IPL 2017: KXIP vs MI, 5 things that went wrong for Kings XI Punjab
On a batting-friendly surface at the Holkar Stadium in Indore, Mumbai Indians won the toss and decided to continue the prevailing tournament trend of chasing. With the in-form Manan Vohra unwell, Kings XI Punjab bolstered their top-order by bringing in Shaun Marsh.
Riding on a sterling century from the ever reliable Hashim Amla as well as an ultra-aggressive cameo from skipper Glenn Maxwell, Kings XI cruised to a competitive total of 198 for the loss of just 4 wickets.
Extra Cover: 5 moments from the MI-KXIP match that won't fade away
However, Mumbai Indians responded by batting at an even better pace. Powerful half-centuries from Jos Buttler and Nitish Rana ensured that they hunted down the target with ridiculous ease. With their 8-wicket triumph, Rohit Sharma’s team stormed back to the top of the table.
Here are five things that went wrong for Kings XI Punjab in this match.
#5 Wriddhiman Saha’s sluggish batting
With their supple wrists allowing them to manoeuvre the field placements, Marsh and Amla had given Kings XI a strong start. The former fell almost at the same time as the Powerplay came to an end. Having compiled 46 runs from nearly six overs, the need of the hour was to keep the momentum going.
As the likes of Eoin Morgan and David Miller had been inexplicably dropped, they did not have any dynamic batsmen for the middle-overs apart from captain Maxwell.
But, Saha strode out to join Amla at the crease. Struggling to time the ball and find the boundary, the wicket-keeper batsman operated at a snail’s pace to allow Mumbai’s bowlers to sneak in a few quiet overs. He managed just 11 from 15 balls and the innings appeared to meander around the half-way mark.