Chris Gayle, KL Rahul, and Kieron Pollard became star performers in the game between Mumbai Indians (MI) and Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) as they completely entertained the jam-packed Wankhede crowd. However, the MI skipper had the sigh of relief in the end in a high scoring encounter after his breathtaking knock of 83- runs which came in just 31 balls. He got out in the final over but before that he had almost brought Mumbai over the line, in the end, the calmness of Alzarri Joseph brought the hosts home.

The chase of 198 runs began on a rough note for the hosts as their debutant Siddhesh Lad got out early. Even, Quinton de Kock struggled during his knock but Suryakumar Yadav looked impressive with crafty shots. However, everyone was surprised when Pollard promoted himself up the order at number four.

WATCH – Kieron Pollard flamboyant knock

Pollard took his time in the middle for the first four-five deliveries but by that time, the required run-rate was increasing with each passing ball. However, after the first 10 overs, MI was requiring more than 130 runs and then, Pollard started the carnage.  Despite the failure of Hardik Pandya, the big man stunned the opposition with his belligerence. The huge ask was brought down to 15 off 6 balls by the Caribbean’s brute force.

The MI skipper smashed Ankit Rajpoot for a six on 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, Joseph kept his cool and along with Rahul Chahar, he brought his team home to start off the wild celebrations from the home team.

Earlier in the game, KL Rahul and Chris Gayle smashed the Mumbai attack all-over the ground. Both of them got hold of the pitch early on and then started running through every bowler they faced. However, 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.

WATCH – David Miller Takes A Brilliant Catch To Dismiss De Kock

However, after running a little too much by his standards, Gayle looked a bit tired or maybe cramps got better of him. Behrendorff dismissed Gayle and suddenly the KXIP’s run-rate dipped down considerably. But, Rahul targetted Hardik Pandya in the penultimate over to turn the tables on MI and completed his maiden IPL century in the final over and helped KXIP reach the total of 197/4 after 20 overs.

Brief score: 

Mumbai Indians – 198/7 in 20 overs (K Pollard: 83, Q de Kock: 24; M Shami: 3/21) defeated Kings XI Punjab – 197/4 in 20 overs (KL Rahul: 100*, C Gayle: 63; H Pandya: 2/57) by 3 wickets.

Here’s how Twitter reacted after Pollard’s blast: