CHENNAI, APRIL 24

Punjab Kings ended a three-match losing streak and handed defending champions Mumbai Indians a nine-wicket thrashing in the Indian Premier League on Friday.

The Punjab battery set it up by limiting Mumbai to 131-6.

Captain Lokesh Rahul, 60 not out, Chris Gayle, 43 not out, and Mayank Agarwal, 25, knocked off the winning runs with 14 balls to spare.

Punjab joined Mumbai in mid-table with two wins from five matches.

Punjab made a whippy start taking 15 off Krunal Pandya's first over. Agarwal played his part with 25 off 20 balls, including pulling Jasprit Bumrah over the fine leg boundary.

Gayle joined Rahul at 53-1 in the eighth over, and they were tied down for five overs by wicket-earner Rahul Chahar and fellow spinner Jayant Yadav.

Then Gayle hit Yadav for successive boundaries, Rahul smoked Kieron Pollard over the fine leg fence, and the run rate required was comfortable again.

The batsmen finished it in a hurry when Gayle hit Trent Boult over deep midwicket and Rahul hit the fast bowler over long on and angled the winning runs to the third man boundary.

Rahul had three boundaries and three sixes, and Gayle five boundaries and two sixes.

Rohit Sharma and Suryakumar Yadav threatened a decent total for Mumbai while they were together for 79 into the 17th over, but their departures in quick succession -- Yadav to a top edge for 33 off 27 balls then Rohit for 63 off 52 -- stymied the team ambition.

Mumbai scored only 34-4 off the last five overs, three overs being notably miserly from fast bowler Mohammed Shami, who conceded only 17-2 in that period.

Ravi Bishnoi, Deepak Hooda and Moises Henriques also bowled very cheaply.