Top of the table Mumbai Indians flopped against Kings XI Punjab, and flopped badly losing by a big margin. Despite lower order collapse, Punjab had built enough total to challenge Mumbai. But star-studded batting line-up collapsed in a heap. Bhargav Bhatt polished off the lower middle order with his canny left-arm spin after Praveen Kumar had sent the openers packing.
Tendulkar sent Gilchrist-led Punjab in to bat and got early reward when Munaf Patel nailed Valthaty cheaply. Australian duo of Gilly and Shaun Marsh first played themselves in and then cleverly upped the tempo to take the score to 92 in the 11th over. At this stage, Malinga’s lifter tangled Gilly to nick behind for 28 (28b, 2x4, 1x6).
Dinesh Karthik kept the pace going but at 128, Marsh left the scene after scoring 43 runs of 34 balls with five fours. He was caught brilliantly by Pollard off Munaf, who removed David Hussey four balls later to start the collapse. Punjab lost the way but were able to post 163 for 8 in the end; Munaf being the chief destroyer with 5 for 21.
For a batting line-up like Mumbai, the total was within grasp. It looked so as Blizzard got off to a flying start, caressing three fours in the first over bowled by Praveen Kumar. In his next over he made amends by removing Tendulkar who drove tamely to backward point. Sharma got Sharma when Rohit was stumped by Gilly off Bipul. Kumar then removed Blizzard to leave Mumbai reeling at 27 for 3.
As if it wasn’t bad enough a start, Symonds was run out as a result of bad calling. Wickets continue to tumble as Mumbai played recklessly and without any head. Bhatt speeded the collapse by getting last three wickets in one over to end with his best-ever figures of 4 for 22 in 2.5 overs. Mumbai were shot out for just 87 in the 13th over, losing by 76 runs and giving Punjab a remote hope and chance of qualifying for the knock-outs.
Kings XI Punjab 163/8 (Shaun Marsh 43, Munaf Patel 4/21) beat Mumbai Indians 87/10 (Pollard 17, Bhatt 4/22) by 76 runs
Man of the match: Bhargav Bhatt (Kings XI Punjab)
Published in SportPulse.net
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