Marsh seals victory over Mumbai

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Shaun Marsh's classy half-century guided Kings XI Punjab to a handy victory over Mumbai Indians in a tight clash at the Wankhede Stadium on Sunday.

Shaun Marsh's classy half-century guided Kings XI Punjab to a handy victory over Mumbai Indians in a tight clash at the Wankhede Stadium on Sunday.

Marsh paced his innings to perfection, going to fifty in just 33 balls before slamming two late sixes to wrap up the points for Punjab.

The visitors went into the final over needing nine runs to pass Mumbai's total of 163 for six, but Marsh made light weight of the task to finish unbeaten on 68 from 40 deliveries as Kings XI won by six wickets.

The Kings XI Punjab's success was also thanks to some excellent death bowling – Mumbai were 131 for two in the 16th over after winning the toss and opting to bat.

Sachin Tendulkar returned for the hosts and shared in 51-run opening stand with James Franklin before he was run out for a run-a-ball 23.

Although Rohit Sharma fell cheaply, Franklin continued the momentum in 75-run partnership with Dinesh Karthik that saw Mumbai took firm control.

However the run-out of Karthik for 35 from 20 deliveries turned the game as Kieron Pollard and Harbhajan Singh were unable to make any real impression in the final overs and Franklin was eventually dismissed for a 51-ball 79.

That left Kings XI with an easier chase than they might have expected, and Nitin Saini (30) and Mandeep Singh (24) laid a solid foundation for their more illustrious teammates to build on.

Marsh came to the fore once the opening pair had fallen, adding 58 with stand-in skipper David Hussey to keep the chase on track, before finishing the job with aplomb in the closing overs of the match.

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