Twitter Reactions: Kieron Pollard's brute force and Alzarri Joseph's calmness take Mumbai Indians home at the Wankhede

Wow!! Just Wow!! Chris Gayle, KL Rahul and then Kieron Pollard entertained the jam-packed Wankhede crowd to the fullest on the day. All the three batsmen made it a tough day for the bowlers. But the stand-in Mumbai Indians (MI) skipper had the last laugh in the heated and the breathtaking encounter against the Kings XI Punjab (KXIP). Pollard’s 83-run knock off just 31 brought Mumbai at the cusp of the unlikeliest victories and then Alzarri Joseph kept his calm to score two runs off the last ball.

The chase of 198 runs began on a blistering note for the Mumbai Indians as their Siddhesh Lad smash 10 off the first two balls of his IPL career. But then he dozed off and Mohammed Shami uprooted the youngster’s stumps. Quinton de Kock also struggled during his stay in the middle even as Suryakumar Yadav looked impressive with crafty shots. However, everyone was surprised when Kieron Pollard promoted himself up the order at number four.

He took his time in the middle for the first four-five deliveries but by that time, the required run-rate had shot to 13 in the last 10 overs. Moreover, the things in the middle were also heated with Hardus Viljoen checking out Pollard’s shirt after he missed the edge. This is where the Caribbean was missed it seems and he decided to get his team over the line.

What followed was absolute carnage! Even Hardik Pandya failed to match Pollard’s hitting ability and the Wankhede was up on its feet. Pollard stunned the opposition with his belligerence. It was yet another Russell-like knock but it was played by Pollard. The huge ask was brought down to 15 off 6 balls by the Caribbean’s brute force.

He reduced it more with Ankit Rajpoot bowling a no-ball. However, there was a twist in the tale. Pollard went for the glory finish off the second ball of the over and was caught at the deep mid-wicket on 83 off just 31 balls and the equation came down to run-a-ball. However, Alzarri Joseph kept his cool and along with Rahul Chahar, he took his team over the line to start off the wild celebrations from the home team.

Rahul and Gayle light up Wankhede

Earlier, KL Rahul and Chris Gayle literally got stuck into Mumbai’s bowling attack. Both of them got hold of the pitch early on and then ripped apart every bowler that came their way. The last match’s hero Alzarri Joseph also couldn’t make an impact while Hardik Pandya came in the way of the Gayle storm. Jason Behrendorff also felt the heat and after the six overs, the home team was literally looking clueless.

The carnage continued even after the powerplay even as the youngster Rahul Chahar showed amazing composure while bowling to the Universe Boss who raced past the 50-run mark and was looking dangerous. But after running a little too much by his standards, he looked a bit tired or maybe cramps got better of him. Behrendorff dismissed Gayle and suddenly the KXIP’s run-rate dipped down considerably.

However, KL Rahul targetted Hardik Pandya in the penultimate over to turn the tables on MI. Rahul raced into the 90s by eking out 25 runs in that over and then backed it up with a sensational six of Jasprit Bumrah in the final over. He got to his first IPL century in the final over as the KXIP finished their innings on 197/4 after 20 overs.

Here’s how Twitter reacted:

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