Amla continues red-hot form

Rajkot, Kings XI Punjab produced an all-round performance to arrest their slide, beating Gujarat Lions by 26 runs in a one-sided IPL encounter.
Courtesy Hashim Amla’s 61 and Axar Patel’s 34, Kings XI Punjab notched up 188/7 after being invited to bat. Kings’ bowling attack then restricted Lions to 162/7 to win the match after losing four games on the trot.
Brendon McCullum missed an incoming full-toss from Sandeep Sharma to be adjudged LBW. Skipper Suresh Raina (32) and Aaron Finch (13) added 40 runs at a brisk pace but Mohit Sharma bowled a fullish delivery outside the off-stump and Finch’s drive was neatly taken by Marcus Stoinis.
Maxwell turned it around
Skipper Glenn Maxwell changed the complexion of the game with a brilliant catch at the deep mid-wicket boundary to get rid of Raina. The pitch showed signs of being two-paced and KC Cariappa got Ravindra Jadeja to play early and grabbed a return catch.
The big-hitting Dwayne Smith (4) also got out cheaply, becoming Axar’s second victim of the match. Cariappa then trapped Akshdeep Nath (0) in front of the wicket to make matters worse as Dinesh Karthik waged a lone battle.
Earlier, Amla hit 65 off 40 balls to set the platform while Axar’s 34 enabled Kings to reach a fighting total. Shaun Marsh (30) and Maxwell (31) also made useful contributions. Amla hit rookie leg-spinner Shivam Agarwal for two boundaries — a cover drive and a late cut. The South Africa batsman launched a furious assault on Andrew Tye, hitting him for two boundaries and a six over long-on. Amla put on 70 runs for the second wicket with Marsh while another 47 runs were added with skipper Maxwell.
For Lions, Tye (2/35) and Jadeja (1/32) were the best bowlers of the day.