Punjab crush Pune

Pune (PTI): Kings XI Punjab produced a clinical performance to thrash Pune Warriors by eight wickets and start their Pepsi Indian Premier League campaign in an emphatic fashion, here on Sunday. Angelo Mathews' decision to bat first backfired badly as the home team batsmen produced another inept show posting a meagre 99 for nine in their 20 overs. The chase was a cakewalk for KXIP as young IPL debutant Manan Vohra sent the Pune bowlers on a leatherhunt, finishing the lopsided contest in only 12.2 overs. Manan (43 no, 7x4, 1x6) and Mandeep Singh (31) added 58 runs, including 21 in one Ashoke Dinda over, as the Preity Zinta co-owned team finished the match in a jiffy. The match ended in a dramatic fashion when David Hussey's flick shot was acrobatically caught at short mid-wicket by T Suman off Mitchell Marsh's bowling. But TV replays showed that it was a no-ball and thus KXIP won the match. It was a match in which KXIP outclassed their opponents in every department of the game. The sheer dominance of the KXIP pacers was evident as the highest partnership for Pune was 25 and the top scorer was Abhishek Nayar with 25. For KXIP, Azhar Mahmood and Praveen Kumar got two wickets apiece, giving away 19 and 31 runs respectively. Brief Scores: Pune Warriors 99 for 9 (Abhishek Nayar 25 no, Azhar Mahmood 2/19) lost to Kings XI Punjab 100 for 2 (Manan Vohra 43 no, Mandeep Singh 31, Angelo Mathews 1/12).