Mohali, April 21 (IANS) An unbeaten 128-run stand off 79 balls between Mandeep Singh and David Miller helped Kings XI Punjab beat Pune Warriors India seven wickets in an Indian Premier League (IPL) match at the Punjab Cricket Association (PCA) Stadium here Sunday.
Put into bat, Pune Warriors scored a mammoth 185 for four in their allotted overs. Kings XI overhauled their opponents’ score in 19.5 overs scoring 186 for three.
Mandeep (77 not out) and Miller (80 not out) were the stars of the show as this victory took the hosts to fifth in the IPL standings.
Pune with just two victories languish in eighth place tied on points with defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders.
Aaron Finch top scored for the Warriors with 65 off 42 balls and received ample support from Robin Uthappa (37), Yuvraj Singh (34) and Luke Wright (34).
Earlier, Finch and Uthappa got Pune off to a rollicking start with an 83-run partnership in just 63 balls. Yuvraj and Finch then kept the scoreboard ticking with some lusty blows.
Yuvraj, who has missed a couple of games for the Warriors, looked very dangerous. In his brief innings, he hit two fours and three towering sixes.
Finch once again in sublime touch he muscled the Kings XI bowlers at will and hit eight fours and two sixes.
Wright playing his first match this season smashed six fours, which included four consecutive boundaries, and a six as he scored 34 off just 10 balls.
In reply, Punjab got off to the worst possible start. They lost captain Adam Gilchrist (4) and Azhar Mahmood (0) off successive overs with just five runs on the board.
Manan Vohra (22) came in and played a few shots but was castled by Yuvraj Singh as he went for a might heave.
Mandeep and David Miller then kept Punjab in the game with some great batting. The duo kept getting boundaries at regular intervals and were given a helping hand by the Pune fielders, who were abysmal in the field.
Requiring 17 off the last over Punjab reached completed the chase with a ball to spare.
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