Despite a first-ball duck against Barbados Tridents in Mohali on Saturday (September 20), Thisara Perera has probably sealed his place in the Kings XI Punjab starting XI for the rest of the Oppo Champions League Twenty20 2014, with his bowling proving the key in Punjab restricting Barbados to a manageable 174 for 6 after they threatened to cross 200. It only made Punjab’s chase that much easier as they secured a four-wicket victory with just two balls to spare in a Group B game.
Perera has been plying his trade as a Twenty20 specialist for different teams spread across the length and breadth of India over the years. He started with Chennai Super Kings, then went to Kochi Tuskers Kerala, Mumbai Indians and Sunrisers Hyderabad, before being bought in this year’s Indian Premier League auction by Punjab. The one connect has been the fact that he hasn’t pinned down a permanent place in any of the sides, which has meant he hasn’t been able to deliver consistent performances.
While Perera’s 2 for 15 from three overs, following his Man of the Match award-winning performance against Hobart Hurricanes, stemmed the flow of runs at a vital stage, Virender Sehwag and Manan Vohra helped Punjab hit the road running with a 41-run opening stand in just 3.4 overs.
After Vohra’s dismissal for an 18-ball 27 in which he was dropped twice, Sehwag’s attacking instincts took over, as he first disdainfully whipped James Franklin for six over midwicket in the sixth over and then, next over, slapped Rayad Emrit over cover for four. Within minutes, the body language of the Barbados players looked flat with Punjab’s total at 68 for 1 off seven overs.
Wriddhiman Saha, coming back from a finger injury, once again wasted an opportunity to play himself in and enjoy the Sehwag show, but his dismissal only seemed to speed up Punjab’s march to victory as Glenn Maxwell came out all guns blazing, like he usually does. But a double strike in two overs put Punjab on shaky ground.
Maxwell holed out to fine leg for 16 and Sehwag’s attempted paddle resulted in him being adjudged lbw for 31. When George Bailey’s attempt at clearing deep midwicket proved futile, as did Perera’s mow over cow corner, Punjab were up against it, needing 44 off 21 balls.
But what should have been an inspired burst for Barbados from there on turned cold as David Miller, who missed out in the previous game, took charge. Batting like there’s no negative bone in his body, he brought the target down without a fuss. Wielding the long handle in the manner that was straight out of the MS Dhoni School of Batting, he made it 25 off the last two overs.
Miller’s positivity rubbed off on Axar Patel, who smashed Ravi Rampaul for three boundaries and a six to turn the tide in Punjab’s favour. Miller finished 46 not out, while Axar made 23.
“It was a lot closer than it looked like in the end. We were in a bit of trouble after Bailey got out, but credit to Axar for the way he smashed it around today,” said Miller, who won the Man of the Match award, after the game. “After the way I got out in the previous game, I was a little twitchy initially. I wanted to spend a bit of time before going for it, and luckily it all came together for us once again.”
Emrit, the Barbados captain, rued the meltdown towards the end of both their batting and bowling efforts. “Nine times out of ten, a senior bowler like Ravi would’ve come good at the death, but today was one of those unfortunate nights where it didn’t, but you have to take it in your stride,” he said. “We also lost a bit of momentum in the middle. We should have got 200-plus, bit having said that, our bowling looked ordinary tonight. We have to pull our socks up quickly.”
But though they lost, it wasn’t all doom and gloom for the men from the Caribbean, with Dilshan Munaweera’s compulsive hitting fetching him a 26-ball 50 – it was one of the many bright sparks in their batting effort.
Munaweera, who has a highest T20I score of 17 from four outings, batted like a seasoned veteran, helping Barbados score 54 from the first five overs to unsettle Punjab. Some of his strokes bordered on over-confidence, but just when it looked like nothing could stop him on the night, Vohra, who had dropped him on 44, caught his man off Parvinder Awana when an attempted flick went to midwicket.
But Raymon Reifer, sturdy and stylish, kept the innings chugging along despite the odd speed breaker to eke out an unbeaten 42-ball 60. That Barbados finished at least 30 short of what they should have was courtesy Perera, who came in to bowl in the 12th over with Barbados on 100 for 2. In the context of the game where the highest individual score for the winning side was 46, Perera’s figures were absolute gold.
