Key Baneya

  • Kings XI Punjab lost a close game against Mumbai Indians by just 3 runs
  • Andrew Tye consolidated his position as the Purple Cap holder with figures of 4/16
  • Lokesh Rahul top scored for the Kings again with a breezy 94 off 60 balls

Kings XI Punjab lost to Mumbai Indians by a mere 3 runs at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Wednesday in spite of a spirited chase from the visitors. Lokesh Rahul picked up the Orange Cap while Andrew Tye retained the Purple Cap on a day where it was so near yet so far for the Kings. 🏏 SCORECARD

Choosing to bowl first on the bouncy Wankhede wicket, Ravichandran Ashwin needed his bowlers to justify his decision by getting early wickets and in-form man Andrew Tye delivered. 📷 PHOTOS

After a brief partnership between Suryakumar Yadav and Evin Lewis, where the duo scored at a brisk rate, Tye came in and accounted for both the openers and the one-down batsman Ishan Kishan to leave the Indians tottering at 59 for 3.

Mumbai captain Rohit Sharma’s departure for just 6 runs brought the team under even more pressure before Krunal Pandya and Kieron Pollard stitched together a useful partnership. Comeback man Pollard was especially dominant on the bowling after a watchful start, reaching his half century in 22 balls.

Unha-da Sher
Kieron Pollard had an ideal comeback game as he rescued his side from a potentially dangerous situation and scored a fighting fifty in the process. His knock lasted 23 balls and comprised 5 fours and 3 sixes.

It looked like MI would reach a score in excess of 200 at a point but captain Ashwin took the responsibility of restricting the home team upon himself and succeeded. He sent back Pollard and Ben Cutting in quick succession to set things up nicely for the Kings.

They eventually restricted the Indian to 186 runs at the loss of 8 wickets, a competitive total but not an imposing one.

Chris Gayle and Lokesh Rahul got the team off to a good start before Gayle fell while trying to pull a Mitchell McClenaghan short ball.

Aaron Finch got promoted to number three in the absence of Karun Nair and he proved to be the perfect foil for Rahul. The duo balanced caution and aggression and brought up their 100-run partnership in the 16th over to get the Kings within touching distance of the target.

Sadda Sher
After Tye’s heroics, it needed a special effort from the batsmen to get the team into the fight. That effort was led by the from-man Lokesh Rahul who stroked his way to a 60-ball 94 studded with 10 fours and 3 sixes.

Finch’s dismissal gave the Indians a whiff of hope and they capitalised. Jasprit Bumrah first picked up Marcus Stoinis off just the second ball he faced and then got the big wicket of Rahul as he holed out to long off while trying to up the run rate.

Turning Point
After Finch and Stoinis’ dismissals it was up to Rahul to anchor the innings till the end. But as soon as he departed things looked to be in the bag for Mumbai as the lower middle order struggled to get the required runs.

The Kings eventually needed 17 runs off the last over and in spite of some big slogs they eventually ended up on the losing side by just 3 runs.

Key Chalda Hai?

This loss means that Kings XI Punjab will now need to rely on the other teams’ results to make a bid for the Playoffs. They will now meet Chennai Super Kings in a match they must win at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune on Sunday, 20th May.