Brief scores:
Mumbai Indians 176/6 in 20 overs (Quinton de Kock 53, Kieron Pollard 34*, Krunal Pandya 34; Mohammad Shami 2-30, Arshdeep Singh 2-35)
tied with
Kings XI Punjab 176/6 in 20 overs (KL Rahul 77; Jasprit Bumrah 3-24, Rahul Chahar 2-33) Kings XI Punjab won the second Super Over.
Woof! Let's all take a moment to grab hold of our breaths. These heart-testing nail-biters are compensating big time for the plethora of adversities 2020 had in store for mankind. Kings XI Punjab snavelled two points in their reverse fixture against Mumbai Indians in an edge-of-the-seat David vs Goliath thriller which was decided on the virtue of not one but two mouth-watering Super Overs on Sunday, October 19.
Punjab yet again made a meal of their 177-run chase towards the fag end despite talisman Rahul leading the charge with his sixth fifty of the season. Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami were two peas in a pod during the opening round of tie-breakers, unleashing a slew of picture-perfect yorkers to draw stalemate. However, Agarwal exorcised the ghosts of his previous glitch with a near 10-feet jump in the second Super Over to parry back a definite six and then rocked consecutive fours to officially finish proceedings in what was bedlam for the ages at Dubai.
Business as usual for the skip!
Vandalisers Rahul and Gayle bossed the chase with swagger in the initial ten after Mayank Agarwal exhausted his share of cheat codes, the zing bails shaved by Jasprit Bumrah's inducker. The opener sneaked away with a faint edge off Trent Boult as the quick's vociferous appeal received little to no support, before an erroneous chip eluded Suryakumar Yadav's zealous plunge at mid-on. PowerPlay restrictions done and dusted, the digital screens beamed a thriving 51/1.
Don't count Mumbai out just yet
While Gayle fancied a tiny shimmie and lambasted Nathan Coulter-Nile straight into the media box, Rahul cashed in on Boult's waist-high bumpers with a set of disdainful pulls. Although Rahul stood firm like a rock, MI kept punching holes at the other end. Gayle picked the bones out of Rahul Chahar's half-tracker but registered zilch height, as Boult reverse cupped to send him trudging for 24.
Nicholas Pooran was just beginning to grow in confidence when Rohit Sharma reverted to the ace up his sleeve and he didn't disappoint. Bumrah took the left-hander out of the equation for 24 courtesy a desperate swish. The skipper then added another feather to his cap by introducing Rahul Chahar in front of Glenn Maxwell, who's had a well-documented history with arch-nemesis leg-spinners. The carrot was dangled a whale outside the off-stump as the under-fire Aussie fell for the bait, perishing nicking behind to Sharma, who astutely stationed himself at slip. The mother of plot twists cropped up forthwith as an on-song Rahul was dumbfounded by Bumrah's 149kmph gate-crashing yorker, that not only dismantled his stumps but crashed Punjab's hopes of winning the encounter in a bottle job storyline that has become familiar over the course of this season.
KXIP bang in the middle of the choke-zone
The equation boiled down to 22 off a dozen, with Deepak Hooda and Chris Jordan thrust upon the responsibility of powering KXIP home. Two streaky boundaries and a shelled chance later, the bottom line was nine off the last six deliveries. Boult, the defender at work, was carved off the pads in all glory off the very first ball but Coulter-Nile at short backward square couldn't latch on, notwithstanding a goalie style dive to his right. In all fairness, he actually prevented a certain four there.
The butterflies started dangling in the stomachs as KXIP entered the messing up territory, 3 now required off as many balls. Hooda dug out almost a tramline wide to fetch a single off the penultimate ball, shrieking it further to a nerve-wracking 2 off 1. Jordan squeezed a block-hole thunderbolt into the empty pockets of mid-wicket, but Kieron Pollard swooped in from the long-on hotspot and inflicted an electric pick-up and throw in one motion to deny KXIP the requisite brace by an inch at the striker's end.
Mumbai shoot themselves in the foot
Earlier, MI rammed into the proverbial cul-de-sac right away. Arshdeep Singh drew first blood, albeit more by accident than by design as Rohit Sharma chopped on in a bid to steer one down third man. Suryakumar Yadav's head fell across perilously as an erratic flick landed in mid-wicket's palms off Mohammed Shami. Ishan Kishan threw the kitchen sink at Singh's long hop only to offer third-man some nice catching practice, leaving MI in a blind alley at 38/3.
Krunal-de Kock at the heart of MI's riposte
However, Quinton de Kock and Krunal Pandya grabbed control of the steering wheel, fashioning a 58-run stand to help MI take baby steps towards a number worth bowling at. Any indiscretions in terms of width were berated to either side of the wicket while generosity in a couple of byes and an overthrow vitalised their cause. The lefties had just got under KXIP's skin when Ravi Bishnoi provided the breakthrough, duping Pandya into a toe-edged sweep for 34.
Pollard-Coulter-Nile twist KXIP's arm
While Hardik Pandya amazed to deceive, de Kock accrued a hat-trick of fifties - four in last five games - before yanking Chris Jordan's in-the-slot length ball to deep mid-wicket. Kieron Pollard and Nathan Coulter-Nile served KXIP a cordial reminder of the chinks in their death bowling armour, lacing 57 off 21 versus a ballast of overcooked short stuff. Pollard cudgelled a six-studded 34 off 12 while his partner concluded with an equally searing 24 off 12. For stat geeks, this was the quickest 50-run partnership in the ongoing edition. Probably just one amongst the sling of trivial records shattered on a wild, crazy night.
Next on the itinerary
Enduring baptism by fire, KXIP have a day's breather to let the mayhem sink in as Delhi Capitals lurk with an eye at the qualifier berth on Tuesday, October 20. The plug was pulled on their Houdini act at the eleventh hour but MI will take the positives in their stride and roll forward to meet Chennai Super Kings on Friday, October 23. Easy fodder? Sharjah with the answers.
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