Krunal Pandya was particularly destructive during his blitzkrieg knock off 31 (12 balls) smashing two sixes and four fours to seal the victory for Mumbai. (Source: BCCI)
Mumbai Indians (MI) beat Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) by six wickets in yet another thrilling encounter at Holkar Cricket Stadium, Indore on Friday. Chasing a tricky target of 175 on a sticky wicket, it seemed that at one point MI had lost their way despite a fine half-century by opener Suryakumar Yadav but a collective effort by skipper Rohit Sharma (24 off 15 balls) and the Pandya brothers resulted in a convincing win for MI and thereby keeping them in contention for the playoffs. Krunal Pandya was particularly destructive during his blitzkrieg knock off 31 (12 balls) smashing two sixes and four fours to seal the victory for Mumbai. For his 57 from 52 deliveries, Suryakumar Yadav was awarded the man of the match. This win also propelled MI to the fifth spot in the points table of Indian Premier League, 2018.
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Earlier, Mumbai Indians won the toss and opted to bowl first on a pitch that looked like a belter but proved otherwise as the match went on. KXIP began cautiously as openers Chris Gayle and KL Rahul were watchful at the start. Gayle, in particular, had a sedate start scoring just one run in eight deliveries. However, once the openers got their eye in, both the batsmen exploded with Rahul smashing 24 off just 20 deliveries and Gayle scoring yet another 50 off just 40 balls.
But with the departure of Gayle, KXIP lost their way. Yuvraj Singh failed to make most of his return and could only score 14. From 78/1 they slipped to 135/5 as MI bowlers made it difficult for the batsmen to get going. Jasprit Bumrah was exceptional in his spell, conceding just 19 runs in four overs and picking up one wicket. A late charge by Marcus Stoinis (29 from 15 balls) gave the innings a much-needed impetus and KXIP ended with a flourish. He smashed 22 runs off the last over from Hardik Pandya as KXIP ended with a competitive 174/6 in 20 overs.
That’s it from Indore as the @mipaltan beat #KXIP by 6 wickets with 6 balls to spare.#KXIPvMI #VIVOIPL pic.twitter.com/OadzLg4ruu
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Mumbai’s thrilling chase began briskly, courtesy of Suryakumar Yadav’s fine knock. But they lost impetus midway as R Ashwin and his bowlers kept things under control. However, when the going got tough and 75 runs were required off the last seven overs, Rohit Sharma and Krunal Pandya forged a match-winning stand of 56 in 21 balls to guide their side over the finishing line.