KKR beat Kings XI Punjab to lift IPL trophy

Chasing Kings XI Punjab's massive 199 for four, KKR reached 200 runs by losing seven wickets with three balls to spare.

Smashing Mitchell Johnson for a six and then hitting a boundary in the last over, with four more balls left in the innings, Chawla turned out to be the hero for the night as his heroic 13 not out helped his side win the trophy for the second time in past three years.

KKR had a poor start to the run chase as they lost the wicket of the man-in-form Robin Uthappa  (5) in the very first over of the innings.

Gautam Gambhir added 23 runs, hitting three sixes, but could not convert the start he got to big scores.

Manish Pandey surely took up the challenge from that point and if Chawla was the hero then the latter was surely the lead in this Sunday blockbuster.

Pandey kept on hitting sixes and boundaries to keep the scoreboard ticking.

He smashed six over boundaries and seven boundaries in his 50-ball 94.

He got good support on the other end of the crease by Yusuf Pathan as his blistering 22-ball 36, which included four huge sixes,   helped the duo in stabilising the innings and they posted 71 runs in the third wicket partnership.

The match swung like a pendulum and Kings XI Punjab often returned to the match by picking crucial wickets at regular intervals.

Pathan's dismissal by Karanveer Singh in the 14th over seemed a signal for Kings to return to the match and it became more clearer as KKR lost wickets of Shakib Al Hasan (12), Ryan ten Doeschate (4) and Suryakumar Yadav (5) in the next few overs.

It was Chawla and Sunil Narine (2*) who reached the target for KKR.

Karanveer Singh picked up four wickets for Kings XI Punjab though he gave away 54 runs in his four overs.

Johnson took two wickets for the Preity Zinta's side.

Earlier in the day, Kings XI Punjab posted 199 for four in 20 overs.

Reduced to 30 for two within six overs, it was Manan Vohra (67) and Bengal lad Wriddhiman Saha (115*) who helped the side post such a mammoth total on the scorecard.

Saha played a gutsy knock of 55-ball 115. The former KKR star smashed 10 boundaries and eight sixes in his knock.

Chawla picked up two wickets for KKR.

The much hyped final, which had already been called by fans as the contest  between 'Veer and Zara' with the owners of the two sides being Bollywood stars Shah Rukh Khan and Preity Zinta, saw the presence of both the stars in the field and cheering for their sides.

After losing five matches earlier, KKR never looked like winning the trophy but the side showed a magical turn around as skipper Gautam Gambhir and his men won the rest of the matches in the group stage and then the qualifier to reach the final.

The team had won the IPL in 2012  by beating Chennai Super Kings under Gambhir's leadership.

Speaking after the victory,  Shakib Al Hasan said: "Two times in three years, it can't be better."

Pandey said: "It was great  scoring runs in the final."

Brief scorecard:

Kings XI Punjab 199 for four in 20 overs (W Saha 115 no, M Vohra 67; P Chawla 2-44)

KKR 200 for seven in 19.3 overs (M Pandey 94, Y Pathan 36;  K Singh 4-54, M Johnson 2-41)