Patel and Miller fire Kings XI to victory

aksharpatel

Chasing 175 to win, the IPL side needed almost nine runs per over to secure victory in their opening match of the tournament but they still edged home with two balls to spare thanks to some late hitting from Patel (23 not out) and David Miller (46 not out).

After decent contributions from all of the top order, the pair came together in the 17th over with the score 131-6, and they needed 44 to win the match with only 21 deliveries remaining.

As Ravi Rampaul began the penultimate over they still required 25 but Patel struck 19 and Miller one to make their task much easier.

The honour of securing victory fell to Miller as he launched a full delivery from Jason Holder (0-38) over long-off for a huge six as they finished on 178-6.

Barbados looked to have set a challenging target after Dilshan Munaweera (50) and Raymon Reifer (60 not out) had given them an excellent start.

The latter batted until the end and struck four sixes and three fours from his 42 deliveries, while being ably assisted by Jonathan Carter (20) and Holder (12).

However, the Tridents lost wickets at regular intervals to hinder their progress, with Parvinder Awana topping the bowling figures for Kings XI with 3-46.

Virender Sehwag (31) and Manan Vohra (27) gave Kings XI the perfect start in reply with an opening stand of 41 and although they lost Glenn Maxwell (16) cheaply, Miller arrived at the crease to anchor the innings.

After Sehwag departed, the South African began to score well alongside George Bailey (7). The captain struggled before eventually being dismissed cheaply by Jeevan Mendis (2-18).

Thisara Perera fell for a duck four balls later but that brought Patel to the crease.

Together, Patel and Miller sent shots to all parts of the ground, with Patel striking a huge six off Rampaul in the final delivery of the penultimate over before the pair completed their decisive late effort.

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