Kings XI shock Sachin & Co.

 MoM Sangakkara hits 42-ball 56; Piyush, Irfan claim three each

Mohali: Captain Kumar Sangakkara led from the front as laggards Kings XI Punjab showed rare form Friday to humble table-toppers Mumbai Indians by six wickets in an Indian Premier League match.

Already out of the race for a semi-final place, the Kings XI effected as many as five changes in the side and showed great intensity with the bat and the ball to record only their third win from 11 outings.

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, the highest 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 always had a handle on the run-rate. Coming back to bat, the Mohali franchise showed that same alacrity with the bat which their more fancied rivals failed to display.Mahela Jayawardene (31 of 18 balls) gave them a flying start and Adrian Barath (33) provided solidity while 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 protracted lean phase, however, continued with the left-hander getting out at a time when victory was far from certain.

But it was Jayawardene’s brisk knock which had set the tone for Kings XI’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 the Sri Lanka quick removed the right-hander.

Barath and Sangakkara, however, kept going. Barath hit Harbhajan Singh for a six over long-on before Duminy trapped him leg before. Sangakkara, however, batted on with characteristic nonchalance, helping himself to the occasional boundary.

Sangakkara hit Duminy over his head for a six and then despatched Zaheer for a boundary to bring up his half-century. Malinga eventually got the Lanka captain’s coveted wicket in the 19th over.

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

Earlier, Chawla and Irfan shared six wickets between them as the Kings XI restricted Mumbai Indians to a modest 154 for nine. Opting to bat first, the Mumbai outfit lost wickets at regular intervals before arriving at their modest total.

Irfan removed Shikhar Dhawan (2) with his first delivery to rattle the Mumbai side but the 44-run stand between Tendulkar and Rayudu, who was the more aggressive of the two, helped them tide over the early crisis.