IPL 2018: Match 34, KXIP vs MI, Review- Punjab slump at their new home as Mumbai romp through

The Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) played their first game after almost a week’s break. The break, even allowed the likes of Chris Gayle to embark on a trip to Goa. Meanwhile, they skipped to the fourth position of the league table, but had played a couple of games less than the others. Today, KXIP were pitted against the Mumbai Indians (MI) at the Holkar Stadium in Indore.

The game turned out to be a cliffhanger and went into the penultimate over. The start was impressive from Punjab but they could only manage 174 runs, which looked a tad below par. Mumbai, during their run-chase, were clinical and chased down the target with an over to spare. On the back of this triumph, they also move to the fifth position in the league table.

Collective efforts lift Punjab

The track seemed to be a belter and hence, Rohit Sharma’s decision to field first made sense. KL Rahul commenced the innings with a couple of clean sixes off Mitchell McClenaghan and Jasprit Bumrah, which set the tone for the rest of the innings. On the other hand, Chris Gayle took his time to get his eye in, however, he came into his own as his knock progressed.

The partnership added 54 runs following which Mayank Markande nipped out Rahul and drew first blood. Gayle bludgeoned away thereafter and smacked a few to the boundaries. However, just after accomplishing his half century in 40 balls, he became Ben Cutting’s maiden victim when a shot of his willow found the safe hands of Suryakumar Yadav in the deep.

Yuvraj Singh, who made a comeback, was sent at number three ahead of Mayank Agarwal. The decision flogged and the left-handed batsman could only muster 14 runs at a run-a-ball before succumbing to a run out. Karun Nayar flung his willow and scored 23 runs with a couple of maximums, but McClenaghan’s off-cutter got rid of him in the 16th over.

In the last four overs, Ravichandran Ashwin’s men scored 42 runs, which lifted their score to 174/6. Marcus Stoinis found the boundaries without dropping much sweat and scored 29 runs off 15 balls. Cameos from Axar Patel and Agarwal also propelled their score. Jasprit Bumrah was the pick of Mumbai’s bowlers with an economy rate of 4.47 along with 11 dot balls.

Krunal and Surya smack hapless Punjab

The target was a difficult one, but not insurmountable by any means. Evin Lewis and Suryakumar commenced proceedings for the Indians. Surya was the one who blazed away and kick-started the innings, but Lewis struggled with his timings and fell prey to Mujeeb Ur Rahman. Ishan Kishan who has just been out of form in the last few and joined Yadav for the second wicket.

He started cautiously and didn’t go for his strokes from the outset. Meanwhile, the opener brought up a stupendous half-century in 34 balls with a spanking square cut of Ankit Rajpoot, who couldn’t retain his form from the previous game. However, Stoinis delivered a body blow as he removed the ominous looking Yadav when he leading edged one into the palms of Rahul.

Kishan smacked Mujeeb over deep mid-wicket, but couldn’t carry on as the Afghan tweaker castled him. The surprising after Surya walked back was that Rohit sent Hardik Pandya ahead of him. The tactic worked as Hardik went hell for leather and pressurized the bowlers. In the last five overs, the visitors required 57 runs and with Rohit and Pandya at the wicket, it wasn’t an impossible task.

To Mumbai’s despair, Tye disturbed Pandya’s woodwork, which again brought the match into the balance. But Mumbai have Pandya’s in abundance and Rohit had other ideas for how the game would end. They smacked a match-winning stand of 54 runs off 40 balls. Krunal got into his hitting zone and scored 31 runs off 12 balls, which wrapped up the game in a canter and most importantly, kept Mumbai in the hunt for a playoff berth.

Brief Scores

Kings XI Punjab: 174/6 in 20 overs; Chris Gayle 50, Marcus Stoinis 29*; Jasprit Bumrah 1/19; Mitchell McClenaghan 1/31

Mumbai Indians: 176/4 runs in 19 overs; Suryakumar Yadav 57, Krunal Pandya 31*; Mujeeb Ur Rahman 2/37, Andrew Tye 1/35

Mumbai Indians beat Kings XI Punjab by six wickets

Player of the Match: Suryakumar Yadav