King-sized comeback

Yuvraj Singh and Juan Theron led Kings XI Punjab to an incredible Super Over win over Chennai Super Kings to bag their first points in the IPL.

Yuvraj Singh and Juan Theron led Kings XI Punjab to an incredible Super Over win over Chennai Super Kings to bag their first points in the IPL after a match that swung either way right through the evening in Chennai on Sunday.

Chasing 10 for a win in the six-ball tie-breaker,Mahela Jayawardene slammed the first ball from Muttiah Muralitharan for six over long-on,before holing out the next. Yuvraj swung and missed the third ball of the over,but reverse-swept the fourth for a boundary to spark wild celebrations in the dug-out.

For Chennai,Matthew Hayden armed with the Mongoose bat and Albie Morkel had come out to bat,with Theron charging in. Morkel edged the first ball for a single down to third man,but Hayden could not bring his long-handled bat down in time to keep out a full-length delivery. Suresh Raina was lucky to survive when his first-ball drive fell just short of Irfan Pathan,and hit a massive six over long-on off the next. The fifth ball was skied straight to long-off,leaving Punjab to chase 10 for what was a pretty improbable win.

Improbable because the fact that the match got into the Super Over itself was a surprise. Chennai,chasing 137 for a win,were well placed going into the last three overs. The equation had come down to 10 off the last six balls and a first-ball boundary by Albie Morkel brought it down to six off five,before a few scampered runs left them needing one off the last two deliveries with three wickets in hand. Irfan bowled a dot ball to make it one off one,and Ashwin hit one straight down Mohammad Kaifs throat at short mid-off.

Earlier,Muralitharan produced a superb spin display with three for 16 as Chennai restricted the visitors to 136 for eight. For Punjab,Yuvraj top-scored with a 28-ball 43 which had four fours and two sixes,while Pathan sent in to open made 39 from 32.