Mumbai: Kings XI Punjab kept hopes of finishing in the top four alive, after completing a thrilling 7-run victory over table toppers Mumbai Indians on Thursday.
Wriddhiman Saha was the hero of the day for Punjab, scoring a blistering 93 not out from 55 balls.
Mumbai Indians also gave KXIP a good fight, but failed to come up with the goods in the end, despite some Kieron Pollard fireworks.
Lendl Simmons and Parthiv Patel got Mumbai Indians off to exactly the start that they wanted, scoring a massive 68 for no loss from the six powerplay overs.
KXIP pacer Ishant Sharma, who bowled a disciplined first over giving away only six runs, suddenly turned expensive in his second, as Simmons and Parthiv upped the ante.
KXIP missed an opportunity to break the deadlock, as Mohit Sharma dropped Simmons on 44, at long-on, off Axar Patel’s bowling.
Simmons punished this mistake by smashing two consecutive sixes, to bring up his fiery 50.
However, Punjab soon got their breakthrough, as Parthiv's miscued shot off Mohit Sharma's bowling landed straight into Manan Vohra’s hands.
Simmons, who was trying to keep the scoring rate up, fell victim to a brilliant catch by Martin Guptill at long-on.
Simmons’ wicket took some if the steam out of the Mumbai innings, as both captain Rohit Sharma and in-form youngster Nitish Rana followed the West Indian back to the pavilion.
Despite the fall of the wickets, Kieron Pollard and Hardik Pandya stabilised the innings for a couple of overs, before turning the heat on in the 16th over, when they hit two sixes each, to score 27 off the over.
However, Sandeep Sharma got the breakthrough on the first ball of the very next over, as Hardik Pandya edged it to Wriddhiman Saha, who did well to take a low diving catch. Pandya three his gives high into the air in frustration, on his way back to the dugout.
Pollard though, was in a world of his own, hitting the big shots, while wickets kept falling at the other end.
New batsman Karn Sharma also followed Pollard’s suit, smashing Mohit Sharma for a six and two fours, before the matter rattled his stumps.
Although Sandeep Sharma had been smashed for 17 runs in his previous over, he came back well in the 19th to concede just six.
Mohit Sharma then turned up with some tight bowling in the last over, conceding just seven runs. Despite his valiant effort of 50 not out from 24 balls, Pollard could not inspire his team to a win.
Earlier, openers Martin Guptill and Wriddhiman Saha got KXIP off to a flying start, scoring at a rate of 12 runs per over in the first five overs.
Both Mitchell McClenaghan and Lasith Malinga were hammered all around the park by the Indo-New Zealand pair.
However, the introduction of spinner Karn Sharma did the trick.
Although Guptill sent Karn’s first two balls to the ropes, the first a paddle-sweep and the second a lofted straight drive back over the bowler's head, the New Zealand batter fell on the third ball, which he top-edged while attempting to play a slog sweep; Hardik Pandya did well to pluck out a high catch from the progressively darkening Mumbai skyline.
The Punjab onslaught did not come to an end despite that wicket though, as Glenn Maxwell brought his own brand of fireworks into the game.
The Aussie smashed Karn Sharma for 15 runs in his second over. The KXIP skipper did not ease up the pressure on the MI bowlers, despite Rohit Sharma tossing the ball to Harbhajan Singh for the first time in the match, surprisingly, in the 9th over.
The Aussie hit Harbhajan for two flat 6s over mid-wicket, before lofting another one over Kieron Pollard at long-on.
A frantic Rohit Sharma immediately reverted back to his two strike bowlers Lasith Malinga and Jasprit Bumrah. While Malinga tightened the screw from the Pavilion End, giving away just 5 runs, Bumrah took the crucial wicket of Maxwell from the Press Box end.
Interestingly, it was Mumbai’s ploy to bring up third man, that enticed Maxwell to steal a boundary in that direction. However, he missed the line of the ball, which went on to crash into the stumps.
Despite this momentary setback, Punjab looked well set for a big score, as Saha quietly reached his half century from 31 balls after a blistering start.
McClenaghan had a poor day with the ball, but managed to pick up the wicket of Shaun Marsh, who skied a short of length ball, as keeper Parthiv Patel did well to take a high catch.
KXIP had gathered enough momentum by then though, as new batsman Axar Patel could afford to get himself set in the first few balls, while Saha did the smashing from the other end.
The Bengal wicketkeeper-batsman’s relentless hitting helped KXIP put up the highest team total in the 2017 edition of the IPL, surpassing Delhi Daredevils, who had scored 214 against Gujarat Lions.
Although Saha could not complete his century, scoring an unbeaten 93 off 55 balls, Axar got KXIP to the massive 230-run mark with a lofted six down the ground, as he sent Hardik Pandya’s delivery into the Punjab dressing room in the last ball of the innings. KXIP smashed as many as 12 sixes in their innings.
KXIP keep their hopes of qualification alive, as it comes down to their last league stage game against Rising Pune Supergiant, at the Maharashtra Cricket Stadium, on Sunday.
