IPL 7: Maxwell, Miller power Kings XI Punjab to win over Chennai Super Kings

Abu DhabiA blazing 115run stand between David Miller and Glenn Maxwell helped Kings XI Punjab pull off a sensational sixwicket win over formidable Chennai Super Kings in their opening Indian Premier League match here on FridayKings XI achieved the target of 206 runs losing four wickets and with seven balls to spare after Maxwell struck a magnificent 43ball 95 15 fours and two sixes and South African Miller made an unbeaten 54 off 37 ballsGlenn Maxwell scored a brilliant 95 PicBCCIVirender Sehwag 19 off 10 and Cheteshwar Pujara 13 off 10 started Punjabs chase aggressively before departing in quick sucessionOffie Ravichandran Ashwin who trapped Pujara in front of the stumps earned his second lbw by foxing Akshar Patel 2 leaving Punjab at 53 for two in sixth overThat brought together two of the worlds dangerous batsman in the middle the big hitting Miller from South Africa and the innovative Maxwell of AustraliaThe deadly duo did not disapppoint as they took the Super Kings bowlers to the cleanersMaxwell scored the bulk of the runs in their 63ball stand and was also at his cheeky best The Australian allarounder enthralled the crowd with his switch hits and hoicks over midwicketLike Miller who was dropped off Ravindra Jadeja in the ninth over Maxwell also had the luck on his side The result could have been different had the Australian not been dropped twiceHis whirlwind innigs comprised 15 fours and a couple of maximus before he missed a Dwayne Smith yorker in the 16th over with Punjab still needing 39 off 26 ballsMiller got into the groove after Maxwells fall and got his side closer to the target by smashing Jadeja for two consecutive sixesWith captain George Bailey 17 off 10 at the other end Punjab eventually strolled to a morale boosting victoryEarlier Chennai kicked off their campaign in IPL7 with a flurry of fours and sixes as Brendon McCullum and Dwayne Smith hit blazing half centuries in a run feast which powered them to a daunting 205 for fourElecting to bat CSKs innings was built on a solid 123run openingwicket partnership between McCullum and Dwayne Smith and a 11ball 26 cameo by skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni towards the end at Sheikh Zayed StadiumThe final over saw 18 runs being scoredBrendon McCullums innings was in vain as CSK could not defend their 200 total PicBCCIWhile the veteran Kiwi McCullum struck a 67 off 45 balls with the help of four boundaries and five sixes Smith scored a 43ball 66 with the help of six fours and three sixesCSK batsmen started with a bang and the fifth over saw them stealing 18 runsThe over proved costly for the KXIP as Smith hit two consecutive boundaries before captain George Bailey dropped the dangerous McCullum off Parvinder Awanas bowling at 22The Kiwi batsman then straight away punished the bowler by hitting a huge sixMcCullum brought up his fifty with a boundary off Rishi DhawanThe openers sent a lacklustre KXIP bowling attack on a leather hunt and that helped CSK reach 100run mark in 10th over itself and set the team on course for a massive totalBoth McCullum and Smith played some effective shots to keep the Punjab attack at bay While McCullum was at his dominating best Smith was steady at the other end making sure that the loose deliveries did not go unpunishedIt was the slow leftarm orthodox bowler Akshar Patel who finally gave KXIP the breakthrough by seeing off McCullumWhile Smith was looking to continue the momentum after McCullums dismissal Suresh Raina straight away started with a boundaryLaxmipathy Balaji dismissed Smith with Bailey making no mistake at covers this timeDetermined to capitalise on the solid platform laid by the openers Dhoni launched an all out attack from the very first ballRainas departure on 19ball 24 hardly affected the teams rhythm and in able company of Dwayne Bravo Dhoni managed to take CSK past 200 runs in their allotted 20 overs