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Pune: James Faulkner scored 46 off 45 balls and picked up 3/26 to give Rajasthan Royals a 26-run win over Kings XI Punjab in Pune on Friday.
Faulkner insured that result by the fifth over of the chase when he dismissed Glenn Maxwell for 7.
Tim Southee was at the other side of that wicket, falling low to his left to convert a touch chance. He bettered that in the 19th over with a hokey-pokey catch, featuring spectacular assistance from Karun Nair.
To chase 163, Virender Sehwag was handed a golden duck to Southee. Samson produced another gem when he ran Wriddhiman Saha out after the batsman had lazily strolled out of his crease in search of a sneaky leg-bye. A second direct hit from Samson would catch M Vijay, whose 37 was Kings XI's top score, short and leave the score at 64 for 4 in the ninth over.
Earlier, the Kings XI new ball bowlers were a menace. Sandeep Sharma beat Ajinkya Rahane four times in the first over and was as much a part of the batsman's downfall in the next over as Anureet Singh who induced the unnecessary slog. The batsmen would be defeated eight more times by the moving ball and the score would read a docile 35 for 3 at the end of the Powerplay.
Then came Johnson. There were no snarls, no verbals, but the theatre was magnificent. Nine balls he unleashed that touched no part of the bat, and the first time contact was made resulted in the wicket. And not just any old scalp, this was Steven Smith. This was bragging rights over the future Australia captain. Johnson first two overs yielded only eight runs, and only three times did a batsman make contact and survive.
Earlier, Kings XI Punjab have won the toss and invites Rajasthan Royals to bat.
Glenn Maxwell, David Miller, George Bailey and Mitchell Johnson are the four overseas players KXIP.
Royals captain Shane Watson is injured and Steven Smith lead the team, while James Faulkner, Chris Morris and Tim Southee other overseas players.
Teams
Punjab: Virender Sehwag, Murali Vijay, Glenn Maxwell, David Miller, George Bailey (capt), Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Mitchell Johnson, Axar Patel, Anureet Singh, Sandeep Sharma, Karanveer Singh
Rajasthan: Ajinkya Rahane, Sanju Samson (wk), Steven Smith (capt), Karun Nair, Deepak Hooda, Stuart Binny, James Faulkner, Chris Morris, Tim Southee, Dhawal Kulkarni, Pravin Tambe
Brief scores
Rajasthan Royals - 162 for 7 (Faulkner 46, Anureet 3-23)
Kings XI Punjab - 136 for 8 (Vijay 37, Faulkner 3-26)
Result - Rajasthan Royals won by 26 runs
Points - Rajasthan Royals 2, Kings XI Punjab 0
MOM - James Faulkner (Rajasthan Royals)
