Kings XI Punjab 163-6 (Nitin Saini 50, David Hussey 45, Andrew McDonald 2-25) beat Royal Challengers Bangalore 158-5 (Chris Gayle 71, Virat Kohli 45, Azhar Mahmood 3-20) by four wickets.

Azhar Mahmood grabbed three wickets at a crucial juncture and the batsmen of Kings XI Punjab conquered Royal Challengers Bangalore in a professional way.

Royal Challengers Bangalore scored 158 runs with five wickets in hand and Kings XI Punjab punched 163 runs for the loss of six wickets in 19.5 overs.

Azhar Mahmood (Kings XI Punjab) was declared ‘Player of the match’ for his match figures of three wickets for 20 runs in four overs.

The 44^th match of the Indian Premier League was played at M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore, on Wednesday, May 2, 2012.

Earlier, David Hussey, the captain of Kings XI Punjab, won the toss and opted to go for the bowling on a perfect Twenty20 batting track. The decision came to fruition when they got the first wicket for just seven runs after which the out of form Virat Kohli came to the crease and joined the master blaster, Chris Gayle. The third over of the innings produced just two runs as Gayle changed his gears in the following over by hitting three consecutive fours to Ryan Harris.

Kohli kept on consolidating at the other end with occasional boundaries as the first fifty of the innings came really late in the 10^th over. The 12^th over produced 18 runs with a six each from both batsmen and Gayle got a life on the first ball of the 13^th over when he was dropped by David Miller at wide mid off on the bowling of Parvinder Aawana for 39. He availed the chance and ended up with 17 runs in the over with a couple of fours and a six while achieved his fifty as well. The flow of runs was enhanced by the two and they collected 16 runs in the 14^th over with a six from each of them.

The second wicket contributed 119 runs as the hard hitting Chris Gayle was gone after smashing 71 off just 42 balls with 4 lofty sixes and 6 fours. The second wicket fell at 126 runs and Kohli departed after the addition of eight runs in the total at his individual score of 45 off 42 deliveries with 2 sixes and 3 fours. Royal Challengers Bangalore scored 158 runs for the loss of five wickets at the end of the scheduled 20 overs.

Azhar Mahmood was the pick of the bowlers with three wickets whereas Ryan Harris and Piyush Chawla shared one wicket each.

Kings XI Punjab opened their innings in style with Mandeep Singh and Shaun Marsh as the first got two fours in the initial over and the latter joined him with a boundary in the second over. Mandeep was the most aggressive of the two and gathered a couple of fours with one six in the next two overs. The first wicket associated 38 quick runs in 4.4 overs as Marsh was bowled by Andrew McDonald for 8 runs.

Nitin Saini joined in next with Mandeep and initiated his innings with a positive frame of mind by scoring six runs on the first two balls he faced that included one four. Mandeep Singh carried on with the attack from the other end and the first fifty of the innings was attained in the sixth over. He tried to accelerate the run rate but was declared leg before wicket off KP Appanna on the fifth ball of the 9^th over for 43 scored on 30 deliveries with one six and 6 fours.

The second wicket was lost at 73 runs in 8.5 overs when the skipper, David Hussey appeared on the scene but did not compromise with the run rate as Saini continued the attack. Hussy punished Appanna for 16 runs in the 13^th over which included a couple of well timed sixes and one four. Saini achieved his fifty in the 16^th over and Hussey dispatched two more sixes in the same over off Asad Pathan. The third wicket contributed 73 quick fired runs in 7.3 overs as Nitin Saini lost his wicket for 50 off 36 balls with 5 fours.

The third batsman was dismissed at 146 when Royal Challengers Bangalore took over and Kings XI Punjab lost three quick wickets with the addition of just 8 runs which included David Hussey also who thrashed 45 off 29 with 4 huge sixes and 2 fours. The match took an interesting turn as five runs were required to win the match in the last over which was bowled by Vinay Kumar. Paras Dogra was unable to score on the first ball, dropped on the second and got three runs on the next two balls. Piysuh Chawla dispatched the fifth ball flying over long on for a six as Kings XI Punjab thrashed 163 runs with four wickets still in hand.

Andrew McDonald was the main wicket taker with two as KP Appanna claimed one.

Points secured by the two teams after the 44^th match of the IPL 2012:

Kings XI Punjab                                   – 10 from 10 games at a net run rate of -0.280.

Royal Challengers Bangalore     –  9 from 10 games at a net run rate of -0.446.