Live Cricket Score, IPL 2017, T20, Kings XI Punjab vs Rising Pune Supergiants: Ben Stokes fires fifty

INDORE: Having begun their campaign in a rousing fashion by beating the Mumbai Indians in a thriller on Thursday night at home Rising Pune Supergiant will look to keep the momentum going when they take on last year s bottom-placed team Kings XI Punjab at the MPCA Stadium here on Saturday afternoon. The only impediment for the Pune team could be fatigue as this game comes without a gap after their opener and the heat. The temperature here could reach as high as 37 degrees. In that sense the Kings XI Punjab team is better off the hosts play three matches here before they move to Mohali and have been camping here for the for the past days. Both Pune and Punjab had a poor IPL 2016 - RPS finished second last after losing nine and winning five out of their 14 games while Kings brought up the rear as they lost 10 and won four. On paper though it s Pune who hold the aces. The primary reason why the Supergiant look favourites is the presence of their new captain Steve Smith - arguably the best batsman in world cricket on current form. While Ajinkya Rahane gave a cracking start to Pune the other day with his 34-ball 60 it was the Australian skipper s magical innings a breathtaking unbeaten 84 off 60 balls including two sixes off Pollard s final two balls with helped them chase down 184 against Mumbai. While Smith and Rahane have hit their straps early Pune would be hoping that their other big guns - ex-captain MS Dhoni and all-rounder Ben Stokes - too come to the party soon. Smith would hope that his leggie Imran Tahir who put the brakes on the MI innings with three top-order wickets now leaves the KXIP batsmen in a spin. Playing two leg-spinners - Tahir and Adam Zampa - is a brave move but it seems to be working for Pune. Like Pune KXIP too have a new captain this time and he too is an Aussie. But unlike Smith Glenn Maxwell despite all his talent has much to do to prove himself. In his second innings in the game as the director of cricket operations at Kings XI Punjab Virender Sehwag has taken a huge punt by the appointing the Big Show as his skipper. All Maxwell managed in the last IPL season was 179 runs in 11 games @19.88. It would be interesting to see if the responsibility of leadership brings the best out of this ultra-attacking batsman. Kings would also miss their India opener Murali Vijay who has been replaced with pacer Ishant Sharma. The medium pacer isn t exactly T20 material but would surely be fired up after being snubbed at the auction. Besides Maxwell if there s one man who can lift this team it is batsman David Miller. The South African had a nightmarish IPL last season and would be itching to make amends. Indore: Rising Pune Supergiant would aim to build on a promising start when they take on last season s laggards Kings XI Punjab in the Indian Premier League in Indore on Saturday.Steven Smith who has replaced Mahendra Singh Dhoni as the Pune captain began the season in style by smashing an unbeaten 84 yesterday to seal a seven wicket win for his team in its IPL opener against Mumbai Indians.The Australian would be hoping his dream run with the bat rubs off on to the Pune outfit which is eyeing a turnaround after a forgettable IPL debut last season. The team had finished second last in the standings only ahead of Kings XI.Steve Smith (L) and MS Dhoni will be hoping to lead Rising Pune Supergiant to another win in Indore. AFPPune s spinners -- Imran Tahir and Adam Zampa -- impressed on Friday but Smith will be expecting more from Ashok Dinda and Deepak Chahar considering the Indian pace duo leaked runs against Mumbai.Ben Stokes the most expensive foreign buy in the IPL auction had a decent debut for Pune as he picked up a wicket before coming up with a 21-run cameo that included three sixes.Ajinkya Rahane was sublime at the top of the order while Dhoni didn t get too much to do with http://buybacklinkz.total-blog.com/the-top-5-seo-tools-recommended-by-experts-5468495 the bat. Smith stole the show courtesy a couple of sixes in the final over of the match.Pune will be up against Kings XI a team looking to make amends for finishing last in the previous two seasons.They would be hoping their bold decision of making Glenn Maxwell the captain ahead of established names like Eoin Morgan pays off.It remains to be seen what combination Kings XI goes ahead with in their IPL opener.Though they have retained their core group Kings XI bought eight players in the IPL auction including well known names like Morgan Darren Sammy Martin Guptill and Varun Aaron.The squad has been training at the Holkar Stadium for about a week now and should be well-versed with the conditions.Sources confirmed that Sammy is yet to join the team. The World Twenty20 