| Scores | Upcoming | Results |
Kimberley: A powerful start from the top four, followed by nerveless hands from Mahela Jayawardene and Brett Lee stole the thunder from Andrew Symonds' first IPL game, setting up Kings XI Punjab's win over the Deccan Chargers at the Kimberley Oval.
Punjab needed 8 runs off the last over as Lee and Chawla safely helped their side to the much-needed win with one ball to spare.
After restricting the formidable Deccan Chargers to 168 for 5, built around Andrew Symonds' unbeaten 60, the Kings XI Punjab rode on Mahela Jayawardene's quickfire 43 and some lusty hitting by the tail-enders to scamper home with just one ball to spare.
Fortune fluctuated from one team to the other till the dying moments before Kings XI, who desperately needed a victory to keep themselves afloat in the tournament, tilted the balance in their favour on a tricky track at the De Beers Diamond Oval.
With eight runs required from the last over, Punjab's Piyush Chawla cracked a boundary off pacer RP Singh's first delivery and then held nerves to rotate strikes with Brett Lee to achieve a competitive target of 169.
Punjab's Sri Lankan import Mahela Jayawardene, with his fighting 43, laid the foundation of the win which denied the Deccan their second victory on the trot.
The dismissal of Yuvraj, who was looking dangerous and just started stepping on the accelerator, bogged down Punjab's run-rate after the 10th over.
The team might have expected some lusty shots from Irfan Pathan (10 off 12) but he did not give much trouble to the scorers as Shoaib pouched a diving catch off T Suman's delivery.
However, Jayawadene's fighting innings which he built with the help of three sixes and one four before getting run out in the 18th over, kept the hope of Punjab team alive.
Earlier, put into bat first, Symonds cracked an unbeaten 60 off just 36 balls to guide Deccan Chargers to competitive 168 for 5. The Australia all-rounder, playing his first IPL match of the season, hit two boundaries and four sixes in 36 balls. He shared the highest fifth-wicket stand of the tournament with Venugopal Rao (32 off 25 balls).
Symonds revived Deccan's innings after a period of dominance by the Punjab bowlers. Deccan lost captain Adam Gilchrist for 20 in the fourth over when the former Australia wicket-keeper flicked a short delivery from Sreesanth to Ramesh Powar in the deep.
Australia fast bowler Brett Lee, also playing for the first time in the series, was impressive with the new ball, bowling at good pace and length to claim 1-24 from four overs.
Herschelle Gibbs on 13 followed in the seventh over after Mahela Jayawardene held on to a low catch at point off leg-spinner Piyush Chawla. Tirumalsetti Suman was next when he was caught on 27 on the boundary by Jayawardene off Wilkin Mota to leave Deccan on 70/3 in the tenth over.
Rohit Sharma then edged to wicketkeeper Kumar Sangakkara off Lee for 9 in the 11th over. The last wicket to fall was Venugopal Rao, who was run out by Simon Katich's throw back to Sangakkara in the final over.
Breif Score: Kings XI Punjab 169/7 (Jayawardene 43) beat Deccan Chargers 168/5 (Symonds 60*) by three wickets
