IPL 2018, MI vs KXIP: 3 Best decisions from the game between Mumbai Indians and Kings XI Punjab
The Mumbai Indians took on the Kings XI Punjab in a crucial encounter at the Wankhede stadium. Both teams desperately needed a win to remain in the hunt for playoffs.
Ravichandran Ashwin won the toss and elected to field first, looking to take advantage of the dew factor batting second.
Mumbai got off to an excellent start as Ishan Kishan and Suryakumar Yadav attacked at the top. But Punjab pegged things back by picking up three wickets in the space of three overs.
Some vintage hitting from Kieron Pollard thereafter got Mumbai to a competitive score of 186 runs. In reply, Punjab lost Chris Gayle early but a big partnership between K.L Rahul and Aaron Finch kept them in the game.
However, some excellent death bowling by Jasprit Bumrah led to the Mumbai Indians winning the game by three runs. Let us have a look at some decisions that turned out to be masterstrokes.
#1 Giving Andrew Tye a second over on the trot
Mumbai got off to a flying start as Kishan went after Mohit Sharma from the word go. The scorecard read 57/1 after the end of 5 overs. Ashwin usually keeps his trump card Andrew Tye’s overs intact for the death.
But Mumbai had got off to a good start and Punjab needed a wicket at that stage as Kishan threatened to cut loose. So, he brought on Tye for his second over in the powerplay. The move worked wonders as Tye deceived Kishan by a knuckleball and was caught at mid-on.
On the very next ball, the Australian pacer got lucky as Suryakumar Yadav gave the simplest of catches to Rahul via an inside edge off the thigh pad. This turned the match on its head and brought Punjab back into the game.