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11-Apr-2016 18:11:00 GMT
KXIP v GL, IPL 2016, Mohali

Finch Fifty lifts Lions to Winning Start

Chandigarh: Aaron  Finch's timely fifty helps Gujarat Lions (GL) beat Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) by five wickets in Indian Premier League (IPL) 2016, Match 3 at Mohali on Monday.

Fich scored a 47-ball 74 before he was stumped by Wriddhiman Saha off the bowling of leg spinner Pardeep Sahu in the 12th over of the innings.

The damage was however done by then and GL got home without much trouble.

GL however did not get off to the best of starts. Brendon McCullum, who was playing his first match since announcing international retirement was dismissed for a 2-ball duck, getting stumped off the bowling of Sandeep Sharma in the first over of the innings.

Raina and Finch then brought some stability to the innings, with their quick-fire 51-run stand for the second wicket. Raina was foxed by an excellent slower delivery by Marcus Stoinis and he holed out in the deep after failing to pick the ball.

Dinesh Karthik and Finch put up 55 more for the third wicket and soon, GL needed just run-a-ball to win the match.

After Finch's dismissal, things slowed down a little bit, but some excellent run out at the non-striker's end sent Ravindra Jadeja back to the hut. Karthik and Ishan Kishan then upped the ante a bit, but Kishan played a rash shot and was dismissed for 11.

Karthik showed his class and experience ensuring that he stayed at the crease right till the end to guide his side home.

Earlier, Openers Murali Vijay (42) and Manan Vohra (38) played brilliant knocks, adding 78 runs for the first wicket, to guide Kings XI Punjab to 161/6.

Dwayne Bravo's 4 for 22 had restricted KXIP to 161 for 6 in their 20 overs. Ravindra Jadeja (2/30) were the pick of the bowlers as the duo shared six wickets together to restrict the opposition, who were going great at one point of time.

Wriddhiman Saha (20) and Marcus Stoinis (33) stitched a crucial 55-run stand for the fifth wicket towards the end to take his team to a fighting total after suffering a mid-innings collapse.

KXIP will be disappointed with their effort as they would have felt that they fell at least 15-20 runs short. Ravindra Jadeja too chipped in with a couple of wickets, with Murali Vijay top-scoring for the hosts with 42.

This is their first match in IPL history after they were drafted as one of the two new teams in the IPL. The other team were Rising Pune Supergiants, who opened their account with a win over defending champions Mumbai Indians in the first match of the tournament.

KXIP missed Shaun Marsh for this game as he was admitted to a local hospital with food poisoning. GL will be happy to have restricted KXIP to this total as they were staring at a total of around 180 at one stage.

Brief scores
Kings XI Punjab -
161 for 6 (Vijay 42, Vohra 38, Stoinis 33, Bravo 4-22, Jadeja 2-30)
Gujarat Lions - 162 for 5 (Finch 74, Karthik 41*)
Result - Gujarat Lions won by 5 wickets


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