Top quality spin bowling from the two Ashwins helped Kings XI Punjab take control in the middle overs, paving the way for their 12 run victory against the Rajasthan Royals in the IPL game in Mohali on Tuesday, April 16, evening.
After steering Punjab to a healthy 182/6 courtesy of his late cameo of 17 from 4 balls -- including 2 sixes in the final over -- Ravichandran Ashwin wove his old magic with the ball.
The Kings XI Punjab skipper bowling in tandem with namesake Murugan Ashwin, a leg-spinner, put the brakes on Rajasthan's innings in the middle overs with some disciplined bowling.
It paid off when Sanju Samson (27) succumbed to the pressure, was beaten by the carrom ball which went straight on to bowl him.
Rajasthan's move to send Ajinkya Rahane at No 4 added to their woes as the captain could not get going and only ramped up the asking rate.
Rahul Tripathi, who was in his 40s, failed to get the boundaries against the spinners before he became Ashwin's second victim.
M Ashwin then dismissed the dangerous Ashton Turner for a duck in his final over to put the game out of Rajasthan's reach.
The Ashwins had near identical figures: R Ashwin taking 2/24 while M Ashwin claimed 1/24.
