Ankit Rajpoot, a right-arm fast bowler for Kings XI Punjab, created history in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2018 season by registering a remarkable spell of 5 wickets against Sunrisers Hyderabad. This performance by the then 24-year-old pacer was crucial in giving Kings XI Punjab a fighting chance in the match, played on 26th April 26 2018, at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad.
After winning the toss, Kings XI Punjab elected to field first and they restricted the Sunrisers Hyderabad to a very gettable score of 132/6 in their allotted 20 overs. And they managed this because of Ankit Rajpoot’s fiery spell which saw them pegging the SRH total back due to early and then regular wickets.
Ankit Rajpoot 5-fer in IPL 2018
The young and promising Indian fast bowler opened opened the bowling attack for Kings XI Punjab. He bowled a brilliant first over, dismissing Sunrisers’ opener and captain Kane Williamson for a duck on just the fourth ball of the innings. Rajpoot continued to apply pressure on the Sunrisers batsmen with accurate and well-directed deliveries, taking the wicket of Shikhar Dhawan in his second over.
In his third over, Rajpoot dismissed Sunrisers’ wicket-keeper Wriddhiman Saha, reducing SRH to 27/3 within the first 5 overs itself. From there, Bangladesh’s Shakib al Hasan and India’s Manish Pandey put up a brilliant partnership in the context of the game, adding 52 runs for the fourth wicket. Shakib was dismissed for 28 and Pandey only fell by the wayside when Rajpoot returned to bowl the 20th over.
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After a great start to his spell, Rajpoot returned to bowl the final over and he picked up the crucial wicket of Pandey on the fourth ball, after top-scoring with 54 for SRH in Match 25 of IPL 2018. Mohammad Nabi hit a boundary on his first ball and then was dismissed on the last ball of the innings; Rajpoot had taken his fifth wicket, becoming the second Kings XI Punjab bowler to claim a 5-wicket haul in IPL history.
Rajpoot’s spell of 5/14 was remarkable for several reasons. Firstly, it came against a strong Sunrisers Hyderabad batting line-up, which included some of the best batsmen in the IPL. Secondly, his accuracy and ability to move the ball in the air made it difficult for the batsmen to score runs. Thirdly, Rajpoot maintained his composure and didn’t allow the pressure of the situation to affect his performance.
REPORT & HIGHLIGHTS: Ankit Rajpoot's stunning 5-14 in vain as @lionsdenkxip crumble to a 13-run defeat to @SunRisers and their high-quality bowling attack in #VivoIPL. https://t.co/kMNn0Rj72Q #OrangeArmy #KXIP #SRHvKXIP pic.twitter.com/QkygOgC3z0
— Sky Sports Cricket (@SkyCricket) April 27, 2018
Unfortunately, despite Rajpoot’s heroics, Kings XI Punjab could not defend their total and lost the game by 13 runs. KL Rahul top scored with 32 runs for Punjab but they crumbled away for 119, with Sunrisers once again proving they had the best bowling attack in the IPL at the time. Rashid Khan worked his magic and spun a web around the KXIP batsmen, ending with 3/19 in his 4 overs.
Rajpoot’s spell of 5/14 was one of the best bowling performances of the season, and he was given the MOM award on the day too. However, he only managed 6 wickets in the 7 other games he played that season, ending with 11 scalps from 8 games in IPL 2018. It was a great spell of bowling on the day to enter the IPL 5-fers list but since then, Rajpoot hasn’t been able to recreate the magic in the Indian Premier League.
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