In a nerve-racking encounter, the balance of the match shifted from one team to another from over to over, Kings XI Punjab held their ground to register a five-wicket win over Hobart Hurricanes in the second match of the Champions League T20 at the Punjab Cricket Association Stadium in Mohali.

Considering the firepower and their Indian Premier League form, chasing 145 should have been a straightforward task for Kings XI Punjab. However, Doug Bollinger and Ben Hilfenhaus were not going down without a fight. The duo dismissed Virender Sehwag (0), Wriddhiman Saha (11), David Miller (0) and Manan Vohra (18) leaving the Punjab side struggling at 51 for four.

Punjab’s prodigy, who almost single-handedly guided them to the IPL-7 final, Glenn Maxwell was to their rescue again scoring 43 off just 25 balls to swing the match in their favour.

George Bailey and Thisara Perera then held the fort to guide the home side to a win with a 69-run partnership.

The Hurricanes were tied down by some good bowling performances by the Punjab bowlers. The disciplined bowling restricted the visitors to 78 for four in the 13th over. However, a 52-run partnership between Jonathan Wells and Travis Birt came to their rescue and got them to a respectable total of 144 for six.

Perera was the pick of the bowlers scalping two crucial wickets for just 17 runs.

Moment of the match: Glenn Maxwell, who has rescued his side on numerous occasions in the past, was on to the rescue at once again. Coming in to bat at 51 for four, he played his usual aggressive brand of cricket scoring 43 off just 25 balls to get the match back in their favour. He reached there with five typical Maxwell boundaries and his innings was the difference between the two sides.

Man of the Match: Thisara Perera bagged the man of the match award for his all-round performance. He took 2-17 in the Hobart Hurricanes innings and made an unbeaten 35 in the run-chase. He played the role of a perfect all-rounder and deserved the award.

Brief Scores: Hobart Hurricanes 144-6 in 20.0 Overs (Ben Dunk 26, Aiden Blizzard 27, Travis Birt 28, Jonathan Wells 28, Thisara Perera 2-17) lost to Kings XI Punjab 146-5 in 17.4 Overs (Glenn Maxwell 43, George Bailey 34*, Thisara Perera 35*, Doug Bollinger 2-30)