IPL 9: Kings XI Punjab ride on Stoinis and Sharmas' show to thrash Mumbai Indians

Visakhapatnam Medium pacer Marcus Stoinis led the way with four wickets as a disciplined Kings XI Punjab thrashed Mumbai Indians by seven wickets in theirIndian Premier League IPL match here tonightKings XI Punjab put the brakes on their summer of discontent as they chased down the target of 125 with 18 balls to spare over the defending championsMedium pacer Stoinis led the way with his accomplices being Mohit Sharma and Sandeep SharmaStoinis returned brilliant figures of 415 in his full quota of four overs after Mumbai Indians skipper Rohit Sharma elected to batMumbai Indians batsman Kieron Pollard L walks back to the pavaillion after he was dismissed by Kings XI Punjab bowler Marcus Stoinis C during the 2016 IPL match at DrYSRajasekhara Reddy ACAVDCA Cricket Stadium in Visakhapatnam on Friday PicAFPSkipper Murali Vijay by far the struggling teams bestbatsman in the ninth season of the cashrich league onceagain led from the front with an unbeaten 54 off 52 ballswhile the improving Wriddhiman Saha compiled a brisk 56 off 40deliveriesWalking out to bat after the departure of Hashim AmlaSaha put on a matchwinning partnership of 116 runs for thesecond wicket with Vijay to help KXIP register their fourthwin in 11 outings The duo consumed only 142 overs to stitchtogether the century standSaha reached his half century off just 38 balls loftingJasprit Bumrah over cover for a boundary Vijay followed suitas he too reached his fifty with a cut through the pointregion an overthrow helping him to complete the second runand reach the landmarkAs Kings XI Punjab raced towards the victory target Sahawas bowled by Mitchell McClenaghan which however did notmatter in the end Glenn Maxwell though failed to open hisaccountSaha struck six boundaries and a six in his strokefulknock while Vijay hit five fours and cleared the fenceWhile MI stayed at the fifth position with 12 pointsKings XI Punjab moved a step up to be in seventh place witheight pointsEarlier Australias promising allrounder Stoinis claimed an impressive fourwicket haul as Kings XI Punjab restricted Mumbai Indians to a meagre 1249Kieron Pollard 27 was the top scorer for Mumbai while Stoinis 415 Sandeep Sharma 211 and Mohit Sharma 226 were the pick of the bowlers for Kings XIOpting to bat Mumbai got off to a disappointing start losing opener Unmukt Chand 0 and Ambati Rayudu 0 inside the first three overs to have the team in the back foot right at 82Chands opening partner and skipper Rohit Sharma 15 along with incoming batsman Nitish Rane 25 held on to take the team to 212 after completion of powerplayWith the home side going at a poor run rate Rohit trying to up the scoring sought to sweep leftarm spinner Axar Patel but was clean bowledHis wicket at a crucial juncture brought more troubles for the defending champions as they were down to 363 in the ninth over itselfIt was not the end of worries for Mumbai as yet as another set batsman Rane who looking to score was eventually caught behind by wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha off the bowling of StoinisIncoming batsman Jos Buttler 9 too did not trouble the opposition much as half of Mumbais batsmen were back in the pavilion with the team at 615 in the 14th overHardhitter Pollard and Krunal Pandya 19 who were new at the crease took a bit to settle down but once they got used took on the bowlers with couple of boundaries and sixes to put Mumbai back into the game The duo helped the side cross the 100run mark and stay on course for a competitive totalBut the 42run partnership for the sixth wicket came to an end in the 17th over as Stoinis dismissed Krunal followed by Pollard in successive balls to put Punjab back into the gameFrom there on the home side lost wickets in clusters losing Tim Southee 1 and Mitchell McClenaghan 4 but Harbhajan Singh 14 not out with a few blows helped his team cross 120run markBrief Scores Mumbai Indians 1249 in 20 overs Kieron Pollard 27 Marcus Stoinis 415 vs Kings XI Punjab