Sloppy Mumbai succumb in big upset

Kings XI Punjab 163 for 8 (Marsh 43, Karthik 31, Munaf 5-21) beat Mumbai Indians 87 (Bhatt 4-22)

	Sachin Tendulkar's dismissal was the beginning of a spectacular collapse © Associated Press

After a glut of one-sided snooze-fests, the IPL produced the kind of upset the Twenty20 format is made for, with the tenth-placed Kings XI Punjab producing a strong performance to trounce the table-toppers Mumbai Indians. Punjab came out determined against Mumbai's gun bowlers - Lasith Malinga and Harbhajan Singh - and scrapped their way towards a solid base, before Munaf Patel's five-for kept them to 163. In reply, Mumbai combusted in a rash of ridiculous shots to hand Punjab two points on a platter, and keep their campaign alive.

It was the kind of score Punjab would have taken at the toss, given how badly out of form their batting has been in recent games. It gave them the rare luxury of something to bowl at, and they responded with purpose. Aiden Blizzard produced three edgy boundaries in the first over from Praveen Kumar, but things were about to go pear-shaped in a hurry thereafter. Sachin Tendulkar guided at an innocuous delivery from Praveen straight to backward point in the third over, before Adam Gilchrist pulled off an alert stumping to send Rohit Sharma on his way. When Blizzard was adjudged out nicking a leg-side ball from Praveen in the fifth over, Mumbai had slumped to 27 for 3, and there was no middle-order counter-attack in store. Even a couple of dropped chances and a missed run-out did not spark a revival, and the exit of Andrew Symonds, Ambati Rayudu and T Suman in successive overs set up a happy evening for the Mohali faithfuls.

The second over of the day set the tone for Punjab's defiant show. The bowler of the tournament, Lasith Malinga, screamed in and delivered it full and wide of off stump. The out-of-form Gilchrist rolled back the years by moving across and slicing it through point. The next ball was hit even more fiercely, but it found the fielder. Buoyed by the confidence of having middled two balls, Gilchrist took guard outside the crease for the next delivery. It was a yorker, followed by a bouncer that clattered Gilchrist on the back of his helmet. He was stunned for a moment and floored for a minute, but he got a new helmet and carried on. Punjab were not going to flinch today.

Paul Valthaty did his bit to kick-start the innings before perishing in Munaf Patel's first over, pulling him straight to deep midwicket. Gilchrist carried on though he was clearly not at his best, struggling to pick Harbhajan's straighter ones, and to adapt to the drop in pace once Malinga exited the attack. Symonds let him off on one of those indiscretions, when Gilchrist drove Dhawal Kulkarni uppishly into the covers. Gilchrist celebrated by launching Rohit Sharma for a straight six, while Shaun Marsh checked in by creaming Kulkarni twice through the off side.

Malinga returned and produced the breakthrough, hurling down another pacy bouncer which Gilchrist feathered behind. Marsh had found his range by then, and seamlessly took charge of the innings along with Dinesh Karthik. Blizzard made things easier for Punjab, spilling an easy at midwicket when Karthik top-edged Kieron Pollard. When Karthik swept and reverse-swept T Suman for successive fours in the 14th over, things were looking ominous for Mumbai. It was the cue for the Munaf show to begin.

Marsh welcomed Munaf to the crease by crashing a slower ball through the covers, before imparting a violent thump to another half-tracker, as the ball sailed along towards the deep midwicket fence. Pollard had his own ideas, though, running at full tilt, diving to his right and intercepting the ball with both hands, to pull off one of the best catches of the tournament. That sparked Mumbai's best phase in the game, as Munaf used clever changes in length and pace to dismiss David Hussey for a duck, before foxing Karthik and Ryan Harris into scooping catches into the outfield. Munaf's efforts had restricted Punjab to just 39 off the last five overs, but Mumbai's spectacular batting collapse meant it counted for nothing. © ESPN EMEA Ltd.