling of Ravi Rampaul for 27 runs.
Wriddhiman Saha only made 14 runs before he was caught by Munaweera at deep point off the bowling of Franklin.
Australia all-rounder Glenn Maxwell failed to have an impact with the bat as he was caught by Ashley Nurse at fine leg off the bowling of Rampaul for 16.
Sehwag went on to score 31 runs before he was given out lbw off the bowling of Jeevan Mendis.
Bailey failed to save his team as he was caught by Franklin at cow corner off the bowling of Mendis.
Perera did not score a single run as he was caught by Carter off the bowling of Nurse for a golden duck.
However, it was all Punjab from this point on as Miller and Patel finished the game off with an unbeaten 47-run partnership at a stellar run rate of 14.84.
Miller ended up scoring 46 off 34 balls, which included three boundaries and two sixes, while Patel remained undefeated on 23 off just nine deliveries, which included three boundaries and a six.
Patel hit three boundaries and a six during his crucial knock of 23
Image courtesy of: ESPNcricinfo
Rampaul and Mendis took two wickets apiece, while Franklin and Nurse claimed one wicket each.
Barbados captain Rayad Emrit was disappointed to have lost the match, and said: “I thought with two overs to go, we should have had it with 26 runs to defend. Ravi is our most experienced bowler. Another day he will get it right, but it didn’t happen today. We had spoken [about] the kinds of lengths we needed to bowl.”
Bailey was pleased with his team’s performance, and said: “Long may our chasing record continue. We get off to great starts. Once again we did that and we’re thereabouts with the run rate. For a guy like Akshar to come in and hit his first 9 balls for 26 runs is extraordinary. It’s a beautiful batting wicket. I was proud of the way we bowled today.”
Miller was named Man of the Match, and said: “Only towards the end did I hit one out of the ground. Akshar made it easy and took a lot of pressure off my shoulders. I was lucky up front, getting a few chances, but once I’m in I back myself to hit the boundaries. It’s a see-ball-hit-ball type of mentality. We’ve got some great spinners and some [excellent] quicks. Perera is showing some strength for the team. He can clear the boundary and takes wickets as well.”