IPL 9: Captain cool and his giants end on a high

Skipper M.S. Dhoni single-handedly scripted Pune face-saving four-wicket win over Kings XI Punjab with a last ball six to help them avoid a last-place finish here. Chasing 173, Pune never looked in contention, but Dhoni played the lone ranger with an unbeaten 32-ball 64 to secure an improbable win for the debutants. Needing 23 runs in the last over, Dhoni struck three sixes and a four. In the last ball of the match, RPS required six for victory and the captain lofted one over the midwicket boundary.

Scoreboard Kings XI Punjab: H. Amla c Bailey b Ashwin 30, M. Vijay b Ashwin 59, W. Saha c Ashwin b Zampa 3, Gurkeerat Singh c Chahar b Ashwin 51, D. Miller lbw b Ashwin 7, F. Behardien c Rahane b Dinda 5, A. Patel c Tiwary b Perera 1, R. Dhawan (not out) 11, K. Abbott (not out) 1. Extras: (lb 1, w 3) 4. Total: (for 7 wkts, in 20 overs) 172. FoW: 1-60, 2-65, 3-123, 4-150, 5-154, 6-160, 7-160. Bowling: Pathan 4-0-37-0, Dinda 3-0-16-1, Chahar 3-0-28-0 (3w), Perera 2-0-24-1, Ashwin 4-0-34-4, Zampa 4-0-32-1.

Rising Pune Supergiants: A. Rahane c Saha b Sandeep 19, U. Khawaja c Miller b Gurkeerat 30, G. Bailey st Saha b Patel 9, S. Tiwary c Behardien b Gurkeerat 17, M.S. Dhoni (not out) 64, I. Pathan c Saha b Dhawan 2, T. Perera c Saha b Sharma 23, R. Ashwin (not out) 1. Extras: (lb 1, w 7) 8. Total: (for 6 wkts, in 20 overs) 173. FoW: 1-35, 2-47, 3-78, 4-80, 5-86, 6-144. Bowling: Sandeep 4-0-29-1 (2w), Sharma 4-0-39-1 (1w), Abbott 3-0-25-0, Patel 4-0-43-1 (2w), Gurkeerat 2-0-15-2 (1w), Dhawan 3-0-21-1 (1w).