Kings Xi Punjab 193 for 4 (Valthaty 120*) beat Chennai Super Kings 188 for 4 (Vijay 74, Badrinath 66*) by six wickets Riding on Paul Valthaty's blazing century, Kings XI Punjab registered their first victory of the IPL-4 by beating Chennai Super Kings by six wickets at the PCA Stadium in Mohali on Wednesday.
Chasing a massive 189-run target posted by Chennai Super Kings, Kings XI Punjab got off to a flier by their openers - Adam Gilchrist and Valthaty. And though they lost few wickets too qucikly in the middle, Valthaty ensured that his side never lose the momentum in a huge run chase.
After completing his fifty in 23 balls, the tiny right-hander raised to his hundred in 52 deliveries. The 27-year-old batsman from Mumbai treated the oppostion bowler with disdain and and took his side home with five balls remaining.
Earlier, recovering after the two early blows by Praveen Kumar, Chennai Super Kings raised to a huge 188/4.
Opener Murali Vijay (74 off 43 balls) and S Badrinath shared an impeccable 124-run stand for the third wicket and played important roles in taking Chennai to over 180 after Adam Gilchrist won the toss and asked Chennai to bat first.
Chennai skipper MS Dhoni joined the run riot in the end overs by swatting 43 runs off just 20 balls.
Praveen Kumar gave Kings XI Punjab a dream start, taking two Chennai Super Kings' wicket in the very first over of the innings.
The swing bowler first trapped Chennai's last-match hero Srikkanth Anirudha on the very first delivery and followed it up by getting Suresh Raina caught at short mid-wickeet.
The other two wickets were snapped by Australian Ryan Harris and leg-spinner Piyush Chawla.
During their run chase, Valthaty showed his aggressive intention from the outset and kept up with the required run rate with his well-controlled aggression.
And though involved in a mix-up with Shaun Marsh, the 27-year-old continued his imperial touch in his masterful knock.
He was excellently supported by Sunny Singh (20 off 12), who was as offensive in his approach as his partner.
In Chennai's batting, Kumar troubled the Chennai batsmen with his swing and nagging line and length.
After surviving an early scare by Kumar, Badrinath kept the Chennai scoreboard ticking with well-stolen singles and occasional boundaries.
Vijay, who was at the other end during the devastating opening overs, held his nerve and made sure that his side didn't lose more wickets.
And once seeing the opening spell of Kumar and Harris, the two Chennai batsmen treated the other Punjab bowlers with disdain.
Vijay was more aggressive between the two, hitting boundaries at will. The opening batsman raised to his fifty in just 34 balls with a huge six over mid-wicket region.
Badrinath, on the other hand, didn't mind playing second fiddle to Vijay.
Vijay was finally stumped of the bowling of Piyush Chawla but not before the right-handed batsman brutally dismantled the Punjab bowlers.
Once Vijay departed, Badrinath took the charge of thrashing the opposition bowlers. He completed his fifty in 46 deliveries and remained unbeaten.
Dhoni, too, opened his hands after Vijay's departure and hit 22 runs in the last over of Kumar's spell.
Presentation:
Man of the Match, and claimant of the Orange Cap - Val, of course, Valthaty: "It was a belter of a track, and it was a dream come true for me. The team management backed me, and it came off. I had started preparing for the IPL two months in advance and it paid off. Getting a 100 meant a lot to me. It was really a belter ... I am modest! I was in the India U-19 team in 2002 and then got an eye injury, and my career took a down turn, but it looks like things are coming together again."
Gilchrist: "Paul hit some nice shots in the first match but unfortunately got out. He showed some talent in the warm-up games .. That was an amazing innings, yeah! We were indisciplined with the ball in the end, but Chennai played really well from 0 for 2. I loved standing around and watching Paul go today! I hope to see Sanath Jayasuriya dancing, he said he will dance if we win today."
Dhoni: "You win some games, at the same time you lose some games. The important thing is to learn lessons from this defeat. After the start we got, we could not have got more runs. Our bowlers could have bowled smarter, and we should not have dropped three catches. Paul batted really well. He was at his best, a challenge was thrown at him and he was up to it. He went on till the end, which is very important - he did not leave it for others."
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