After being put into bat, Rising Pune Supergiant got off to a slow start as Punjab pacers struck early – sending Mayank Agarwal packing for a duck.

Ajinkya Rahane and Steve Smith stepped in to try and take control of the innings, but the Indian opener was dismissed for just 19 as he swept T Natarajan to Marcus Stoinis at cover.

Stoinis then influenced the game with the ball in his hand, ending skipper Smith’s stay before MS Dhoni was caught and bowled by Swapnil Singh soon after.

Runs were becoming difficult to come by until Ben Stokes (50- 2×4, 3×6) and Manoj Tiwary (40 not out – 3×4, 2×6) knitted together a partnership worth 61 runs to revive the Pune innings.

However, Stokes got out at a crucial juncture to Axar Patel and Pune managed to cross the 160 mark through Daniel Christian’s late firepower.

In reply, Punjab started off in positive fashion with openers Hashim Amla and Manan Vohra getting going at a fast pace.

But it was that man Imran Tahir who wrecked havoc with his leg-spin yet again. After the opening pair departed, he dismissed Patel and Wriddhiman Saha.

It didn’t matter too much, though.

Glenn Maxwell (44 not out – 2x4s, 4x6s) was joined by David Miller (30 not out) and they put on a half-century stand to guide Punjab to victory.