Kings XI Punjab missed the chance of defeating the Mumbai Indians at Wankhede Stadium on Monday as they lost the match by a thin margin of four runs. They played their heart-out to chase down 175 in their 20 overs but in vain. The match saw some brilliant batting from David Miller who scored 53 runs. Praveen Kumar and Parwinder Awana bowled really well against the strong batting line-up of Mumbai Indians but it was some poor bowling and fielding from Piyush Chawla and Mandeep Singh that made the difference in the outcome of the match.
Meanwhile, Rohit Sharma thrashed Kings XI Punjab for some huge sixes and scored 27 runs in the last over which turned out to be a decisive factor in this heart-racing thriller. Later, the brilliant performance from spin twins of Harbhajan Singh and Pragyan Ojha helped Mumbai clinch this electrifying game.
Here we bring to you the Hits and flops from the match between Mumbai Indians and Kings XI Punjab.
Hits
Rohit Sharma: Rohit Sharma is in form of his life as he hit his third half-century on this ground in this edition of IPL. He batted really well to get those 79 runs off just 39 balls. He hit six fours and six sixes to make his team reach a total of 174 runs. His bowling changes and field placement were up to the mark. He is turning out to be a great prospect for Mumbai Indians.
David Miller: Miller was absolutely stunning in his knock of 53 runs off 34 balls in which he scored five sixes and just one four. His ability to switch on and off his aggressive mode makes him one of the most dangerous batsman the IPL. His ability to play the innings at his pace makes him a class player.
Harbhajan Singh: Harbhajan showed his class once again as he ran through the middle order of Kings XI Punjab. He picked up three wickets in quick succession and turned the game on his head. He ended up with the figures of 3/14 in his four overs.
Praveen Kumar: Kumar once again was at his very best as he gave away just 24 runs in his four overs and also hit 24 runs off just 15 balls for KXI-P. His cameo reduced the margin of defeat for KXI-P and turned the match into a thriller.
Pragyan Ojha: He ended up with the figures of 2/22 in his three overs and the way he gave flight to the ball was a treat to watch. Ojha got the crucial breakthroughs of Shaun Marsh and David Hussey.
Parwinder Awana: Awana was magical in his spell of four overs as he gave away just 16 runs. Though he didn’t pick up any wicket, but his economical bowling did stop Mumbai Indians from getting a total of 180+.
FLOPS
Mandeep Singh: Mandeep failed to hold on to the crease and was undone by Lasith Malinga. He added just 9 runs to the team total. Apart from that his fielding wasn't upto the mark as he leaked few runs which was not acceptable especially against the strong side of MI.
Manpreet Gony: Gony had a terrible day with the bat as well as with ball. He gave away 43 runs in his four overs. He wasn’t bowling Yorkers at death overs and Rohit smacked him for two sixes and two fours in his last two overs. His length ball also didn’t do any good as he was smacked for couple of boundaries by Dwayne Smith too.
Piyush Chawla: Chawla once again went for plenty as he conceded two fours and two sixes in his two overs. He didn’t bring variation to his bowling and as a result went for 24 in his two overs.
Dhawal Kulkarni: He did pick up two wickets in his four overs but both the wickets were of tail-enders. He looked mediocre against Punjab and Praveen smacked him for plenty. He conceded three fours and three sixes in his spell of four overs in which gave away 44 runs.
Lasith Malinga: Lasith Malinga gave the early breakthrough to MI but went for 39 runs in his four overs. He has been one of the most economical bowlers in IPL but in this match he completely missed it. He was bowling length deliveries which were decimated to the the stands by the Kings XI batsmen.
By Amit Chopra
Indian Sports News Network
