Australian paceman Brett Lee has continued his recovery from a foot injury with a man-of-the-match performance to spearhead Kings XI Punjab to an upset six-wicket victory over Delhi Devils in the Indian Premier League.

The 32-year-old quick - playing in his first full series since injuring his foot during the home Test series against South Africa late last year - claimed 3-15 in four overs, including a wicket-maiden. Lee was well backed up by seamers Sree Santh and Irfan Pathan, who claimed 2-20 and 2-22 respectively.

Punjab's bowlers restricted Delhi to 9-120 before Kumar Sangakkara hit an unbeaten 43 to guide his side to a thrilling win with five balls to spare to keep their semi-final hopes alive. Punjab nearly made a mess of the chase, losing their top three wickets for 35 runs before Sangakkara put the innings back on track with a 53-run stand for the fourth wicket with Yuvraj Singh.

Yuvraj (18) was dismissed with the side still needing 33 to win from 26 balls but Pathan kept his cool, hitting three sixes en route to an unbeaten 21 to see his team home in their must-win tie. Delhi, who lead the eight-team tournament, can still make the semis even if they don't win any of their remaining three games.

Delhi have 16 points from 11 matches, followed by Chennai (13/11), Rajasthan (13/12), Deccan (12/11), Bangalore (12/12), Mumbai (11/12), Punjab (12/12) and Kolkata (3/11). Delhi were off to a poor start with swashbuckling openers Gautam Gambhir and Virender Sehwag being sent back cheaply inside the first four overs.

Dinesh Karthik top-scored with 32 and shared a 50-run stand with Mithun Manhas to lend some respectability to the total. Brief scores from Indian Premier League match between Delhi Daredevils and Kings XI Punjab: Delhi 9-120 in 20 overs (D Karthik 32, M Manhas 26; B Lee 3-15, S Sreesanth 2-20, I Pathan 2-22). Punjab 4-123 in 19.1 overs (K Sangakkara 43 not out, I Pathan 21 not out; F Mahroof 2-29)