09 May,2012 08:04 AM IST | | A Correspondent
After being put into bat, Punjab, riding on Mandeep's knock, posted a healthy 170-5 before restricting Deccan to 145-8. Praveen Kumar (2-15) and stand-in skipper David Hussey (2-2) claimed two wickets apiece to choke Deccan's run chase. Only Daniel Harris (30) made a noteworthyu00a0contribution.
Though Akshath Reddy (24) initiated a late charge, Deccan were out of the contest at 74-5 when skipper Kumar Sangakkara fell in the 12th. Earlier, Mandeep's knock was studded with eight fours and three sixes. The 20-year-old added 55 for the opening wicket with Shaun Marsh (22), before adding 39 and 33 runs with Hussey and Azhar Mahmood (14) respectively. When Mandeep brought up his fifty with a lofty inside out shot off Daniel Harris over cover, cricket experts at the ground knew that a future India batsman was on the horizon. A little later, Mandeep blasted successive fours off Mishra through the midwicket area. u00a0
Brief Scores:
Kings XI Punjab: 170-5 in 20 overs (Mandeep Singh 75, Shaun Marsh 22, David Miller 28; Ashish Reddy 2-39)
Deccan Chargers: 145-8 in 20 overs (Daniel Harris 30, Akshath Reddy 24; Praveen Kumar 2-15, D Hussey 2-2)
