(CRICINFO) – The man with the most runs for Kings XI Punjab had been on the bench for their first four games of the season, but brought in because regular captain George Bailey had a shoulder injury. Shaun Marsh played two crucial innings to give Kings XI their second win. 

He first made 64 off 40, the highest score in a chase of 192, as Kings XI levelled the scores with Axar Patel’s last-ball four.
Marsh then watched David Miller depart off the first ball of the Super Over and went on to hit Chris Morris for three successive fours, before Rajasthan Royals lost both their wickets halfway into Mitchell Johnson’s over, which ended their five-match winning streak.
Shane Watson was bowled first ball by a yorker and James Faulkner, pondering a bye, was run-out by Wriddhiman Saha.
Earlier, the chase had been slipping away from Kings XI as they were reduced to 59 for 3 in the ninth over when Glenn Maxwell top-edged a slog off leg-spinner Rahul Tewatia.
But Marsh and Miller kept their side alive as they put on 58 off 35 and while Miller took his time to get going, Marsh kept the runs coming in his usual flowing manner, timing boundaries on both sides of the wicket and straight down the ground.
Still, the asking-rate continued to climb steadily, and after Marsh top-edged a slog off Pravin Tambe, Kings XI needed 72 off the last five overs. Saha arrived and played a vital hand, swinging and pulling four fours in the eight balls he lasted.
Miller had found his range just before Marsh departed, and was now effortlessly launching sixes over deep midwicket. When he eventually failed to clear the off side boundary and fell for 54 off 30, 25 were required off 12.
Johnson and Axar brought it down to 14 from the final over, and ran four twos and a single off the first five balls from James Faulkner before Axar sliced the last one to the deep point rope to take it to the Super Over.
That they would be part of such a tight finish would not have been remotely on the Royals players’ minds after the total they put up.
Asked to bat by stand-in Kings XI captain Virender Sehwag, Ajinkya Rahane and Watson came within five runs of making it successive century-opening partnerships.
Rahane was troubled initially by the swing the Kings XI bowlers generated, but he responded with some stinging shots through the covers and Watson took his time and was on 14 off 23 at one stage before he sprung into action, hitting his next six deliveries for four fours and two sixes to end on 45 off 35.
Steven Smith and Faulkner managed a run between them but Royals’ young Indian batsmen contributed swift cameos with Stuart Binny ending the innings with a four and a six off Anureet Singh but Marsh’s twin innings would overcome them.

By Abhishek Purohit