After losing seven matches from nine encounters, Kings XI Punjab’s dream of playing the IPL play-offs is as good as over. But, the Mumbai Indians are still nurturing the dream of playing the knock-out stages after winning their third match in a row.
They are in the process of repairing their early damages caused by a mediocre start. With a 23-run win over the Kings, Mumbai Indians are now eyeing at least four more victories from their next five games.
The Mumbai are a very competitive side and it was at display in Mohali on Sunday. Batting first after winning the toss, the Mumbai openers Parthiv Patel and Lendl Simmons made most of the situation.
They not only helped their team to make a score of 172, but also involved in a partnership of 111 in 12.2 overs. Towards the end of the innings, Mumbai could have made some more runs but the Kings XI bowlers were spot on.
Later, Kings XI were never really in the game, as they lost wickets at regular intervals. As long as David Miller was at the crease, the Kings were in the game, but the moment he got out, the match was over for them.
The biggest drawback of the team was the way their top order batsmen Virender Sehwag and Glenn Maxwell flopped in the course of their IPL campaign. Initially, Sehwag did a glimpse of his old self, but he couldn’t keep his consistency even after being dropped from the playing XI.
The story is somewhat the same with Maxwell. It’s not that he wasn’t trying hard, but nothing seemed to have worked for this Australian cricketer this season. Now, they will have to wait for year to make a mark in the IPL again.
