IPL 7: Maxwell pummels CSK into submission as Kings XI lead the pack

Cuttack Another superb show of batting by Glenn Maxwell gave Kings XI Punjab a massive sevenwicket win over Chennai Super Kings in a high runscoring Indian Premier League match at Cuttacks Barabati Stadium on WednesdayChasing a mammoth target of 232 Chennai which boasted of one of the best batting lineups this season could only score 187 for six to slump to their second defeat Their other defeat was also against the same opponents with Maxwell hitting a 43ball 95 in Punjabs sixwicket win on April 18 in Abu Dhabi in the UAE leg of IPL7Chennai Super Kings batsman Ravindra Jadeja clean bowled by Kings XI Punjabs bowler Rishi Dhawan unseen during the IPL 7 match at the Barabati Stadium in Cuttack on Wednesday PTI PhotoBCCIChennai suffered a jolt in the first over itself with inform opener Dwayne Smith getting out for just fourThe other opener Brendon McCullum 33 and Suresh Raina 35 kept Chennai in for a slim chance with a 51 run stand for the second wicket but they failed to keep pace with the asking rate which shot up to nearly 15 per over by the halfway markRavindra Jadeja 17 departed just after the halfway mark while McCullum was run out thanks to a brilliant piece of fielding by Mitchell Johnson whose running throw hit the wicket directlyIt was all over by then for Chennai as they needed 113 runs from the last five oversCaptain Mahendra Singh Dhoni 23 and Faf du Plessis 52 delayed the inevitable with a 61run stand for the fifth wicket but Chennai finally found themselves outclassed by a rival team for the second time in the tournamentWith todays victory Punjab jumped to the top of the league table with 12 points from seven matchesChennai have also secured the same points from eight matches but Punjab were on top on better net run rateTodays win by Punjab also snapped Chennais six match winning streak in the IPL7Ealier it was a Maxwell show all the way in the clash of table toppers as the 25yearold Australian hit six fours and eight sixes to take his side to the fifth highest total in IPL history with the jampacked crowd enjoying the unbelievable batting show including his three reverse hit sixesMaxwell rained with fours and sixes in a stupendous exhibition of strokeplay as his 90 off just 38 balls took Kings XI Punjab to a mammoth 231 for fourMaxwell the most prolific scorer this season continued with his show of incredible batting prowess as he butchered the Chennai bowlers to submission to almost singlehandedly take Punjab to the highest total of the IPL7 so far after his side was put into batExcept for Mohit Sharma 215 all the Chennai bowlers were punished heavily with Ishwar Pandey 041 Dwayne Smith 136 Ravindra Jadeja 037 and R Ashwin 038 being at the receiving end as the 25yearold Australian hit six fours and eight sixes in front of a packed crowdHe stitched 135runs with David Miller 47 off 32 balls for the third wicket from just 104 overs after the duo came together in the sixth over at 38 for twoGlenn Maxwell plays shot during his 38ball 90run innings vs CSKThe duo added a phenomenal 88 runs in the five overs after the halfway mark scoring 17 14 21 18 and 14 each over with the 100run partnership between Maxwell and Miller coming up in just 84 oversPunjab added an incredible 162 runs in the second half of their innings with captain George Bailey chipping in with a cameo of 13ball 40 not out towards the end to take his side to the fifth highest total in IPL historyEarlier opener Virender Sehwag 30 began with a bang by hitting the first ball of the innings He hit three fours off Ishwar Pandey in second over to give Punjab a flying startHis opening partner Mandeep Singh who replaced Cheteshwar Pujara at the top today was out for just three of the bowling of Mohit Sharma in the fifth over while trying for an unnecessary shotSehwag was nonplussed even after the departure of his opening partner Mandeep Singh in the sixth over as he hit Mohit for a four the next ballBut just when it looked like Sehwag he has returned to his explosive best he got out next over of the bowling of Hilfenhaus The outoffavour former India opener dabbed at a good length delivery with an angled blade and Hilfenhaus managed to nip it back enough to take the inside edge hit the pads and cannon into the stumpsSehwag once again got the start but failed to convert it to a big score in this IPLThen the inform Maxwell and Miller took over and the duo hit a flurry of fours and sixes with Ashwin being the receiving end of the duos furyMaxwell smashed Ashwin for three sixes while Miller did the same once as the offspinner conceded 38 runs from two overs