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Preity Zinta was again the cynosure of all eyes as she egged on her team, Kings XI Punjab, in Monday’s Indian Premier League match against Royal Challengers Bangalore in Dubai.
Her lusty cheering went a long way in the Kings players keeping their cool in crunch situations as they emerged triumphant in a tight match by five wickets and registered fifth successive victory in the cash-rich Twenty20 tournament.
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Chasing a modest 125, the Punjab outfit won the low-scoring game at the Dubai International Stadium with seven balls to spare and maintained their unbeaten run.
As in the previous matches, Priety, clad in all-white, was up on her feet, arms raised and shouting hoarse to celebrate a dismissal or every four and six hit by her team.
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The Bollywood starlet, though, also went through several anxious moments during the run-chase.
Like when Glenn Maxwell, the man in red-hot form, and Virender Sehwag were out.
Sehwag was adjudged caught behind after he had raced to a 26-ball 32, inclusive of four boundaries, though television replays suggested there was no outside edge.
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Sehwag and David Miller had put on 45 runs for the fourth wicket, the biggest stand of the match, to put the Kings on track, before young leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal struck twice in the 13th over to raise Royal Challengers Bangalore’s hopes of ending their losing run.
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When Sehwag followed Miller back to the pavilion in the space of five deliveries, the Kings were precariously placed at 88 for 5.
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In the end, however, while Royal Challengers’ bossman Vijay Mallya sat glum in his seat, it was Priety who had the last laugh as her skipper, George Bailey, and Rishi Dhawan hit up the remaining runs without much fuss.
Bailey remained not out on 16 while Dhawan was unbeaten on 23.