IPL 2016: Pollard blitzkrieg keeps Mumbai’s playoff hopes alive
Kieron Pollard’s 19-ball 35 helped reigning champions Mumbai Indians defeat Royal Challengers Bangalore by 6 wickets at Bengaluru on Wednesday to jump into the fourth position in the IPL table. Earlier, the hosts posted 151/4 on the board even after the failure of Gayle, Kohli, and AB de Villiers.
Brief Scores: RCB 151/4 in 20 overs (KL Rahul 68*(53), Sachin Baby 25*(13), Krunal Pandya 1/15) vs MI 153/4 in 18.3/ 20 overs(Rayudu 44(47), Pollard 35*(19), Chahal 1/16)
The match today was crucial for both teams. RCB needed to continue their winning streak that had suddenly raised hopes for a
Chris Gayle who was rested for the previous match came in for Travis Head, and Iqbal Abdulla made way for S Aravind in the RCB line-up. Mumbai did what they should have done a while ago and dropped Hardik Pandya. His brother
Rohit SharmaWatson called the toss and won it, which elicited a disappointed reaction from Kohli. "Whatever I do, call or flip, I'm losing the toss," said Virat Kohli. About the pitch, he said, "Looks a pretty good wicket, we just have to put runs on the board now." But that second part turned out to be tougher than expected.
1. The holy trinity holes out cheaply
Tinkering with the opening partnership that had clicked so well did not augur that well today for RCB. It happened to be Virat Kohli's rare off
2. Rahul rebuilds the innings
But K L Rahul stood firm amid the ruins. A good total never looked in sight, but Rahul took it upon himself to eke out a competitive score at least. It was three full overs after ABD's departure before a boundary came along - it was not a great shot from Watson, but the four was a much-needed one. Rahul provided the impetus finally in the next over from McClenagahan as he scored two fours and a six. But just when they began accelerating, Watson was run-out by Rohit. That brought in an in-form Sachin Baby who complemented Rahul well as the duo went after the bowling. Pollard bore the brunt in the 18th over as he was first sent for a six by
3. Rayudu and Rohit give Mumbai a steady start
Sreenath Aravind removed Parthiv Patel with his first delivery in the second over to struck the first blow in Mumbai Indians’ chase of 152. The left-hander flashed his bat at a wide delivery only to edge it to Shane Watson at first slip. Although Parthiv departed early, Rohit Sharma and Ambati Rayudu made sure that the reigning champions got off to a good start by forming a steady 58-run stand. The duo started slowly and looked for ones and twos to keep the scoreboard ticking. 39 runs came
4. Pollard blitzkrieg takes Mumbai home
Kieron Pollard arrived at the crease after two quick wickets of Rohit Sharma and Nitish Rana. Rana came in for his IPL debut and looked in good nick after a six off Aaron, but his attempt to go for one more brought his downfall in the 13th over with Stuart Binny taking a brilliant catch at the cover boundary. The run rate was climbing into double digits when Kieron Pollard arrived in the middle, and he cut it back to single figures. The West Indian went after Watson and smashed him for a four and a six in the 15th over to get things going. But, Mumbai Indians suffered a blow the next over after AB de Villers took a blinder at the long-on boundary to remove Rayudu. With the settled batsman back in the pavilion, Mumbai looked in a spot of bother with 44 needed off the last four overs. However, Pollard made a mockery of the required run rate and took Watson to the cleaners by scoring 18 runs in the 17th over to bring the required run rate back to single digits. Jos Buttler dished almost the same treatment to his England teammate Chris Jordan to take the team closer to the victory. The final 10 runs proved to be a mere formality as Pollard and Buttler finished off the job with eight balls to spare.
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