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Future brighter for Kings

Bloemfontein - Kings XI Punjab beat the Delhi Daredevils by six wickets on Friday to keep their IPL-hopes alive of reaching the semifinals.

The Kings XI Punjab's troubled fast bowler Brett Lee returned to something near his best form when he restricted the Delhi Daredevils to just 120 for nine.

Lee, who was injured when Australia won their Test series in South Africa earlier this year, roared in and claimed three for 15 in four overs, two of them bowled right at the death.

He was not shy to use either the slower ball or the bouncer and his second spell was an outstanding two for three in two overs as Delhi fell short of a challenging total.

Lee claimed the vital wicket of Virender Sehwag (nine) in the third over, caught behind off a sharp lifter, and, with Shanthakumaran Sreesanth offering superb support with two for 20 in his four overs, Delhi slumped to 51 for four in the tenth over.

Punjab finally met some resistance when Mithun Manhas and Dinesh Karthik added 50 for the fifth wicket off 39 balls.

But Manhas's run-a-ball innings of 26 was ended by the gentle medium-pace of Wilkin Mota as a pull was mis-hit to Sunny Sohal at midwicket.

Delhi were 104 for five with four overs remaining, but the tail could gather no momentum as Lee burst through with a marvellous effort at the death, including a maiden-wicket in the 17th over.

Karthik lasted until the penultimate over, but had few boundary-scoring opportunities against tight bowling and his dismissal by left-arm swing bowler Irfan Pathan for 32 was another telling blow.

Irfan backed up Lee and Sreesanth extremely well, taking two for 22 in his four overs.

But it was Lee, at the end, and Sreesanth in the middle overs, who really ripped through the in-form Delhi batting line-up.

Sreesanth picked up the wicket of South African star AB de Villiers for just 11, caught at mid-on.

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