Mohali : Openers Murali Vijay and Manan Vohra produced excellent batting performances as Kings XI Punjab posted their first win of the season, outclassing Rising Pune Supergiants by six wickets in their Indian Premier League (IPL) match at the Punjab Cricket Association Stadium here on Sunday.

Needing 154 runs for a win in front of their home crowd, Vijay and Vohra saw Punjab off to an excellent start with a couple of half-centuries each. Vijay was the top scorer for Punjab with 53 runs off 49 deliveries, hitting five boundaries and two sixes. Vohra was in equally good form at the other end, smashing 51 runs off 31 balls with seven well-stroked boundaries.

Leg-spinner Murugan Ashwin brought Pune back into the game when he removed Shaun Marsh, Vijay and David Miller in quick succession. But Glenn Maxwell plundered 32 runs off just 14 deliveries to seal the issue for Punjab. The star Australian batsman fittingly hit the winning runs when he smashed Thisara Perera for a boundary.

The fifth wicket stand between Maxwell and Wriddhiman Saha yielded 34 runs in only 2.2 overs in which India's Test wicketkeeper contributed only four runs. Earlier, opener Faf du Plesis batted through the innings to post a gritty half-century as Pune reached 152 for 7 after electing to bat first.

The South African right-hander scored 67 runs and was involved in two crucial partnerships with Kevin Pietersen and Steven Smith before falling in the final over of the innings. His 53-ball innings was studded with eight hits to the fence. For Punjab, medium-pacer Mohit Sharma bagged three crucial wickets for figures of 3 for 23.

His fellow pacer Sandeep Sharma was also very economical, returning 2/23 in his four overs. Pune's other opener Ajinkya Rahane (9) showed glimpses of form, stroking two well-timed boundaries during his brief 11-ball stay at the crease.

The 27-year-old was unlucky to be dismissed in single digits when his mistimed attempt to play a Sandeep Sharma delivery to the onside led to an inside edge onto the stumps. Pietersen joined du Plesis in the middle and proceeded to play the anchor's role with a run-a-ball 15 as the Proteas T20 skipper kept up a healthy run rate from the other end.

They added 55 runs between them off 35 deliveries. After Pietersen and Thisara Perera went back in quick succession, Smith and du Plesis bolstered the innings with a 63-run partnership. Smith contributed 38 runs off 26 balls before a clever change of pace from Mohit Sharma forced him to mistime an attempted big hit and David Miller pulled off a relatively easy catch.

Brief scores: Rising Pune Supergiants 152 for 7 (Faf du Plessis 67, Steven Smith 38, Mohit Sharma 3/23, Sandeep Sharma 2/23) lost to Kings XI Punjab 153 for 4 in 18.4 overs (Murali Vijay 53, Manan Vohra 51, Glenn Maxwell 32 no, Murugan Ashwin 3/36).