IPL 2021: Kevin Pietersen talks about ‘dark horses’ who can beat Mumbai Indians for title

Former England cricketer Kevin Pietersen believes that KL Rahul-led Punjab Kings can win the Indian Premier League (IPL) title this year. The 40-year-old told Betway that he feels Punjab Kings might be the “dark horses” this year, who will defeat five-time champions Mumbai Indians. The former Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) skipper hailed Punjab Kings for showing a decent form last year, at least in the second half of the season. Pietersen particularly mentioned Chris Gayle and KL Rahul, adding they were impressive last year and might do some magic this season as well. 

Australian pacer Jhye Richardson, who was bought by Punjab Kings for Rs. 14 crores during February’s mini-auction, also got a shout-out from Pietersen, who said the franchise has spent a lot of money on him hoping to get results. Pietersen said that Mumbai Indians will always be the favourites because they have won four titles in the last five years, before adding that he is very interested in seeing how Punjab Kings fare in the tournament this year. 

Punjab Kings vs Rajasthan Royals

Punjab Kings, who played their first game of the season last night against Rajasthan Royals, won the match by four runs. Punjab Kings skipper KL Rahul scored an amazing 91 off just 5o balls, while Universe Boss Chris Gayle scored 40 off 28. Deepak Hooda came in and smashed 28-ball 64 runs at a strike rate of more than 228. This after Rajasthan Royals had won the toss and elected to field first in the fourth match of the tournament. 

On the other hand, Rajasthan skipper Sanju Samson was mind-boggling with the bat as he became the first player in IPL history to score a century on debut as a captain. Sanju hit 63-ball 119 runs in the match and with the help of a few cameos here and there, he managed to get Rajasthan so close to the mammoth total. However, Rajasthan lost the game by just four runs as Samson was dismissed on the last ball while trying to hit a boundary off Arshdeep Singh.

(Image Credit: PTI)