winning West Indian captain and Morgan had recently played for Peshawar Zalmi franchise in the Pakistan Super League.The team was dealt a blow in the run up to the IPL when senior batsman Murali Vijay was ruled of the competition due to an injury. Pacer Ishant Sharma who went unsold in the auction was named Vijay s replacement.Squads:Rising Pune Supergiant: Steven Smith (captain) MS Dhoni Ajinkya Rahane Ben Stokes Faf du Plessis Usman Khawaja Manoj Tiwary Mayank Agarwal Ankit Sharma Baba Aparajith Ankush Bains Rajat Bhatia Deepak Chahar Rahul Chahar Daniel Christian Ashok Dinda Lockie Ferguson Jaskaran Singh Saurabh Kumar Milind Tandon Jaydev Unadkat Adam Zampa.Kings XI Punjab: Glenn Maxwell (captain) David Miller Manan Vohra Shaun Marsh Armaan Jaffer Martin Guptill Eoin Morgan Rinku Singh Sandeep Sharma Arman Jaffer Anureet Singh Mohit Sharma KC Cariappa Pradeep Sahu Swapnil Singh T Natrajan Matt Henry Varun Aaron Axar Patel Marcus Stoinis Gurkeerat Mann Rahul Tewatia Darren Sammy Wriddhiman Saha Nikhil Naik.#Adam zampa#Ajinkya rahane#Ashok dinda#Ben stokes#Darren sammy#Eoin morgan#Glenn maxwell#Imran tahir#Indian premier league#Ipl#Ipl 10#Ipl 2017#Ipl 2017 kxip#Ipl 2017 rps#Kings xi punjab#Mahendra singh dhoni#Martin guptill#Mumbai indians#Rising pune supergiant#Varun aaron Steve Smith and MS Dhoni combined for an unbeaten 44-run stand to take Rising Pune Supergiant over the line against Mumbai Indians in a last-over finish in their opening match of the Indian Premier League s 10th season.Smith deservedly won the man-of-the-match award for his superb unbeaten 84 off 54 balls. Along with Dhoni the Australian also shared two half-century partnerships with Ajinkya Rahane (60) and Ben Stokes (21). Needing 13 to win off the last over Smith hit two consecutive sixes off Kieron Pollard to help RPS achieve their target of 185. Dhoni was unbeaten on 12 off as many deliveries.The post-match discussion should have been about Smith s continuing rich vein of form which saw him plunder 499 runs in four Tests against India prior to the IPL albeit in a losing cause. The Australian is currently one of the best batsmen in the world across formats and RPS have a genuine match-winner as captain.Smith overshadows Dhoni However that wasn t enough. After the match ended Harsh Goenka the chairman of RPG Enterprises and brother of RPS owner Sanjiv Goenka tweeted the following: Smith proves who s the king of the jungle. Overshadows Dhoni totally. Captains innings. Great move to appoint him as captain. (sic) The tweet has since been deleted but not before it did the damage. RPS decision to appoint Smith as captain this year after a poor first IPL season in 2016 in which the Dhoni-led team finished second from bottom had not been a popular one.Dhoni is one of India s most successful captains ever. Apart from leading India to two World Cup wins he has also captained the suspended Chennai Super Kings to two IPL titles and five finals. Sacking a man with such an impressive resume was bound to come with some backlash from fans but the RPS management was still well within its rights to do so.It is highly likely that this will be Dhoni s final season at RPS. CSK owner and former BCCI President N Srinivasan has said on more than one occasion that Dhoni will mostly be back in the yellow jersey from next season. This could have been one of the reasons RPS sacked Dhoni as captain looking ahead to the future. However when a senior management figure not least the owner s brother publicly derides its own player while trying to justify its decision it comes across very poorly. Goenka should have just congratulated his team for the win and praised Smith s captain s innings . Was there really a need to say that Smith overshadows Dhoni ?Goenka isn t the only RPS figure who has publicly taken sides. In the post-match press conference Rahane was also asked to compare the captaincy of Smith and Dhoni. The India international began his response diplomatically but then went on to specify who he thought the best leader was. For me Dhoni is still the best See it s very difficult to say right now because this was my first game under Smith Rahane said. I ve played under Mahi Dhoni bhai s captaincy and we all know he is a world-class leader. I think people should not compare Smith and Dhoni s captaincy. He is still a world-class player MS Dhoni. If you saw he was giving inputs to Smith on the field . Yes Smith obviously did well for Australia but for me MS Dhoni is still the best leader. This was my first game under Smith and he s learning from Dhoni. I was watching them he was taking advice from Dhoni. He would like to take more advice from Dhoni in the coming games. For me @msdhoni is still the best leader says @ajinkyarahane88 on #MSDhoni vs #Smithy debate - @RPSupergiants #IPL