Mumbai Indians made light work of chasing a total of 199 to defeat Kings XI Punjab, triumphing by eight wickets with more than four overs to spare to go top of the Indian Premier League table.
An unbeaten 104 from Hashim Amla had helped guide Punjab to a score of 198-4 in their 20 overs after they had been put in by Mumbai.
But that total immediately appeared inadequate as openers Jos Buttler and Parthiv Patel went after the Punjab bowling, putting on 81 in just 5.5 overs before Patel fell for 37 off 18 balls.
But Buttler kept on going, and supported by Nitish Rana they added 85 for the second wicket before Buttler fell for 77, which came off 37 balls, with seven boundaries and five sixes.
Rana finished unbeaten on 62, which came off 34 balls with seven sixes struck, while Hardik Pandya made an impressive cameo as he struck 15 off four balls as Mumbai won on 199-2 with 27 balls remaining.
The victory was Mumbai’s fifth in six games, while the loss was Punjab’s fourth of the season.
Friday’s action sees Kolkata Knight Riders play host to the Gujarat Lions.
* The National staff
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