Kings XI Punjab bounced back into contention with a nail-biting three-wicket victory over Deccan Chargers in a Indian Premier League thriller here on Saturday
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Kings XI Punjab's Ramesh Powar celebrates after catching Deccan Chargers' skipper Adam Gilchrist |
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After restricting the formidable Deccan Chargers to 168 for 5, built around Andrew Symonds' unbeaten 60, the Kings XI Punjab rode on Mahela Jayawardene's quickfire 28-ball 43 and some lusty hitting by the tailenders to scamper home with just one ball to spare.
Fortune fluctuated from one team to the other till the dying moments before Kings XI, who desperately needed a victory to keep themselves afloat in the tournament, tilted the balance in their favour on a tricky track. With nine runs required from the last over, Punjab's Piyush Chawla cracked a boundary off pacer R P Singh's first delivery and then held nerves to rotate strikes with Brett Lee to achieve a competitive target of 169. Punjab's Sri Lankan import Mahela Jayawardene, with his fighting 43 off 28 balls, laid the foundation of the win.
Kings XI Punjab skipper Yuvraj Singh heaped praise on Jayawardene whose quickfire innings ensured their side's three-wicket victory.
Yuvi delighted
"After I was out in the 10th over, I told the batsmen to stitch a partnership. Mahela and Irfan (Pathan) did that and the lower order had a few hits at the boundary," he said.
"Mahela played an outstanding innings and he has been consistent all along and doing well for us under pressure," Yuvraj said after the match.
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