Shikhar Dhawan smashed an unbeaten 95 and Amit Mishra grabbed a hat-trick as Deccan Chargers knocked Kings XI Punjab out of the Indian Premier League (IPL) with an 82-run victory.
Left-handed opener Dhawan, who hit one six and 14 fours in his 57-ball knock, put on 131 for the opening wicket with Ravi Teja (60) as Deccan made 198 for two before bowling Punjab out for 116. Leg-spinner Mishra’s hat-trick came in his third over when he removed
Ryan McLaren, Mandeep Singh and Ryan Harris to eventually finish with four for nine.
Deccan, who finished with six wins in 14 matches, were already out of contention while Punjab needed a victory in their last match to keep their hopes alive.
Warne gets a winning send-off
Australian leg-spin wizard Shane Warne could not have asked for a better farewell to professional cricket
after he led Rajasthan Royals to a 10-wicket win over Mumbai Indians in his last IPL match.
Rajasthan, already out of the race for the knockouts, cherished Shane Watson’s all-round show where he took three wickets for 19 runs and scored 89 runs with the bat to achieve a 134-run target.
Mumbai, with eight wins in 13 matches in the current IPL season, now need to win their last game to make sure that they reach the knock-out stages.
Skipper Tendulkar, the world’s leading run-getter in both Test and one-day cricket, was the first to pay tribute to the Australian great.
“Warne is a true champion, a wonderful friend,” said the Indian legend Tendulkar. “Congrats to him for a wonderful career. I have n0t been privileged to play with him in the same team, but it has been a real treat to play against him.”
Published in The Express Tribune, May 22nd, 2011.
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