IPL 2019: Three talking points from MI’s blockbuster win over KXIP
Riding on Kieron Pollard’s thunderous 83 from 31 balls, Mumbai Indians surged to an unbelievable win over Kings XI Punjab at the Wankhede Stadium. Chasing 198 runs, MI had slipped to 62/3 in 8.5 overs but they still had their captain Pollard at the crease. An innings studded with 10 sixes got the Mumbai side home. The blazing effort made KL Rahul’s 63-ball 100 look smaller. Here are three talking points from the game –
1. Ro‘miss’ Sharma
Mumbai Indians fans were surprised to see Kieron Pollard at the toss. Their favorite star was missing in the action. Rohit Sharma picked up a hamstring injury in the practice session and on precautionary measures, MI Management decided to rest him. The Hitman had not missed a single match for Mumbai Indians so far. In fact, Rohit was just one match away from equalling Suresh Raina’s record of 133 consecutive appearances in the IPL. Last time the Indian opener missed an IPL match was in 2008 for Deccan Chargers.
2. KL Rahul’s sensational century
With the race to India’s number four batting spot heating up, everyone in contention is observed carefully. The likes of Ambati Rayudu and Manish Pandey have fallen behind while Shreyas Iyer and Vijay Shankar are strengthening their cases. KXIP’s opener KL Rahul pressed his claim yesterday with a spectacular century.
Rahul initially played second fiddle to Chris Gayle. Soon he picked up his tempo and started accumulating the runs. In the middle overs, Rahul did struggle to stay on the treadmill, but he made up for it in the later overs. In the penultimate over bowled by Hardik Pandya, Rahul smashed 23 runs. He followed this up with a six off Bumrah’s first ball of the last over. Two balls later, he brought up his maiden IPL ton. He finished unbeaten on 100 from 64 balls.
3. Pollard’s Powerpacked Performance
In the absence of Rohit Sharma, Pollard stepped up as the captain. The West Indian all-rounder accepted the responsibility with all its hardships. Walking in to bat at 56/2, MI still needed 142 runs from 67 balls. Pollard kept sending the ball over the boundary ropes but he kept losing his partners at the other end as well. Taking on Sam Curran and Ravichandran Ashwin, Pollard smacked 10 sixes and brought Mumbai within touching distance of a spectacular win. The temporary captain ended up with 83 runs from just 31 balls and a Man of the Match award.
