Virender Sehwag scored a majestic century to propel the Kings X1 Punjab to 226 for six in the second Pepsi Indian Premier League (IPL) eliminator against the Chennai Super Kings at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Friday.
He was caught at deep midwicket by Faf du Plessis in the penultimate over for 122, which included twelve fours and eight sixes. Sehwag faced only 58 balls.
His century came off 50 balls, with ten fours and six sixes. It was vintage Sehwag, who rolled back the years with boundary pounding of the highest class.
David Miller played a pivotal role in ensuring that Punjab retain their momentum in the final five overs (which produced 59 runs).
The 24-year old Miller slammed 38 off 19 balls with five fours and a maximum.
The winner of the second eliminator will advance to the final against the Kolkota Knight Riders on Sunday.
The Chennai bowlers were relatively miserly in the first three overs. Manan Vohra and Sehwag broke the shackles in spectacular fashion by collecting 24 runs off Ishwar Pandey in the fourth over of the innings.
The bespectacled Sehwag slashed several boundaries through the point area to power theings X1 Punjab to 51 without loss after just 4.2 overs.
He also used his craftsmanship to carve several boundaries with splendidly timed late cuts to the third-man area.