'He has made my job easier': KL Rahul after a thrilling victory vs MI! How KXIP made that possible?

It was a pack of thriller, suspense, and a mind blowing game. Mumbai is in a terrific form while Punjab, though with a fantastic team, just couldn't grab more victories. As in the case of every match this series, Mumbai Indians decided to bat first after winning the toss. They lost the wickets of Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav, and Ishan Kishan for just 38 runs. Quinton de Kock joined hands with Krunal Pandya and the fightback began. While Krunal Pandya scored 34 runs and lost his wicket to Bishnoi, de Kock was strong. He scored his half-century and paved the way for Mumbai to score big.

Mumbai Indians were losing back to back wickets and at one point, they lost six wickets for 119 runs with Quinton de Kock and Hardik Pandya returning back to the pavilion. The strong point of the Mumbai Indians team is that when you think it is all over, it is actually not because they have such huge depth in their batting order. Pollard and Coulter-Nile showed a lot of power in the end. Pollard was back to his best scoring 34 runs from just 12 balls that included 4 sixes. It was a treat to watch him bat like that and because of that, Mumbai Indians scored a very good total of 176 runs for the loss of 6 wickets.

KL Rahul was the lone warrior for the Kings XI Punjab. He played one of his most finest knocks ever and scored 77 runs from 51 balls. He didn't get the required support from any of his teammates and all they could do was score 24 runs each. Jasprit Bumrah was the star for Mumbai Indians with the ball as he picked up three crucial wickets, including that of KL Rahul. Deepak Hooda along with Chris Jordan fought with all their heart in the end but it was not fully enough. The match got tied and it was a super over. 

What an over it was from Jasprit Bumrah. KL Rahul and Nicholas Pooran came in to bat for the super over for Kings XI Punjab. With the sheer brilliance of Bumrah, they could score only 5 runs in the over losing both their wickets. Only 6 runs were required for the Mumbai Indians to register yet another victory. Rohit Sharma and Quinton de Kock came in to chase that target and were facing Mohammed Shami. 

The first three balls brought the MI only three runs. The fourth ball was a dot and the tension built up. One run was scored in the fifth ball and MI needed 2 from the last one. It was a run out in the last ball with a single taken and in what has become a rare phenomenon, the match got tied again which had added more thriller as both teams unfolded one of the real T20 crickets. What a talent Mohammed Shami is to defend those 5 runs in the super over. His excellent performance meant that the winner was to be decided by another super over. 

Even after sending in Pollard and Hardik Pandya, Mumbai Indians could score only 11 runs in the second super over, thanks to the sensational fielding effort by Mayank Agarwal in the final ball that prevented a six. Chris Gayle and Mayank Agarwal came in to bat for the Kings XI Punjab to finish things up. It was a 'boom' from the 'Universe Boss' Chris Gayle in the first ball itself as he hit a huge six. 

Mayank scored two boundaries after that and it was all over for the Mumbai Indians. The sensational game came to an end with Kings XI Punjab holding their nerves in the second super over and clinching two points with this fantastic victory. It was cricket at its very best. KL Rahul deserves this for his patience and determination. The Kings have announced that they are back into the contest and they cannot be written off easily. 

With a perfect finish without losing the tenacity, Kings XI Punjab had given a major breakthrough after losing six matches. The team was at the last spot in the points table and with the thriller victory against one of the successful teams Mumbai Indians, KXIP had ascended two spots and currently standing at the sixth place by pulling CSK down to one point. KXIP had so far played nine matches and won three while MI had played nine and won six matches. 

Speaking at the post-match presentation ceremony, KL Rahul said, "You can never prepare for Super overs. No team does, so you have to trust your bowler's gut. You trust your bowler, and let them believe their instinct and gut. Shami was very clear he wanted to go six yorkers. He has been phenomenal and keeps getting better every game. By expressing happiness over the victory, Rahul said that his team would not want to make a habit of such a victory. 

He added, "I knew Chris (Gayle) and Pooran. I trust them to take down spinners. So Chris coming in has made my job easier as a batter". Rahul sounded perfect about the victory and asserted that the team knows it has to win everything from here. The no-short to thriller victory for KXIP was made possible by Chris Gayle and Mohammad Shami with their splendid work in the bat and ball at the final stage. For KXIP, it was a much-needed victory but they eventually turned it into a much stylish and impeccable win. With having five more matches in their kitty, this win had pumped in hope to have a successful trajectory ahead.

 

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