… Pune Warriors finish ninth
(REUTERS) – Leg-spinner Amit Mishra claimed his second Indian Premier League hat-trick as Deccan Chargers ended Kings XI Punjab’s playoff hopes, crushing them by 82 runs in a lop-sided match yesterday.
The outcome means Chennai Super Kings, Royal Challengers Bangalore, Mumbai Indians and Kolkata Knight Riders have now qualified for the playoffs.
Mishra took four wickets for just nine runs, including a hat-trick, while team mate Shikhar Dhawan (95 not out) narrowly missed a century as Deccan signed off their campaign with a victory to finish seventh.
Put in to bat, openers Dhawan and Ravi Teja (60) punished Punjab for their lacklustre bowling and sloppy fielding to power Deccan to a commanding 198 for two wickets.
Punjab made a feeble response with only skipper Adam Gilchrist (51) providing some resistance before they folded for 116 in 19 overs in their must-win match to crash out of the playoff race and finish fifth.
Mishra removed Ryan McLaren, Mandeep Singh and Ryan Harris off successive deliveries to complete his second hat-trick in the tournament’s history.
His first came against his current team in 2008 when he represented Delhi Daredevils.
Pune Warriors finished ninth after their match against bottom-placed hosts Delhi was called off because of heavy rain.
Delhi were reeling at 56 for three wickets after 10.1 overs when showers began and not another ball could have been bowled in the match.