In a high-scoring thriller - one of those rare ones in IPL 2013 - Kings XI Punjab pulled off a remarkable seven-wicket victory over the Pune Warriors.
David Miller scored an outstanding 80 from just 41 balls, which included two sixes in the last over, with Mandeep Singh (77) anchoring the innings perfectly as Kings XI overhauled the huge target of 186 in brilliant fashion in 19.5 overs.
Aaron Finch, the skipper for the match, and Luke Wright had seemingly given the Warriors an unassailable first innings score of 185 for four, before Mandeep and Miller snatched a victory from the unlucky Pune yet again.
The win is Kings XI's third in six, while Pune crashed to their fifth defeat in seven matches.
The innings did not begin well for Kings XI, as Adam Gilchrist and Azhar Mahmood were dismissed within the first seven deliveries.
Gilchrist was caught behind off Bhuvneshwar Kumar, before Mahmood, coming in at No.3, was trapped in front by Ajantha Mendis. Mandeep Singh and Manan Vohra put together a nice little 53-run partnership, before Vohra was walking back for a well-played 13-ball 22.
David Miller came in and along with Mandeep took the game to the Warriors, smashing boundaries left, right and centre with their partnership of 128 from 13.1 overs tilting the game Kings XI's way. They kept picking up at least a boundary an over, which in turn maintained kept the required run rate hovering at around ten.
In the blink of an eye, after some incredible hitting, particularly from Miller, the equation read 45 from 24 balls, which was brought down to 37 from the last three overs. After a nice first five balls from Kumar, Mandeep edged one to the third-man boundary, which meant the home side needed 29 from the last two.
A couple of fours from Miller off the first two balls of Ashok Dinda's penultimate over brought it down to 21 from 10. Four balls and five runs later, it was 16 runs from the last over for Kings XI to pull off an improbable victory.
Two brilliant sixes from Miller and Kings XI were celebrating an incredible win.
Earlier, Pune Warriors cranked into top gear right from the get-go, albeit aided by some poor catching and fielding from the home side.
Skipper Aaron Finch and Robin Uthappa gave the Warriors the perfect start, keeping the run rate at nearly ten an over in the powerplay.
The opening stand might not have yielded 83 runs from a little over ten overs, had Gilchrist completed the easiest of catches in the second over.
Finch edged Azhar Mahmood to the Kings XI wicketkeeper in the second ball of the second over, but Gilchrist inexplicably dropped the catch. To add insult to injury, Finch smashed a six and a four off consecutive deliveries, and it was just a sign of things to come for Kings XI.
Finch was the aggressor in the partnership, taking the bulk of the strike, and more importantly making full use of it. The Australian tyro was given another life, though, as Mahmood failed to hit the stumps from mid-off, with Finch well out of the crease.
It is one thing to be given a couple of lives, and another to take advantage, and Finch grabbed the opportunity with both hands, smashing the Kings XI bowlers wonderfully well.
Uthappa (37, 33b, 4x4) was the first to go with the score on 83, caught by Gilchrist off Parwinder Awana.
Yuvraj Singh came in and looked to continue the assault along with Finch. The duo combined for 41 runs from a mere 4.4 overs, with Finch then losing his wicket, holing out at sweeper cover to the bowling of Manpreet Singh Gony, for a brilliant 42-ball 64 (8x4, 2x6).
Yuvraj, though, picked up from where Finch had left off, smashing a couple of typically Yuvraj sixes, as the Warriors headed towards a big total.
Mahmood dismissed Yuvraj for 34 (24b, 2x4, 3x6) in the first ball of the 18th over, but the all-rounder will now be wishing the left-hander had stayed at the crease. Yuvraj's wicket brought in Wright, playing his first game of IPL 2013, and the Englishman played an unbelievable innings to take Pune to the imposing total - why both Wright and Steven Smith were left out of the side for so long only the Pune management will ever know.
Wright struck four straight boundaries off Mahmood (two for 42), before smashing two fours and a six off the next over from Praveen Kumar. Wright eventually holed out in the final over, but his 10-ball 34 took Pune Warriors to 185 for four, one of their highest ever scores in the IPL.
