Thursday, May 22, 2008, Jamadi-ul-Awwal 15, 1429    

Punjab sneak a one-run thriller in IPL

Mumbai—A see-saw last over - which included a six, a four, a dropped catch and three run-outs - allowed Kings XI Punjab to end Mumbai Indians’ six-match winning streak and boost their hopes for a place in the semi-finals.
Shaun Marsh and Luke Pomersbach’s 134-run stand laid the platform but it was Punjab’s accurate bowling at the death under pressure that brought the game to a head in the final over.
Mumbai needed 19 off the last six balls and had three wickets in hand with Siddharth Chitnis and Dilhara Fernando out in the middle. VRV Singh bowled a waist-high no-ball up front and Chitnis hit it for a six over third man. The next delivery was full and wide and Chitnis lifted it over extra cover where Tanmay Srivastava dropped a difficult catch and Mumbai needed eight off five balls. Srivastava was back in the action in the next ball when he threw the ball back to the keeper and Chitnis was run out trying to take a second run.
Seven off four and new batsman Ashish Nehra sneaked a bye to get Dilhara Fernando on strike. Fernando drove a fuller delivery through cover and it was Srivastava again who fielded the ball to run out Nehra as the batsmen tried for a risky third run. Four runs off two balls with one wicket remaining - Vikrant Yeligati dropped the ball on the pitch and the batsmen ran two as Punjab’s fielders muffed up what would have been the fifth run-out of the innings.—Agencies