Lions tamed as Axar claims hat-trick

Axar Patel claimed the first hat-trick of this season's Indian Premier League as Kings XI Punjab inflicted a shock 23-run defeat on leaders Gujarat Lions.

The Kings XI headed into Sunday's match bottom of the table, having won just one of their first six matches, but left-arm spinner Axar put them firmly on course for victory in Rajkot by claiming four wickets in five balls on his way to career-best figures of 4-21.

After removing Dwayne Smith (15) with the third ball of the seventh over, Axar conceded a single to Ravindra Jadeja before Dinesh Karthik and Dwayne Bravo played on to successive deliveries, leaving Gujarat in all sorts of trouble at 39-5 in pursuit of 155.

Axar then struck immediately on his return to the attack in the 11th over, having Jadeja caught behind for 11 to complete his hat-trick.

Ishan Kishan and James Faulkner struck 27 and 32 respectively as Gujarat attempted to recover, but the damage was done and the Kings XI, for whom Mohit Sharma returned 3-32, ultimately triumphed with a degree of comfort.

An opening stand of 65 in 6.4 overs between Murali Vijay, who replaced David Miller as skipper, and Marcus Stoinis gave the Kings XI a positive start after they had been invited to bat first.

Stoinis' departure for 27 triggered a collapse that saw Punjab slide to 73-4, but Vijay pressed on to reach 55 from 41 balls and there were also useful contributions from Miller (31) and Wriddhiman Saha (33) prior to another flurry of wickets.

Shivil Kaushik was the pick of Gujarat's attack with 3-20, but their subsequent top-order struggles enabled the Kings XI to claim a much-needed victory.