Rahul Chahar, Mumbai Indians’ spinner, who scalped two wickets conceding 26 runs against Kings XI Punjab, said the pitch was helping spinners which built his confidence in the match.
Rahul Chahar finished with 2-26 in his quota of four overs as Mumbai Indians defeated Kings XI Punjab by 48 runs in Abu Dhabi on Thursday.
Rahul Chahar Gained Confidence As Pitch Offered Support For Spinners
Mumbai Indians batted first and posted 191 runs on the board after skipper Rohit Sharma scored 70 off 45 balls which included 8 fours and 3 sixes. Despite his knock, Mumbai Indians were struggling somewhat at 124/4 at 17th over.
“There was help for the spinners in the pitch and I was gaining confidence from it. My plan was to add pressure on them by giving less run and then attack for wickets. I was trying for the wickets,” Chahar said in the post-match conference.
But a late onslaught by Kieron Pollard who remained unbeaten on 47 off only 20 balls coupled with Hardik Pandya who scored a quickfire unbeaten 30 off 11 balls saw MI post 191/4 in allotted 20 overs.
“We have a lot of faith in big-hitting skills of Pollard and Hardik. Pollard almost took us to the victory in the last game against RCB. They are in good form and they can finish games in any situation,” the spinner said.
Apart from Rahul Chahar, pacers James Pattinson and Jasprit Bumrah picked two wickets each as MI bowlers gave KXIP batsmen a hard time while Trent Boult and Krunal Pandya scalped one apiece.
Nicholas Pooran Scores 44 But Other KXIP Batsmen Fail As MI Won By 48 Runs
KXIP started well but lost wickets at regular intervals. Apart from Nicholas Pooran who scored 44 none of the other batsmen could cross 30 runs. Mayank Agarwal was the next best with 25 runs as KXIP lost despite being placed 101/3 at one stage losing the last 7 wickets for only 42 runs.
Chasing 192 runs, KXIP got off to a good start. However, Jasprit Bumrah castled in-form opener Mayank Agarwal (25) in the fifth over. A few balls later, spinner Krunal Pandya bowled Karun Nair for a duck.
Nicholas Pooran then joined skipper KL Rahul in the middle and the duo stitched a 21 run stand. KL Rahul’s sluggish innings came to an end in the ninth over which reduced Punjab to 60/3.
Nicholas Pooran played a brilliant innings and tried to revive the team’s hope in the run chase through his power-hitting before getting dismissed in the 14th over. He scored 44 runs off 27 balls which included two sixes.
Nicholas Pooran’s wicket triggered a middle-order collapse as both all-rounders Glenn Maxwell and Jimmy Neesham departed in quick succession. KXIP kept losing wickets regularly and were soon found reeling at 124/8. In the end, KXIP fell 49 runs short of the target.