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Mohali: Team Punjab displayed a lot of josh in their first home match, with Dimitri Mascarenhas taking 5 wickets for 25 runs, to outplay Pune in a low-scoring match on Thursday night.
Things went according to plan for Punjab, beginning with the toss. Adam Gilchrist had no hesitation in opting to bowl, as, following the overnight thunderstorm, there was a bit of juice in the green-tinged pitch. His bowlers, particularly Dimitri Mascarenhas, made optimum use of the conditions to send the Pune batsmen scurrying for cover. His five-wicket haul hurled the rivals to their first defeat in IPL 5.
Bowled out for mere 115 in 19 overs, Pune did not have enough runs on the board. Though the home team lost three wickets, they achieved the target with a fair amount of ease, with Shaun Marsh helping himself to a fine half-century to get back some form.
The Punjab seamers made the life of Pune batsmen miserable, with Praveen Kumar bowling his banana in-swingers to keep openers Sourav Ganguly and Jesse Ryder guessing. Praveen, as is becoming a trend, bowled out his four overs on a trot without giving away much though he was unlucky not to be among wickets.
On the other hand, Mascarenhas grabbed two in his very first over, accounting for Ganguly and Marlon Samuels. In his next spell, he had a dangerous-looking Robin Uthappa caught at midwicket. In his final over, he sent back Mithun Manhas and Rahul Sharma to complete his haul.
The England all-rounder thus became the first Punjab bowler to claim five wickets in an IPL match. Pune were jolted early when Jesse Ryder was run out when Ganguly failed to respond to a call for a quick single and was left stranded by David Hussey's throw. With Mascarenhas striking regularly thereafter, the Pune team were on the back foot even before the six-over field restrictions were bowled out.
Brief scores:
Pune Warriors India: 115 (Manhas 31, Mascarenhas 5-25)
Kings XI Punjab: 116 for 3 (Marsh 64*)
Result: Kings XI Punjab won by seven wickets
Points: Kings XI Punjab 2, Pune Warriors 0
MOM: Dimitri Mascarenhas (Kings XI Punjab)
