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Pune: Team Pune made a winning start at their spanking new home, the Subrata Roy Sahara stadium with a 22-run win over Adam Gilchrist-led Punjab.
This is Pune's second consecutive win and they lead the IPL points table with four points off two games. The two teams square off against each other again, at Mohali on Thursday.
Breezy cameos by Marlon Samuels, Robin Uthappa and Steven Smith helped the hosts put up a competitive tally of 166 for 6. Then, Sourav Ganguly's bowlers, led by Ashok Dinda and Ashish Nehra, choked the flow of runs to restrict Punjab to 114 for 8.
Punjab were on the back foot very early when they lost their dangerous openers, Paul Vathaty (1) and skipper Adam Gilchrist (6) to suicidal run-outs by the fourth over. Mandeep Singh (24; 23b, 3x4s) and Abhishek Nayar (24; 28b, 2x4s) with their 41-run partnership for the third wicket attempted a Punjab revival. But Jesse Ryder, making his return to competitive cricket since announcing an indefinite break from cricket last year, snapped up the wicket of Singh. David Hussey (18 off 17) and Piyush Chawla (16; 8b,2x4s, 1x6) failed to add spice to the contest and fell to leggie Rahul Sharma.
Wickets kept falling at regular interval, the asking rate went through the roof and Punjab finally ran out of overs.
Earlier, Ganguly, who won the toss and elected to bat first, set the ball rolling with a knock of 20 off 18 balls. But an 81-run partnership for the third wicket between Samuels (46; 39b, 4x4s, 2x6s) and Uthappa (40; 33b, 2x4s, 2x6s) laid the foundation for Pune's tally.
The 31-year-old West Indian was in the driver's seat with Uthappa playing the perfect co-pilot.
Samuels, who capitalised on a missed chance, played an innings full of strokes that were apt for the shortest format of the game. He launched left-arm spinner Bipul Sharma for a six then waltzed down the track against leggie Chawla, once again sending the ball crashing into the Pune crowds, who were out of their seats cheering the Caribbean sensation.
However, Samuels, Callum Ferguson and Uthappa were dismissed in quick succession to give Punjab hopes of restricting the hosts to a meagre total. But Aussie Steven Smith had other plans. He smashed two sixes off Sharma and one of Faulkner to help Pune past the 160-run mark.
Brief scores
Pune Warriors 166 for 6 (Samuels 46, Uthappa 40, Harmeet 3-24)
Kings XI Punjab 144 for 8 (Bipul 35*, Rahul 2-34)
Result Pune Warriors India won by 22 runs
MOM Marlon Samuels (Pune Warriors)
Points Pune Warriors 2, Kings XI Punjab 0
