Images from Monday's match between Kings XI Punjab and Sunrisers Hyderabad, in Mohali.
Fluent half-centuries from K L Rahul and Mayank Agarwal guided Kings XI Punjab to a six-wicket victory over Sunrisers Hyderabad in the Indian Premier League match in Mohali on Monday.
Opting to field, Kings XI first restricted Sunrisers to 150 for four and then rode on Rahul and Agarwal's knocks to chase down the target in 19.5 overs.
Chasing 151 for a victory, Kings XI lost the dangerous Chris Gayle (16) in the fourth over, with the scoreboard reading 18. The West Indies batsman struck a four and a six each before Deepak Hooda caught him brilliantly at the long-on boundary off Rashid Khan's (1/20) bowling.
Rahul and Agarwal then complemented each other brilliantly, mixing caution with aggression to literally take the game away from Sunrisers. Rahul (71 not out) and Agarwal (55) stitched 114 runs off 84 balls for the second wicket to take Kings XI close to the target.
While Rahul was the enforcer, Agarwal matched his Karnataka teammate with his timing and on the rise shots that included a delectable boundary through the covers and a lofted six over the long-off boundary.
Rahul reached his half century off 34 balls with a boundary off Mohammad Nabi through the wide long-on region.
Desperate to break the partnership, skipper Bhuvneshwar Kumar brought him back into the attack in the 16th over and nearly achieved his goal, only for Yusuf Pathan to drop a sitter.
A short delivery outside the off-stump enticed Agarwal to go for an upper cut, which didn't yield the desired connection and elevation, but Pathan dropped a sitter at sweeper cover.
Sandeep Sharma (2/21) picked up two wickets -- Agarwal and David Miller -- in the 18th over to change the complexion of the match. Agarwal departed soon after reaching his fifty while going for a big shot, caught by Vijay Shankar at deep mid-wicket off Sandeep Sharma, and four balls later Miller too was dismissed by the pacer as the left-hander went for an expansive shot.
It was a stroll in the park for Kings XI when Rahul and Agarwal were going great guns but the scenario changed completely, courtesy the two quick wickets.
Kings XI needed 16 runs off the last two overs and the pressure got the better of new-man Mandeep Singh, who was caught by Hooda off Siddharth Kaul's brilliant penultimate over that yielded just five runs.
The pressure shifted to Kings XI in no time as they needed 11 runs off the last over off Nabi, but Sam Curran (5 not out) and Rahul played sensibly to take the team home with a ball to spare.
Earlier, David Warner struck his fourth fifty of the season before Deepak Hooda played a cameo in the final over to enable Sunrisers post a challenging 150 for four.
Opening the batting, Warner carried his bat through for an uncharacteristic 70 not out off 62 balls to anchor Sunrisers's innings, but it was Hooda's unbeaten 14 off three deliveries that provided the late thrust to the visitors' innings.
Warner struck six boundaries and a six during his knock, but it was Hooda who stole the limelight, smashing Mohammed Shami for two fours and one hit over the fence to pick up vital 15 runs off the last over.
Sunrisers suffered an early blow in the form of Jonny Bairstow (1) after being sent into bat.
Bairstow failed to control a flick off Mujeeb-Ur Rahman's (1/34) bowling and Kings XI skipper Ravichandran Ashwin took a smart catch at short mid-wicket in the second over.
The early dismissal, together with some disciplined bowling from Kings XI, made life difficult for Sunrisers batsmen as Warner and new man in Vijay Shankar (26) found the going tough.
The duo failed to strike big and stitched 49 runs for the second wicket off 57 balls to stabilise the Sunrisers innings.
But just when it was time to cut loose after a slow start, Shankar edged an Ashwin (1/30) delivery to K L Rahul behind the stumps as Sunrisers slumped to 56 for two after 10.4 overs.
Promoted up the order, Mohammad Nabi (12) fell victim to an unfortunate run out after adding just 24 runs with Warner.
Warner was not in his element; he struggled to his fifty off 49 balls, with the help of four boundaries and a six.
Warner and Manish Pandey (19) then added 55 runs for the fourth wicket to take Sunrisers forward before Hooda finished off the innings in style to give the Sunrisers's bowlers a total to defend.
