Mohali: Mumbai Indians kept their hopes of qualifying for the play-off alive as they convincingly beat Kings XI Punjab by 23 runs in an IPL cricket tournament encounter, here today.

After scoring a healthy 172 for three in 20 overs, Mumbai Indians restricted an out-of-sorts KXIP for 149 for seven in their home ground in front of packed stands as it may well be curtains for last year's finalists. Senior pros Lasith Malinga (2/31) and Harbhajan Singh (1/27) led a disciplined bowling attack and were complemented well by Mitchell McClenaghan (0/25 in 4 overs) and R Vinay Kumar (0/17 in 3 overs) who also kept the KXIP batsman under check.