When the weekend was approaching, cricket lovers would have casually said, “It would be better if we get a super over this weekend!” Well not one, but they got to see three super overs and it was in the final game of the day that a second super over was required to determine the winner between two sides who just did not want to give up. Kings XI Punjab, who defended five runs in the first Super Over, were able to hold their nerves and with some exceptional bowling from Mohammed Shami and Chris Jordan’s along with the big-hitting prowess of Chris Gayle and Mayank Agarwal in the second super over, they chased down 12 in just four deliveries to win a thriller in Dubai.
By the end of the game, there were so many heroes and also many villains that it is difficult to include all of them in the list of Hits and Flops. For e.g. Agarwal’s brilliant effort on the boundary, which converted a certain six into just two runs was as important to the victory as Gayle’s six. Similarly, Jordan going for the double by running a longer path to reach the crease was as heinous a crime as KL Rahul getting out after settling in. But at the same time, we also cannot forget Jordan’s contribution with the bat in the regular match and with the ball in the Super Over.
So it is in these tough conditions and the extra pressure of choosing the right person, we have decided our Hits and Flops of the game.
If the Hits and Flops were ever to be chosen for this game, Mohammed Shami’s name would be way up in the order just for the fact that he defended mere five runs in the first super over. Yes, you read it right, he defended five runs in a super over. That was how Punjab were able to make a comeback after their dismal turn out with the bat where captain Rahul, Nicholas Pooran, and Deepak Hooda could only get five off Jasprit Bumarah’s over in the Super Over.
Even apart from the super over, Shami had bowled well in the game as well. In the registered 20 overs, he gave away just 30 runs in his quota of four overs and picked up two crucial wickets of Suryakumar Yadav and Hardik Pandya.
Had it not been for his efforts to get Quinton de Kock run out on the final ball of Shami’s Super Over, Rahul would have been in the list of Flops as his team would have ended up losing the game. Rahul, even after being brilliant, hasn’t just been able to finish the game for his team. In this game too, he made an outstanding 77 off 51 balls. But just as the team needed him the most, he got out in the 18th over with Punjab still needing 19 off 15.
Chris Jordan had three phases in the game - Hero - Villain -Hero as he gave a powerful performance with both bat and ball. Coming in to bat with all-rounder Hooda with 19 runs still required and Bumrah’s over going on, he played smartly by making 12 off seven balls and taking the equation down to 2 off 1. But while attempting the second, he got run out, which he could have avoided, had he run in a straight line instead of following an elongated path.
But then coming on to bowl in the second super over, he did immensely well to keep the target to just 12 as he executed brilliant yorkers to keep his team in the hunt. In regular time though, he had gone for 20 runs in the last over, so considering that, it was a big improvement on his part.
Without a doubt, it was not a Rohit Sharma's day as he first got out cheap in the match and then while partnering with de Kock in the first super over wasn’t able to score six off a Shami over to get the team through. The fact that he wasn’t even able to join his players in the field during the second super over also played against his image of a 24x7 active captain. It also showed that he was unfit.
Boult was brilliant in the last over of the regular game as he was able to defend nine runs off it. But before that, he had given away 40 from his three overs and that hurt Mumbai big time. Also, the fact that he bowled a full toss to Gayle on the very first delivery of the second super over and getting hit for a six off it is a crime that he committed which led to a loss for his team Mumbai. Therefore Boult is forced to be a part of the Flops group.
This mention could have gone to both Hardik and Suryakumar. But Hardik was chosen as part of messing up in the main match he did that in the super over too as he wasn’t able to connect any of the two balls that he faced in Jordan’s over during the second super over. Earlier in the regular match, Pandya could muster only eight runs.
If this much excitement was not enough, get ready because these are the sign of things to come and Kings XI look like a team on the comeback trail. With the next few matches very crucial, starting against Delhi Capitals on Tuesday. Mumbai have got three rest days before they play their first game against CSK on 23rd October.
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