Punjab Kings XI overpower KKR in a thriller

Port Elizabeth, May 03: Punjab Kings XI clinched a thriller of a match with Mahela Jayawardene providing the firepower with his brilliant fifty.

Punjab outfit won with Irfan Pathan scoring the winning run off the last ball of the match. Things could not have been more thrilling for either of the squads that left the Kolkata Knight Riders vanquishing at the end yet again.

At the beginning of the innings, Simon Katich and Sunny Sohal had played cautiously but fell cheaply as skipper Yuvraj Singh did battle it out on the turf with the Kings XI total reading 81 for the loss of three at the end of 10 overs, but failed to capitalise. Punjab Kings XI had started off their campaign on the wrong foot, losing Sangakkara for a duck in the first over itself but the batsmen held their nerve at the death overs.

It was Brad Hodge’s day as he sculptured his second IPL fifty and took Kolkata Knight Riders tally to a competitive 153 at their innings’ end. His blitzkrieg 70 off 43 indeed set the tone for a thriller of a contest.

Sourav Ganguly had come to the crease with a lot on his shoulders as the match was more about pride this time around and with a big innings due, he showed promise early-on. Ironically, his innings came to an abrupt end after he managed 22 off 17 deliveries.

In another disappointment for Shah Rukh Khan’s side, Brendon McCullum played a rather lazy innings (19 off 31 balls) which came to an end with Piyush Chawla spinning the fatal delivery. The skipper yet again failed to infuse the side with an inspiring knock.

The duo of skipper McCullum and Hodge had held fort at the end of 10 overs as KKR posted 52 in their first half.

In search of an elusive morale-boosting victory, Kolkata Knight Riders won the toss and elected to bat first against the Kings XI Punjab.