Kings XI Punjab 8-183 (Azhar Mahmood 80, Shaun Marsh 63, Lasith Malinga 3-39) beat Mumbai Indians 133 (Ambati Rayudu 26, Rohit Sharma 25, Piyush Chawla 2-20, Azhar Mahmood 2-24) by 50 runs.

Azhar Mahmood delivered a knockout punch to Mumbai Indians with his all round performance ably assisted by Shaun Marsh as Kings XI Punjab triumphed convincingly.

Kings XI Punjab piled up 183 after losing 8 wickets at the end of the scheduled 20^th over and Mumbai Indians surrendered for 133 with five balls to spare.

Azhar Mahmood (Kings XI Punjab) was declared ‘Player of the match’ for his majestic knock of 80 off 44 mere balls and he also grabbed two important wickets.

The 69^th match of the Indian Premier League was played on Saturday, May 18, 2013, at Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium, Dharamsala.

Earlier, Rohit Sharma, the captain of Mumbai Indians, won the toss and offered the batting to his rival team. The decision looked fruitful since Kings XI Punjab lost their in-form skipper Adam Gilchrist, and the other opener for just six runs in three overs. Azhar Mahmood and Shaun Marsh took the responsibility of scoring and the latter got 3 fours in the coming overs. Marsh added 13 runs in the 6^th over with 3 fours and Azhar Mahmood punished Lasith Malinga for 19 two overs later with 1 six and 3 fours. Shaun Marsh attained his fifty on the 39^th ball whereas Azhar Mahmood blasted his half century on just 27 balls in the 13^th over with 2 back to back sixes and 1 four.

Azhar Mahmood was dropped on 50 by Coulter Nile at short fine leg off Rishi Dhawan on the first ball of the next over and Harbhajan Singh let off Marsh five balls later. Azhar Mahmood was severe on the bowlers and dispatched 1 six and 3 fours in the following overs. The third wicket partnership flourished to 154 in 16.4 overs when Shaun Marsh was gone for 63 off 47 balls with 11 fours. Azhar Mahmood left the scene two runs later for 80 from just 44 deliveries comprising 4 towering sixes and 8 fours. Manan Vohra played a hurried unbeaten innings of 20 from 8 with 1 six and 3 fours as Kings XI Punjab mounted 183 with two wickets still in hand in 20 overs.

Lasith Maliga was the top wicket taker with three whereas Coulter-Nile, Rishi Dhawan, Harbhajan Singh and Kieron Pollard shared one wicket each.

Mumbai Indians lost their first wicket on a duck as Ambati Rayudu got together with Aditya Tare who took off well by hitting 2 sixes and even fours until the fourth ball of the fourth over. Tare was clean bowled by Sandeep Sharma on the next delivery for 22 and was replaced by Rohit Sharma. The batsmen kept on scoring briskly and gathered 24 runs in the 5^th and next over with 4 fours but slowed down a bit after that. Rayudu was caught behind by Adam Gilchrist off Parvinder Awana at 62 in 8.4 overs for 26 off 22 with 3 fours and Dinesh Karthik was caught and bowled by Piyush Chawla without scoring any run.

Kieron Pollard joined in next with Rohit Sharma who became the next victim at 78 after scoring 25 off 25 deliveries with 1 six and 2 fours. Rishi Dhawan and Pollard tried to consolidate the innings with regular boundaries and they accumulated 16 runs in the 15^th over with 1 six and 1 four. The sixth wicket fell at 117 in 15.6 overs as Kieron Pollard left the field for 22. The bowlers of Kings XI Punjab took over from there and penetrated through the lower order batting of Mumbai Indians. Dhawan scored 14 as the entire Mumbai Indians team went back to the pavilion for 133 after 19.1 overs.

Azhar Mahmood, Sandeep Sharma and Piyush Chawla shared the honour of the day with two wickets each whereas Praveen Kumar, Parvinder Awana and Adam Gilchrist claimed one wicket each.

Kings XI Punjab won the one sided game with a big margin of 50 runs and climbed two points up in the event.

The present standing of the two teams in the tournament is as follows:

Mumbai Indians – 22 points from 16 games – 2^nd position.

Kings XI Punjab – 16 points from 16 games – 6^th position.