Stand-in captain scores 31-ball 83 to guide Mumbai to sensational victory over Punjab
In the 14th over of the Mumbai Indians-Kings XI Punjab's Indian Premier League game at the Wankhede, visiting captain Ravichandran Ashwin bowled the last ball of the over with a an action that surprised one and all.
Often bowlers forget their line and lengths when they are taken to cleaners. It wouldn't be wrong to say so for Ashwin too in that over when Mumbai's stand-in captain and batsman Kieron Pollard had smashed the offie to back-to-back sixes with ease.
Pollard gave the strongest reply to KL Rahul's (100*) and Chris Gayle's (63) when he smashed 83 (31, 3x4, 10x6) to guide Mumbai to a three-wicket win over Punjab by three wickets here at the Wankhede Stadium on Wednesday.
In the absence of an injured captain Rohit Sharma, only Pollard could have emerged as match-winner for Mumbai, doing something that his mates from Caribbean have been doing in the Indian T20 league.
Chasing 198 to win, it was Pollard all the way who helped the team cruise to the total. After he smashed the visiting bowlers all around the park for 10 sixes, Pollard got out after hitting Punjab pacer Ankit Rajpoot for a six and four drawing the game to a close with Mumbai needing five runs in as many balls.
Tail-enders Alzarri Joseph and Deepak Chahar took their team through with quick sprinting in a photo-finish.
Earlier, riding on KL Rahul's scintillating unbeaten 64-ball 100 (6x4, 6x6) and Chris Gayle's enterprising 63 (36, 3x4, 7x6), Kings XI Punjab ended up with a total of 197/4 in 20 overs after Mumbai Indians opted to field first.
If there were any questions on why India captain Virat Kohli has persisted with Rahul despite his string of poor scores in all formats of the game and that how he is still in the scheme of things for the World Cup, Wednesday's knock answered them all.
While Gayle went all out and was brutal in his assault on bowlers, Rahul was refined and elegant in his stroke-making throughout his innings.
The dangerous opening pair of Punjab did not step on the gas from the word go. Rather they waited for two overs scoring just four runs, testing the waters and the wicket.
Once settled, it was Gayle who took the initiative of taking on the MI pacers.
MI's Australian recruit Jason Beherendorf was taken to task by the strapping Jamaican when he smashed him for three sixes in different corners of the park. The seamer's trick of slowing down the pace didn't work as he went for 23 runs in the fifth over.
The south-paw got to his second fifty of the IPL season after smashing one over left-arm spinner Krunal Pandya's head for a maximum.
While Gayle went hammer and tongs, Rahul was fluent in his shot making. The duo enjoyed 116 runs before Behrendorff managed to dismiss Gayle.
Once Gayle departed, the visitors went silent for a brief period before Rahul switched gears and started playing some brutal strokes.
Rahul took it upon himself to take his team to a big total. Such was his aggression that in the 19th over, he took apart his friend Hardik Pandya's bowling hitting him for 25 runs in an over that included three sixes and a boundary.
It was an interesting contest considering the duo had met to depose off in front of BCCI's Ombudsman Justice (retd) DK Jain over the controversial episode of 'Koffee With Karan.'
Eight needed for his century in the last over, Rahul hit Bumrah for a wonderful flick over square leg boundary before taking a quick two to complete his maiden milestone as KXIP ended with a challenging total.
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