Half centuries by Murali Vijay (54) and Wriddhiman Saha (56) made light of a 125-run chase as Kings XI Punjab secured a seven-wicket win over Mumbai Indians to leapfrog Rising Pune Supergiants to take the seventh place on the Indian Premier League table.
Earlier, Australia’s promising all-rounder Marcus Stoinis claimed an impressive four-wicket haul as Kings XI Punjab restricted Mumbai Indians to a meagre 124 for 9 in 20 overs.
Kieron Pollard (27) was the top scorer for Mumbai, while Stoinis (4 for 15), Sandeep Sharma (2 for 11) and Mohit Sharma (2 for 26) were the pick of the bowlers for Kings XI.
Punjab’s chase did not start on a great note with opener Hashim Amla walking back for a duck in the opening over. However, Vijay and Saha knit a 116-run stand before the wicketkeeper was cleaned up by Mitchell McClenaghan.
By then, though, Punjab was already within eight runs of victory.
Glenn Maxwell (0) couldn’t stay at the pitch for the victory shot after he was caught at mid-on by Pollard off McClenaghan. Gurkeerat Singh hit a boundary off the last ball of the 17th over to take his team past the target.
Stoinis, who was adjudged Man of the Match, said, “The wicket suited my bowling. It looked tough to score. Maybe it was a blessing in disguise that we got to chase. It was team effort for sure.”
Opener Vijay, who scored an unbeaten 54, said, “I was hitting the ball well and now everything seems to be falling together. We were missing out on winning moments. This wicket was on a slower side but the first six overs set the tone for us.”
Opting 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 8/2.
Chand’s opening partner and skipper Rohit Sharma (15) along with incoming batsman Nitish Rane (25) held on to take the team to 21 for 2 after completion of powerplay.
With the home side going at a poor run rate, Sharma, trying to up the scoring, sought to sweep left-arm spinner Axar Patel but was clean bowled.
His wicket at a crucial juncture brought more troubles for the defending champions as they were down to 36 for 3 in the ninth over itself.
It was not the end of worries for Mumbai as yet another set batsman Rane, who looked to score, was eventually caught behind by wicket-keeper Saha off the bowling of Stoinis.
Incoming batsman Jos Buttler (9) too did not trouble the opposition much as half of Mumbai’s batsmen were back in the pavilion with the team at 61 for 5 in the 14th over.
Hard-hitter 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 100-run mark and stay on course for a competitive total.
But the 42-run 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 game.
From there on the home side lost wickets in clusters, losing Tim Southee (1) and McClenaghan (4), but Harbhajan Singh (14 not out) with a few blows helped his team cross 120-run mark.

BRIEF SCORES: Mumbai Indians 124 for 9 in 20 overs (K Pollard 27; M Stoinis 4-15) lost to Kings XI Punjab 127 for 3 in 17 overs (W Saha 56, M Vijay 54 not out; M McClenaghan 2-24) by seven wickets