Mohali: Gujarat Lions rode on some powerful batting to defeat Kings XI Punjab by six wickets in their Indian Premier League match here on Sunday evening.
Chasing a challenging target of 190 runs, Gujarat romped home with two deliveries to spare. Gujarat now have eight points from 12 matches, while Punjab remain on 10 points from 11 matches.
Dwayne Smith played a starring role for Gujarat, smashing 74 runs off a mere 39 deliveries, hitting eight boundaries and four towering sixes along the way.
Smith and fellow Ishan Kishan gave Gujarat’s chase a rocking start, producing an opening partnership of 91 runs in just 9.2 overs before Punjab pacer Thangarasu Natarajan ended Kishan’s stay.
Smith followed him back to the pavilion a couple of overs later when he was dismissed by Glenn Maxwell.
Skipper Suresh Raina and Dinesh Karthik then helped Gujarat get near the target with a 42-run stand, which came off 35 balls before the former was caught by Gurkeerat Singh wide of deep midwicket while trying to smash a Sandeep Sharma delivery out of the park.
Aaron Finch was also dismissed later in the same over when he offered an edge to Punjab wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha while attempting to pull a bouncer.
But Karthik and Ravindra Jadeja ensured that Gujarat reached the target in the last over.
Earlier, a century from Hashim Amla and a half-century by Shaun Marsh helped Kings XI Punjab post 189 for three after being put in to bat by Raina.
Amla plundered 104 runs off 60 balls with eight boundaries and five sixes before being trapped lbw by an accurate yorker from Gujarat pacer Basil Thampi on the penultimate ball of the innings. This was his second hundred in the IPL.
Amla was also involved two crucial partnerships with Marsh and Maxwell. Marsh made 58 runs with six boundaries studding his 43-ball knock.
Gujarat pacers Thampi, Pradeep Sangwan and Dhawal Kulkarni picked up a wicket each.