pic.twitter.com/FfGgkMjNh6 IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) April 7 2017 It is not surprising that Rahane considers his compatriot Dhoni whom he has played under a lot more the better leader. But by saying so publicly he is only implying that either there are two camps in the RPS setup or that the players do not agree with the management s decision on captaincy or perhaps both. Rahane could have stopped at saying it s difficult to compare their captaincy but by stating his favourite and pointing out that Smith takes Dhoni s advice he is not doing either of them or his team any favours. Public relations and RPS don t go well together. From naming the franchise after the owner s company s initials the RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group to dropping the s from Supergiants after the team s failure last season to spending Rs 14.5 crore out of their available budget of Rs 17.5 crore on Ben Stokes an overseas player who will mostly miss the second half of the season because of international duty RPS haven t had the best of media coverage in the build-up to this season. Now with the players and management making their difference in opinion public the focus has already shifted away from on-field performances. Pune have started their season well with a fantastic win fuelled by their in-form new skipper. But these petty off-field skirmishes http://bubacklinksz.blogminds.com/article-backlinks-the-pros-and-cons-2191363 could end up derailing their campaign. NEW DELHI: Rising Pune Supergiant picked the big fish in Ben Stokes but that isn t all the side has to offer. Losing R Ashwin and Mitchell Marsh before the season are big blows but the side has made up for their absence with some thoughtful local additions. They have even made a couple of trades that they hope yields the desired results. Ben Stokes (14.5 crore) Pune snatched England allrounder Stokes for a staggering 14.5 crore making him the costliest buy in the history of IPL auctions. Stokes was the highlight of the auction having bagged a blockbuster deal from a base price of Rs 2 crore. The 25-year-old has played 77 Twenty20 matches in which he has scored 1272 runs at an average of 22.71 with five fifties and taken 32 wickets at 36.40 apiece with an economy rate of 8.60. He brings to Supergiant a strike-rate of 134.03 and most recently in India turned in a good showing in the ODI series. After that series Yuvraj Singh tipped Stokes to earn millions at the auction. (AFP Photo) Mayank Agarwal (Trade) Pune acquired Mayank Agarwal in the second trading window. Agarwal started the IPL playing for Royal Challengers Bangalore between 2011 and 2013 before he was signed by Delhi Daredevils. For them he played 21 matches spanning three seasons and scored 355 runs http://buybacklinsz.blogzet.com/what-are-backlinks-off-page-seo-1938157 at an average of 17.75. Supergiants failed to find a reliable opening partner for Ajinkya Rahane last season and finished second-bottom in the table. Agarwal s signing comes on the backdrop of his performances in the Karnataka Premier League where he finished as the leading run-getter in the tournament. He made 414 runs at an outstanding average of 103.50 to go with a strike rate of 172.50 including one century and three half-centuries. (TOI Photo) Daniel Christian (1 crore) An allrounder who can bat in the middle order and squeeze in economical overs Daniel Christian has always delivered in big match scenarios. Recently in the BBL Christian who has played 15 T20Is for Australia took 5/14 - the tournament s second best bowling figures - for Hobart Hurricanes against Adelaide Strikers. And ever http://buybacklinkz.mybjjblog.com/important-facts-about-a-backlinks-indexer-the-secrets-2474851 since http://buybacklinkwz.isblog.net/social-bookmarking-backlinks-pro-s-and-con-s-2722792 his wily medium-pace fetched him a wicket almost every two overs at all stages of the innings: inside the Powerplay middle overs or at the death. (TOI Photo) Manoj Tiwary (50 lakh) It was an anxious wait for Tiwary before being finally picked by Pune during the auction. The Bengal skipper was one among the nine cricketers from the state to be listed at the auction. In the end only Tiwary and pacer Sayan Ghosh were picked by the Supergiant and Kolkata Knight Riders respectively. He led underdogs East Zone to their maiden Syed Mushtaq Ali title. Against a star-studded North Zone Tiwary struck an unbeaten 43-ball 75 to lead East Zone to an eight-wicket win. After sharing the KKR and Delhi Daredevils dug out in the past will he find a settled home at Supergiant? (TOI Photo) Lockie Ferguson (50 lakh) Ferguson is New Zealand s newest pace bowling hope. In his only T20I Ferguson picked up three wickets against Bangladesh as New Zealand won the game by six wickets. Ferguson