Karthik keeps Punjab alive
Dinesh Karthik smashed five sixes in his 33-ball 69 to power Kings XI Punjab to a six-wicket victory over Kochi Tuskers Kerala in an Indian Premier League match on Friday.
He put on 111 for the third wicket with Australian Shaun Marsh (42) as Punjab surpassed Kochi's total of 178-7 with seven balls to spare for their fifth win in 11 games of the Twenty20 tournament.
Punjab were struggling at 31-2 after paceman Rudra Pratap Singh dismissed skipper Adam Gilchrist (nine) and Paul Valthaty (17), but Karthik and Marsh shattered Kochi's hopes with their big-hitting.
Karthik, who reached his half-century with a six over mid-wicket off spinner Ravindra Jadeja, also hit seven fours while Marsh cracked two sixes and five fours in his 30-ball knock.
Australian David Hussey (21 not out) finished the match with a straight six off paceman Shanthakumaran Sreesanth.
Sri Lankan Jayawardene earlier hit two sixes and eight fours in his 52-ball 76 to help Kochi post a challenging total.
SCORES IN BRIEF
KOCHI TUSKERS KERALA: 178-7 in 20 overs (Jayawardene 76, McCullum 32, Shah 23; Sharma 2-32)
KINGS XI PUNJAB: 181-4 in 18.5 overs (Karthik 69, Marsh 42, Hussey 21 not out; RP Singh 4-25)
Result: Kings XI Punjab won by 6 wickets.
Man-of-the-match: Dinesh Karthik.
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