Kings XI beat Kochi Tuskers to stay alive in IPL

Kings XI Punjab kept alive their hopes of booking a play-off berth as they defeated Kochi Tuskers Kerala by six wickets in the Indian Premier League (IPL) at the Holkar Stadium here Friday.

Dinesh Karthik struck a blistering 33-ball 69 as Kings XI Punjab made 181 in 18.5 overs, while chasing a target of 179 at the Holkar Stadium.

Karthik was ably assisted by Shaun Marsh (42) and they added 111 runs for the third wicket that saw the Kings XI move to the sixth place in the points table.

Put in to bat, Kochi Tuskers, assisted by some erratic bowling, got to a formidable 178 for seven. Kings XI Punjab bowlers gave away 23 extras, which included 19 wide balls.

Brendan McCullum (32) and Jayawardene gave the Tuskers a flying start with their 93-run opening stand.

A cameo of 23 runs from 12 balls by England batsmen Owais Shah saw the Tuskers scoring 48 runs in the last five overs.

While chasing, Kings XI lost openers Adam Gilchrist (9) and Paul Valthaty (17) in the fifth over for just 31 runs.

But that did not deter Karthik and Marsh for being involved in some power hitting. They smashed the Kochi bowlers all over the park and the shortened boundary made their task easy.