also claimed the prized wicket of David Warner in his very first ODI and that was when the batsman was going through a brilliant run of form notching up centuries almost every second match. At some point Ferguson he will feature in the Pune playing XI. (Getty Images) Jaydev Unadkat (30 lakh) The lanky left-armer Unadkat has been in the IPL scenario for quite a while now but inconsistency due to injury concerns have always restricted him from giving his best. His current form isn t the greatest but he has shown time and again how well he can use his domestic experience to good effect. Remember Pune s domestic bowling strength isn t the greatest. In such a scenario someone like Unadkat who is aware of the nuances of IPL will be a big factor in the bowling department. (TOI Photo) Shardul Thakur (Trade) Thakur is Pune s second trade of the season. His addition will add substance to their Indian seam bowling group which includes Ashok Dinda Deepak Chahar Ishwar Pandey Rajat Bhatia and Unadkat. Thakur was bought by Kings XI Punjab in 2014 for 20 lakh but he ended up playing just one match for them in 2015 after which he was released. Thakur overcame the disappointment by putting up a string show for Mumbai in the Ranji Trophy and even earned himself an India call-up when he was named in the squad for the West Indies tour last year. (TOI Photo) Rahul Chahar (10 lakh) Brother of Rajasthan batsman Deepak Chahar Rahul is a 17-year-old legspinner who played a vital role in India s Under-19 campaign in the Youth Cup ODIs against England. He picked up 4/33 in the third match as the Indian boys chased down England s 216-run target in 44.1 overs. Rahul s stock ball is the googly and there is a strong chance Steve Smith includes him in the Playing XI at a point considering how weak Pune s spin department is. (TOI Photo) Saurabh Kumar (10 lakh) An aggressive left-hand bat Saurabh is coming off a productive Ranji Trophy season where during a Group A ninth round match a century from him against Baroda lifted Uttar Pradesh to 481 after being reduced to 207/7. Prior to that he had scored two half-centuries - 53 against Railways and 52 against Punjab. Saurabh bowls effective left-arm spin and has two first-class five-wicket hauls. Hence his all-round skills cannot be neglected. (TOI Photo) First they changed their captain then the team s name. Rising Pune Supergiant (RPS) are all set to feature in their second season of the Indian Premier League (IPL). While the other newcomers Gujarat Lions made their mark by reaching to the business end of the tournament last year MS Dhoni s RPS could not replicate the same success in their first appearance and failed to qualify for the playoffs having finished seventh on the table. Now the captaincy has shifted from the experienced Dhoni to Australia skipper Steve Smith. Hence the former captain s role will be restricted in RPS second edition. non-etheless he still will have a big role to play. RPS bagged England all-rounder Ben Stokes for whopping Rs 14.50 crore which also made Stokes the most expensive overseas player in IPL history. He will be the one to watch out for in IPL 2017. But the biggest setback for the team has been the pull out of Ravichandran Ashwin from the entire season due to sports hernia. RPS boast of Smith Ajinkya Rahane Dhoni and Faf du Plessis and have a http://buybacklnksz.tblogz.com/what-are-internal-and-external-backlinks-1957576 more settled top six than last year. Smith s skills as captain will also come in handy as they seek a fresh start. The middle-order looks solid in the presence of Dhoni Stokes and Du Plessis. Moreover RPS also have some serious all-rounders in its squad who can turn the game around on their day. The bowling looks to be the weak spot and could lead to their downfall if the Steve Smith and Co. don t spot the right combination early. Ashok Dinda Ishwar Pandey and Shardul Thakur will have to work really hard to justify their presence in the new-look team. Squad: Steve Smith (C) Mayank Agarwal Ankit Sharma Baba Aparajith Ankush Bains Rajat Bhatia Deepak Chahar Rahul Chahar Dan Christian MS Dhoni (w) Ashok Dinda Faf du Plessis Lockie Ferguson Imran Tahir Jaskaran Singh Usman Khawaja Ajinkya Rahane Saurabh Kumar Ben Stokes Milind Tandon Manoj Tiwary Adam Zampa Jaydev Unadkat Ishwar Pandey Rahul Tripathi Shardul Thakur. Ajinkya Rahane c Rana b Southee 60 Mayank Agarwal c Sharma b McClenaghan 6 Steve Smith not out 84 Ben Stokes c Southee b Pandya 21 MS Dhoni not out 12 Extras (lb-1 w-3) 4 Total (For 3 wickets; 19.5 overs) 187 Fall of wickets: 1-35 2-93 3-143 Bowling: Southee 4-0-34-1 H Pandya 4-0-36-1 McClenaghan 4-0-36-1 Bumrah 4-0-29-0 K Pandya 2-0-21-0 Pollard 1.5-0-30-0.(This article has not been edited by DNA s editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)