Mumbai Indians finally had something to cheer about, after a thumping win over a clueless Kings XI Punjab outfit in Mohali. As a courtesy of a resounding win, the Mumbai Indians have kept their hopes of making it to the playoffs well intact. For the Punjabis though, things look utterly bleak as they are positioned at the bottom of the table.
Mumbai were put into bat, and it was the partnership between Parthiv Patel and Ambati Rayudu which stole the show. Both the batsmen were simply flawless and accumulated runs with sheer ease. The target of 190 was always going to be tough, and the Mumbai bowlers were quite accurate. The visitors eventually won by 25 runs, to boost their chances of proceeding to the next round.
Post the win, skipper Rohit Sharma admitted that the win meant a lot to him, after a string of losses. “This win means a lot, considering the last few games didn’t go as we wanted to. This win is very important and is the kind of performance we expected. Very pleased for Parthiv and that partnership with Rayudu set the platform. We knew 190 was enough because it was stopping and even reversing at the end,” Rohit said.
Sharma also praised pacer Jasprit Bumrah for his fantastic display to restrict the Kings XI. “There was some pressure when Maxwell and Marsh were playing because they are quality batsmen. But we had five bowlers and Southee created that opportunity for us. The way Bumrah and McClenaghan bowled at the end was fantastic. All games from here on are important but we want to take one game at a time. Our focus should be now on KKR. All of us are looking forward to facing them at home.”
Parthiv Patel was named the Man of the Match, and he said, “Didn’t get starts in a couple of games and very important knock from a personal point of view. The wicket was dry and Rayudu is a fantastic player in good form. I wasn’t in good form and batting with him helped me. Hopefully, the momentum will get me through.”