On late Wednesday night, Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) suffered a narrow 3-run defeat in their important game against the hosts Mumbai Indians (MI) at Wankhede Stadium (Mumbai).

KXIP captain Ravichandran Ashwin decided to field first after winning the toss. With the help of a brilliant middle-order partnership between Krunal Pandya and Kieron Pollard, the hosts managed to put a good total of 186/8 in 20 overs.

Also read: (MI vs KXIP) – Turning Point of the Match

In reply, KXIP was just short of their target despite their in-form opener KL Rahul’s heroic 94-run knock as they scored 183/5 at the end of 20 overs.

Now, we will briefly talk about some important reasons for KXIP’s defeat in this game.

Krunal Pandya-Kieron Pollard partnership

While MI was struggling on 71/4 in 8.2 overs, middle-order batsmen Krunal Pandya and Kieron Pollard provided an important 65-run partnership for the fifth wicket. That partnership helped MI to put a good total on the board.

Also read: Match 50 (MI vs KXIP) – Hits and Flops

While Krunal was dismissed on 32 runs, Pollard stretched his innings to the half-century which he got in just 22 balls. However, he was dismissed in the very next delivery he faced but his knock secured a good total for his team.