England’s Liam Livingstone took this IPL’s sixes count to over 1000 in his unbeaten 49 as Punjab Kings thrashed Sunrisers Hyderabad by five wickets in the last league match on Sunday.
With all the four play-offs berths booked before the match, both the teams played for pride and Punjab came out on top to take sixth spot in the 10-team table.
Chasing 158 for victory, Punjab rode on Livingstone’s 22-ball knock laced with five sixes to achieve their target in 15.1 overs at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium.
Livingstone, who became the most expensive overseas player in the IPL auction when Punjab bought the batting all-rounder for $1.52 million, survived two dropped catches on six and 25 to take the team home.
He smashed Romario Shepherd for a hit over the wide long-off region for the 1000th six of this edition and smashed one more in the over.
“I felt like I was hitting the ball well throughout the tournament,” Livingstone said after his blitz.
“The way we played today was perfect – attacking as well as being smart.”
Livingstone, an attacking batsman who can bowl off and leg spin, amassed 437 runs in 14 matches at a strike rate of 182.
Hyderabad speedster Umran Malik clocked speeds of over 150 km/h and returned figures of 1-24 on a day he got his India call up for the upcoming Twenty20 internationals against South Africa.
One of Malik’s rising deliveries caught skipper Mayank Agarwal on the ribs with the batsman taking a while to return to the crease but soon got out for one.
Monday remains a rest day before the play-offs kick off with the first qualifier between table-toppers Gujarat Titans and second-placed Rajasthan Royals on Tuesday in Kolkata.
Lucknow Super Giants, one of the two new teams alongside Gujarat in this year’s expanded 10-team IPL, will play Royal Challengers Bangalore in the eliminator on Wednesday.
The final will be played on May 29 at the world’s biggest cricket stadium in Ahmedabad.
| Team | Pld | Won | Lost | Net RR | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Q | GT | 14 | 10 | 4 | 0.316 | 20 |
| Q | RR | 14 | 9 | 5 | 0.298 | 18 |
| Q | LSG | 14 | 9 | 5 | 0.251 | 18 |
| Q | RCB | 14 | 8 | 6 | -0.253 | 16 |
| 5 | DC | 14 | 7 | 7 | 0.204 | 14 |
| 6 | PBKS | 14 | 7 | 7 | 0.126 | 14 |
| 7 | KKR | 14 | 6 | 8 | 0.146 | 12 |
| 8 | SRH | 14 | 6 | 8 | -0.379 | 12 |
| 9 | CSK | 14 | 4 | 10 | -0.203 | 8 |
| 10 | MI | 14 | 4 | 10 | -0.506 | 8 |
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