IPL SRL | MI vs KXIP Evaluation Chart - Dumbfounding KXIP collapse powers MI to 57-run
A flabbergasting collapse from Kings XI Punjab - which saw them lose their last five wickets for just five runs - turned what looked to be a close contest into a one-sided one as MI beat the Kings by a convincing 57-run margin. Earlier, it was de Kock who starred for MI with a fine, unbeaten 68.
Match Review
When Mumbai won the toss and elected to bat first, they would have had just one thing in their mind - to replicate their performance against RR on Saturday. And for a brief while, that looked very much possible, with both Rohit and de Kock going berserk, but despite leaking 56 runs in the powerplay, KXIP struck back by picking three wickets. Then, for the next 11 overs, the innings was nothing but de Kock caressing the ball around the park, before finally the innings exploded in the 18th over bowled by Cottrell, which went for 26 runs. MI rode on that high to finish their innings on 163/5, with de Kock staying unbeaten on 68.
For the nth occasion in this SRL, all the fans got from Chris Gayle, in response to MI’s 163, was disappointment, as KXIP lost the Big Jamaican for 12 in just the 4th over. A golden duck from Mayank further put them on the backfoot, until Rahul and Maxwell steadied proceedings with a much-needed 32-run stand. At 61/2, Punjab looked prime to put up a good fight, but wickets at regular intervals soon reduced them to 86/5 and from thereon, the responsibility fell on young Sarfaraz Khan’s shoulders to take his side home. The youngster tried his best, but even his best efforts were rendered void as an astonishing collapse from Punjab at the death - where they lost four wickets in just five balls - meant that they were bowled out for just 106, thus losing the game.
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Turning Point
As much as the collapse sealed the deal for Mumbai, it was Maxwell’s dismissal in the 14th over that hurt Punjab the most. At 86/4, the Aussie had a fine partnership going on with Sarfaraz but just when it looked like he was ready to step up the gear, he was sent back to the hut by Krunal. That wicket in a way crushed Punjab’s hopes, despite Sarafaraz still being there at the crease.
Highs and Lows
Mohammad Shami’s flawless spell in the first innings was a purist’s delight. After conceding just 12 off his first two overs, Shami conceded just 8 more runs at the death and the final over of his spell yielded just one run. Despite having a well set de Kock ready to unload, Shami tamed the Protean through pure craftsmanship. He finished with perfect figures of 4-0-20-1.
Mumbai’s baffling lack of intent in the middle overs was a low that simply no one saw coming, especially after a 56-run powerplay. Despite boasting of a pretty deep batting line-up, both de Kock and Pollard were more than content to just go through the motions in the middle overs. Bet skipper Rohit would have fumed looking at the boring horror show that went on at the middle of the wicket.
Rating Charts
Powerplay exploitation: Mumbai 8/10 and Punjab 7/10
Chaos was what ensued in the powerplay of the Mumbai innings. A phase that yielded 56 runs also yielded three wickets, four boundaries and five extras. After picking up from right where he left off against RR, Rohit’s innings was cut short after three fours, in the second over, and what followed next was four overs of both teams trading blows with each other. Eventually the phase ended just about equal, as MI reached 56/3 with de Kock still going strong.
Kings XI Punjab’s powerplay felt like a beta version of Mumbai’s - there was a lot of action and both sides had their moments. Gayle and Rahul both looked in ominous touch and took on both Bumrah and Kulkarni and threatened to take the game away from MI. However, a double-strike from the homeboy Kulkarni - of Gayle and Mayank in back-to-back balls - zapped KXIP right back to square one. Eventually they scored just 7 runs off the last two overs to finish their powerplay on 38/2.
Middle-overs manoeuvring: Mumbai 3/10 and Punjab 7/10
The storm that was the powerplay phase subsided in the middle overs and what instead followed was an extremely contrasting, anticlimactic passage of play where little happened, really. 54 runs was all the Mumbai managed to score in the nine overs they batted and the star of the phase, in a way, was Ravi Bishnoi, who bowled 3 overs for just 15 runs - and also took two wickets. 110/5 was what Mumbai reached at the end of the 15th over; the good thing for them being de Kock was still unbeaten.
For Punjab, the eerie similarity with Mumbai’s innings extended into the middle overs, too. Like their counterparts, the madness subsided for KXIP post the powerplay and barring one big over - a 12 run 12th over, bowled by Krunal - it was a quiet phase dominated by singles and doubles. That Punjab lost three wickets in the phase was kind of detrimental to their chase, but at 99/5 at the end of the 15th over, with Sarfaraz Khan going strong on 24*, they gave themselves every chance to win the game.
Death bowling: Punjab 6/10 and Mumbai 10/10
One bad over can ruin 19 overs of hard work, they say, and that is exactly what transpired in this phase. MI ended up scoring 53 runs off the last five, which is pretty good, but what’s remarkable about it is that 26 of those runs came in one over - the 18th bowled by Sheldon Cottrell. On either side of those overs were lots of singles, twos and occasional boundaries and in a way, the death overs turned out to be a weird cross between the powerplay and the middle-over phase.
Much to the shock of everyone who had their eyes on the game, the game, which was close for 35 overs, took a wild u-turn for the worse in Punjab’s death overs. With Punjab’s score 101/5, with them still needing 63 off the last 28 balls, Rahul Chahar and Coulter-Nile picked FOUR WICKETS off five balls to kill the game within the snap of a finger. In no time, i.e, in five balls, KXIP were reduced to 102/9 and eight balls later, Kulkarni knocked off Cottrell to seal victory for the Blues. The MI bowlers ended up with figures of 5/7 at the death - the best in the history of SRL.
Match Frenzy O Meter - Average
While the two teams were within touching distance of each other for a good part of 35 overs, the quality of cricket that unfolded, however, was mediocre. Entertaining moment in the game were few and far between and it made for a pretty average game of T20 cricket.