Sangakkara shines,Kings XI Punjab humble Mumbai

For them,Piyush Chawla (3/24) silenced the Mumbai top guns,including Sachin Tendulkar,while Irfan Pathan (3/29) dented the middle order to restrict the visitors to a modest 154 for nine. Five of the visiting batsmen were bowled,most in an IPL match.

For Mumbai,JP Duminy (35),Ambati Rayudu (33) and Tendulkar (29) chipped in with useful cameos but the Kings XI bowlers never really allowed them to go ballistic.

And the Punjab side showed the same alacrity with the bat.

Mahela Jayawardene (31 of 18 balls) gave them a flying start and Adrian Barath (33) provided the solidity while skipper Kumar Sangakkara (56 of 42 balls) stayed put till the penultimate over as the home side cruised to 158 for four in 19.2 overs.

Yuvraj Singh’s struggle to wriggle out of a prolonged bad patch,however,continued with the left-hander getting out at a time when victory looked far from a certainty.

It was Jayawardene’s brisk knock which set the tone for Punjab’s chase.

Jayawardene opened his account with back-to-back fours off Ryan McLaren,a treatment he meted out to Zaheer Khan and Lasith Malinga before Malinga removed the right-hander.

Barath and Sangakkara,however,kept going. Barath hit Harbhajan Singh over long on ropes for a six before Duminy trapped him leg before and Yuvraj too left when his team needed him most.

Sangakkara,however,batted with characteristic nonchalance,helping himself to the occasional boundaries that kept coming.

Sangakkara hit Duminy over his head for a six and then hit Zaheer for a boundary to complete his half-century before Malinga removed him in the 19th over.

The match was heading for a close finish but Irfan Pathan (15 not out) maintained his calm to complete the formality with four balls to spare.