Man of the Match Michael Lumb hit a magnificent 83

Jaipur: Michael Lumb butchered the Kings XI bowlers with a whirlwind 43-ball 83 as the Rajasthan Royals spanked their opponents by nine wickets in their Indian Premier League match here Wednesday.

Lumb blasted as many as 16 boundaries and two sixes and amassed 109 off 57 balls with opener Naman Ojha (44 off 37 balls) to help the Royals overhaul the target with five overs to spare and inch closer to booking their semi-final berth.

Earlier, Mahela Jayawardene top-scored with a 33-ball 44 and Yuvraj Singh hit a 28-run cameo but the Kings XI lost momentum and could manage only 27 runs losing two wickets in the last five overs to score a modest 153.

Lumb was at his attacking best as the English cricketer tore apart the Kings XI bowling and plundered fours and sixes at will to single-handedly take the Royals to the fastest IPL III fifty in 3.5 overs.

Sreesanth was in his firing line in the first over when Lumb slammed two fours off him before picking up four more boundaries spread over the next two overs off Ramesh Powar and Sreesanth.

But it was the fourth over when Lumb went completely berserk and plundered Juan Theron for three boundaries and a six to pick up 20 runs as the Rajasthan side reached 55 for no loss in 4 overs.

Silent all this time, Naman Ojha then got into the act and clubbed a couple of fours off Powar. Lumb picked up another four off Piyush Chawla in the next over and then picked up a single to complete his well-deserved fifty in 28 balls.

Ravi Bopara finally brought an end to his innings when looking for a shot over mid-wicket, Lumb ended up giving a catch to Chawla.

However, Ojha and Yusuf Pathan (21 not out) made sure there were no more hiccups and forged a 33-ball 48-run stand to romp home in quick time.

Earlier, Jayawardene plundered six boundaries and one six, while Yuvraj Singh blasted three sixes and one four to set the tone but Kings XI kept losing wickets and couldn’t accelerate in the end.

Manvinder Bisla (20) gave Punjab a somewhat good start, slamming a couple of fours off Aditya Dole, before welcoming Shane Watson with two more boundaries over point and mid-on. (PTI)