MOHALI — Gautam Gambhir's stupendous batting and Sunil Narine's splendid hat-trick went in-vain as Kings XI Punjab made a miraculous comeback to stun defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) by four runs in the Indian Premier League (IPL) here Tuesday. Chasing a decent target of 158, KKR only managed 153-9 in the end, despite a 105-run second wicket partnership between Gambhir (60, 39 balls, 8x4) and Eoin Morgan (47, 38 balls, 6x4). This is Kings XI's second win from four matches while KKR's woeful away record continued as it has now lost its third game on the road. From a comfortable 106 for two in 13 overs, KKR batsmen required only 52 off 42 balls but once the two set batsmen were out in quick succession, things changed rapidly. Manpreet Gony (1-18 in 4 overs) and Azhar Mahmood (3-21 in 4 overs) bowled brilliantly to get the home team back in the match. Needing 11 runs off the final over, Adam Gilchrist saved what would have been 5 wides of the first delivery from Praveen Kumar. Praveen (2-26) kept his cool as he first removed Yusuf Pathan out of the equation and gave away only six runs to bring cheer for the home team. Gony, playing his first game of the cash-rich league certainly made a big impact. First his long-handle came to good effect as his 42 off 18 balls took Kings XI past 150-run mark which had looked improbable when it was tottering at 99-6. Vindicating skipper Gambhir's decision to field first, Narine (3-33) along with Sri Lankan Sachitra Senanayake (2-28) bamboozled the Kings XI batsmen with their variations before Gony (42, 18 balls) thrashed the West Indian for 23 runs in the penultimate over to bring home team back in the match. Brief scores: Kings XI Punjab 157-9 (Gony 42, Mandeep 41, Kallis 3-24, Narine 3-33, Senanayake 2-28). Kolkata Knight Riders 153-9 (Gambhir 60, Morgan 47, Mahmood 3-21, Praveen 2-26). Pune shocks Chennai Pune Warriors India put an end to Chennai Super Kings' (CSK) winning streak at home with a 24-run win at the MA Chidambaram Stadium Monday. Having posted 159 on the back of Aaron Finch and Steven Smith's contributions, Warriors pegged back CSK's run chase with regular wickets to finish on top. Chasing 160, CSK was jolted early as Bhuvneshwar Kumar trapped Srikkanth Anirudha (0) leg before and bowled a fantastic first over maiden. Murali Vijay was given a reprieve on 1 as Tirumalasetti Suman dropped a sitter. Suman however redeemed himself by pouching Suresh Raina (8) off Kumar. Abhishek Nayar then had Vijay (24) caught by Ross Taylor to leave CSK at 40-3. S. Badrinath (34) along with R. Jadeja consolidated for CSK putting on 46 runs for the fourth wicket before Mitchell Marsh had the former caught by Smith at long-off. PWI continued to chip away at the wickets as Marsh struck again dismissing Jadeja (27). Brief Scores: Pune Warriors India 159-5 (Aaron Finch 67, Chris Morris 2-25). Chennai Super Kings 135-8 (S. Badrinath 34, B. Kumar). — Agencies
