Gujarat Lions batsman Dwayne Smith plays a shot during the 2017 Indian Premier League (IPL) Twenty20 cricket match between Kings XI Punjab and Gujarat Lions at The Punjab Cricket Association Stadium in Mohali. Pic/AFP
Dwayne Smith struck a whirlwind 74 as Gujarat Lions defeated Kings XI Punjab by six wickets in an Indian Premier League game, here today.
Sent into bat, Hashim Amla played a brilliant knock to notch up his second century of the ongoing IPL and power Kings XI Punjab to a challenging 189 for three.
Amla, thus, became the second batsman after Virat Kohli to register two centuries in a single IPL season.
Kings XI Punjab batsman Hashim Amla raises his bat after he completes his century. Pic/AFP
Amla made 104 off just 60 balls with the help of eight fours and five huge hits over the fence to take Kings XI forward.
He was ably supported by Shaun Marsh (58 off 43 balls) as the duo shared 125 runs for the second wicket to set the platform for the total.
Later, Smith turned out to be the architect of the victory for Gujarat with a whirlwind 74 off just 39 deliveries to get Gujarat off to a flier while chasing a challenging 190 for win.
Smith struck eight boundaries and four huge hits over the fence during his explosive knock.
Chasing the target, Gujarat rode on Smith’s brisk batting to race to 91 for no loss inside 10 overs.
Smith was at his attacking best as he dealt mostly in boundaries and sixes.
Together with Ishan Kishan (29 off 24 balls), Smith shared 91 runs for the opening partnership to lay the foundation for the chase.
Dinesh Karthik (35 not out off 23 balls) played a short cameo towards the end as Gujarat Lions reached 192 for four in 19.4 over in their pursuit of 190.