During the 50th match of the 11th season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) between Mumbai Indians (MI) and Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) at Mumbai, Mumbai Indians beat Kings XI Punjab by 3 runs in a nail-biting contest. With six wins in the tournament, Mumbai Indians are now at the fourth position in the points table.
After Ravichandran Ashwin won the toss and chose to field, Mumbai Indians got off to a flying start. It was Andrew Tye, who picked up three wickets in two overs to bring back the visitors into the game. Kieron Pollard’s 13th IPL half-century guided Mumbai Indians to 186-8 in 20 overs.
In the second innings, Kings XI Punjab lost Chris Gayle in the powerplay. A 111-run partnership between Lokesh Rahul and Aaron Finch had set the tone for the visitors in the chase, but Jasprit Bumrah’s awe-inspiring spell put restraints to their chase. Kings XI eventually scored 183-5 in 20 overs.
Now, we will look at the hits and flops players in this match.
Hits
Andrew Tye (KXIP) – Andrew Tye was introduced into the attack as the first change bowler in the fourth over of Mumbai Indians’ innings. In his first two over, he picked up three wickets to tear apart the opposition’s top-order. He ended up registering bowling figures of 4-0-16-4 which made him the first bowler in the history of the IPL to pick three four-wicket hauls in a single season.
Lokesh Rahul (KXIP) – It was another of those matches where Lokesh Rahul was seen fighting a lone battle in a high-scoring chase and eventually getting out in the nineties. Opening the batting with Gayle, Rahul scored his 10th IPL half-century, sixth of this season, 94 (60), with the help of 10 fours and three sixes.
Jasprit Bumrah (MI) – Adjourned as the ‘Man of the Match’, Jasprit Bumrah restricted the opposition batsman just when they looked in contention for sealing the chase. His bowling figures of 4-0-15-3 was evident of the fact as to why he is one of the most sought-after bowlers when it comes to bowling in the death overs.
Flops
Rohit Sharma (MI) – Coming in to bat at No. 4 in the sixth over, it was another of those matches for Rohit Sharma where he looked out of sorts. He ended up scoring a below par 6 (10).
Hardik Pandya (MI) – Coming in to bat at No. 7 in the 15th over, Hardik Pandya failed to score quick runs tonight. It is not easy to use the big handle right from the word go every time and it seemed to be one of those off-days for him. He eventually scored 9 (12). With the ball in hand, he registered unimpressive bowling figures of 4-0-42-0.
Ankit Rajpoot (KXIP) – Opening the bowling for the Kings XI, Ankit Rajpoot proved to be an expensive commodity tonight. He lacked the swing which was seen in his bowling in the initial stages of the tournament. He ended up with bowling figures of 4-0-46-1.
