HYDERABAD: Kings XI Punjab rode on a smashing half-century by Mandeep Singh and a superlative performance by their bowlers to notch up a comfortable 25-run victory over Deccan Chargers in a lop-sided Indian Premier League match on Tuesday night.
Invited to bat, Mandeep cracked a strokeful 75 off 48 balls, blasting eight fours and three sixes, to help Punjab post a challenging 170 for five in their stipulated 20 overs. He stitched 55 runs for the opening wicket.
The visitors then returned to restrict the Chargers to 145 for eight to keep their hopes alive of reaching the play-off stage by reaching the fifth position in the IPL points table.
Chasing 171 to win, opener Daniel Harris (30) gave Deccan some hope initially but they failed to build partnerships and kept losing wickets in regular intervals.
For Punjab, Praveen Kumar, Parvinder Awana and David Hussey took two wickets each to emerge as the peak of the bowlers. They were supported well by Azhar Mahmood (0-31) and Piyush Chawla (1-33).
– Agencies
