Kings XI Punjab won their 3rd match of IPL 12 against the Mumbai Indians by 7 wickets to return to winning ways after losing their last game against the Kolkata Knight Riders. It was a thoroughly professional performance by Kings XI Punjab in all 3 departments of the game which saw them winning the game quite convincingly in the end.
It was Kings XI Punjab skipper Ravichandran Ashwin who won the toss and opted to field. It was Quinton de Kock and Rohit Sharma who came out to open the innings. The MI skipper looked in good touch and struck some exquisite shots. He was dismissed by Hardus Viljoen after making 32 of 18 deliveries. Had he taken the review, Rohit Sharma would have survived as replays showed the ball would have missed the leg stump.
Quinton de Kock, on the other hand, played brilliantly and scored his first half-century of the season. He was eventually dismissed by Mohammed Shami after he made 60 of 39 deliveries. Mumbai Indians had a hiccup in the middle overs as there was a cluster of wickets which pegged them back. Eventually, Hardik Pandya again played a breezy knock of 31 of 19 deliveries which included 3 fours and a six.
Mumbai Indians were restricted to 176 in their allotted 20 overs. With the batting line-up, Punjab had, they would have backed themselves to chase the target down. Chris Gayle began in a terrific fashion and started smashing the MI bowlers all around Mohali. He scored 40 of 24 deliveries which included 3 fours and 4 sixes. Gayle was dismissed by Krunal Pandya which got Mumbai back into the game.
Mayank Agarwal joined KL Rahul and played a brilliant knock. He scored a quickfire 43 of 21 deliveries which were studded with 4 fours and a couple of sixes. His innings provided the much-needed impetus to the innings. KL Rahul who began pretty cautiously started gaining and confidence and completed a well-deserved half-century.
Eventually, it was David Miller and KL Rahul who ensured that Kings XI Punjab reaches the target with moderate ease in the end.
Now here is what Mumbai Indians skipper Rohit Sharma said at the post-match presentation
I thought the way we started we were 10-15 runs short maybe more. At the end of 11 overs we were 11/2 and from there on we just didn’t kick on. A big partnership was needed. We let the tempo go off. Scoring just 70 in the last 9 overs is just not acceptable. We could have got more with 8 wickets in hand but we failed to do that.
KL Rahul batted well. We executed our plans but it didn’t work out. We have a lot of work to do in terms of our batting. I think the bowlers did a good job and its just the batters who needs to step up.