After the completion of 50th match of 2018 edition of Indian Premier League between Mumbai Indians and Kings XI Punjab at Wankhede Stadium, two players from both the sides performed football like jersey exchange ritual. Batting first, MI piled up 186 runs for the loss of eight wickets in their 20 overs.
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Andrew Tye picked up four wickets in a match for the third time this season, but his heroics were overshadowed by Jasprit Bumrah, whose 3/15 was crucial as Mumbai defended their total despite KL Rahul’s valiant 94. But with Rahul hammering the bowlers all over the park, the match was hanging in balance until Bumrah accounted for him in his next over to tip the balance in MI’s favor. But as the West Indian all-rounder was poised for a big score, Ravichandran Ashwin (2/18) removed him in the 16th over, bringing Punjab back into the game. But they suffered a small batting collapse as they were reduced to 71-4 where they lost these wickets in a span of some 30 odd runs. Bumrah was the top bowler for Indians as he scalped three wickets.
The Mumbai Indians vs Kings XI Punjab match will be played at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai from 8 PM IST.
But Bumrah provided Mumbai a real sniff when he got rid of Rahul in his last over and kept Mumbai in with a chance to make it to the playoffs.
Mumbai: Mumbai Indians scripted a fantastic comeback to beat Kings XI Punjab by three runs in their IPL encounter here on Wednesday night. Then Pollard scored a half-century in 23 balls. The Karnataka dasher scored a magnificent 94 off 60 balls, but it went in vain and Punjab ended up on the losing side. Mumbai will have to win both the remaining games to proceed to the playoffs. With Tye bowling tidy overs in the death, and dismissing Hardik Pandya, KXIP were able to reign in MI. They can still qualify with two wins in case MI loses to DD. MI could eke out 35 runs from the last five overs, but that was to be just enough.
As the hosts were put to bat first, the openers got off to a good start but failed to convert it into a good partnership. Kings XI have won six out of their twelve games, while Mumbai has managed five wins from their twelve games.
Their two best bowlers Andrew Tye (20 wickets in 12 innings, economy rate 8.02) and Mujeeb (14 wickets in 11 innings, economy rate 6.99) have been outstanding.
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While Rahul and his opening partner, Chris Gayle have given Kings XI solid starts in the past, the likes of Aaron Finch, Mayank Agarwal, Karun Nair and Yuvraj Singh have struggled to get going.
