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Bangalore: Piyush Chawla (6 not out) hit a massive six on the penultimate ball to help Kings XI Punjab register a nervous 4-wicket victory over Royal Challengers Bangalore in the Indian Premier League match at M Chinnaswamy stadium on Wednesday.
Three run outs in eight balls at the end make the match very tight after it looked like a catwalk for Punjab. Kings XI needed 13 runs off 22 balls with seven wickets left at the time top-scorer Nitin Saini (50) got out.
Saini and David Hussey (45) added 73 runs for the third wicket to lead the run chase after a couple of useful partnerships upfront.
Chasing 159-run target, Punjab stuttered in the end due to freak run outs but managed to win with a ball to spare after top-order batsmen fired in unison.
The chase became an edgy affair when Abhishek Nayar (2), Hussey and Azhar Mahmood (2) were run out in quick succession to give Bangalore a ray of hopes.
But the less than 8 runs per over target was not enough at the end for the Kings XI batsmen as they put on useful partnerships during the chase.
Punjab lost Saini in the 17th over to start the freak downfalls which almost cost them the match.
Mandeep Singh (43) and Shuan Marsh (8) fell after giving an aggressive start to Punjab run chase.
Off-spinner KP Appanna dismissed Mandeep in the ninth over to reduce Punjab to 73/2 in 8.5 overs. Mandeep hit a six and six boundaries in his 30-ball blitzkrieg to lead the run chase and stitched two quick thirty-run stands for Kings XI.
Mandeep put on 35 runs for the second wicket with wicketkeeper batsman Nitin Saini after 38 for the opening wicket with Marsh.
Marsh hit just one four in his sedate 10-ball innings before Andrew McDonald got better of him in the fifth over.
Earlier, sent in to bat, Chris Gayle scored fiery 71 off 42 balls to help Royal Challengers post 158 for 5.
Royal Challengers were heading for much more before Azhar Mahmood (3-20) produced a terrific final over to restrict them below 160 runs. Mahmood dismissed AB de Villiers (17) and Andrew McDonald (9) in the last over and conceded just 4 runs.
Bangalore lost Virat Kohli (45) and Chris Gayle (71) in quick succession after the duo added a quick-fire 119 runs stand to resurrect their innings.
Leg-spinner Piyush Chawla dismissed Kohli to reduce Bangalore to 134 for 4 in 16.4 overs, soon after Mahmood struck in the previous over to break the imposing Gayle-Kohli partnership.
Gayle hit four massive sixes and six boundaries in his whirlwind 41-ball knock to lead the Bangalore run charge. The West Indian batsman raced to his fifty in just 32 balls after starting his innings cautiously.
Kohli too joined the party to regain his lost form in the match as he smashed two big sixes and three fours in his 42-ball 45 innings.
The Gayle-Kohli duo put on 100 runs stand in just 70 balls and took Bangalore's total to 100 in 13 overs. After an early blow, they resurrect the Bangalore innings patiently before breaking free in the second half of their innings.
Praveen Kumar gave away just eight runs in his 4 overs to put a check on the imposing Gayle in the first half as the hosts reached fifty in 9.1 overs.
The Punjab side has made three changes in the playing XI. They have included Ryan Harris in David Miller's place. Paras Dogra and Abhishek Nayar have replaced Bhargav Bhatt and Bipul Sharma.
Bangalore have brought in Andrew McDonald, Asad Pathan in place of Tillkaratne Dilshan and Harshal Patel.
Brief scores
Royal Challengers Bangalore 158 for 5 (Gayle 71, Kohli 46, Azhar Mahmood 3-20)
Kings XI Punjab 163 for 6 (Saini 50, Hussey 45, Mandeep Singh 43, McDonald 2-25)
Result Kings XI Punjab won by 4 wickets
MOM Azhar Mahmood (Kings XI Punjab)
Points Kings XI Punjab 2, Royal Challengers Bangalore 0
