RAJKOT, India, CMC – Dwayne Smith flattered to deceive while Dwayne Bravo suffered the indignity of a first ball ‘duck’, as leaders Gujarat Lions suffered a batting collapse to slide to a 23-run defeat to Kings XI Punjab in the Indian Premier League here yesterday.
Chasing 155 at the Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Lions tumbled to 131 for nine off their 20 overs to lose only their second game in eight outings this season.
Smith, with two half-centuries in his last three innings, seemed set to extend that form when he smashed a four and a six but eventually fell cheaply for 15.
Bravo, batting at number six, continued his poor form with the bat when he failed to score.
Lower order batsman James Faulkner top-scored with 32 from 27 balls while Ishan Kishan chipped in with 27 from 24 balls, but they were the only two to pass 20.
Lions slumped to 39 for five at the end of the seventh over and failed to recover despite the best efforts of Australian Faulkner and Kishan.
Smith banged the second ball of the innings from seamer Sandeep Sharma to the cover boundary and followed up by clearing the ropes at mid-wicket with the final delivery of the over.
However, he watched opener Brendon McCullum (1) and captain Suresh Raina (18) fall before following them, becoming one of three wickets to fall in the seventh over bowled by left-arm spinner Axar Patel (4-21).
He holed out to long-off off the third ball of the over, Dinesh Karthik was bowled for two off the fifth ball before Bravo was bowled by the very next delivery, after finding himself frozen on the crease.
The Trinidadian’s best score this season has been 22 not out against Rising Pune Supergiants over two weeks ago.
Earlier, Bravo claimed two for 33 from four overs of medium pace as Kings XI rallied 154 all out off 19.5 overs.
Sent in, opener captain Murali Vijay top-scored with 55 from 41 deliveries while Wriddhiman Saha chipped in with 33 and South African Miller, 31.
