Kings XI Punjab on Sunday beat Mumbai Indians in a breathtaking finish after the IPL saw a double Super Over for the first time in its history.
Batting first, Mumbai Indians made 175-6 in their 20 overs quota with Quinton de Cock playing a decent innings of 53 off 43 balls. Krunal Pandya and Kieron Pollard contributed with 34 runs each.
Mohammed Shami And Arshdeep Singh took two wickets each.
For KXIP, skipper KL Rahul continued his consistency and scored 77 off 51 balls. Chris Gayle and Nicholas Pooran made 24 runs each.
For Mumbai Indians, Jasprit Bumrah and Rahul Chahal took three and two wickets respectively. The match ended in a tie after the end of the regular match, triggering the Super Over to kick in. However, scores were tied once again even at the end of the first Super Over, making the match to go into the second Super Over for the first time in the IPL history.
Kings XI Punjab had scored 5-2 in the first Super Over. In response, Mumbai Indians too made identical scores for the loss of one wicket.
This was the first time that an IPL match had gone into a second Super Over, when Mumbai Indians made 11 for the loss of one wicket. However, the pair of Chris Gayle and Mayank Agarwal achieved the target with two balls to spare.
At one point, it appeared that the MI was going to pull off the win after they scored 11 runs, but an incredible batting display by Gayle aka ‘Universe Boss’ changed the outcome of the match. No doubt, KL Rahul would be proud of what his team has achieved given that the KXIP desperately needed a win.
Speaking after the match, Pollard said, “It shows that 1 run and 2 runs are very very crucial in T20 cricket. I am sure it was great for viewership. Kings got the better of us and deserved the two points. Around the 11-12 overs, we knew we were a couple of overs behind. Getting 170-odd, that was a good total – above-par on a track that was a on the slower side.”
Kings XI Punjab skipper Rahul said, “Yeah okay. It is not the first time. But we don’t want to make a habit out of it. We will take the two points in the end. It doesn’t always happen the way you plan so you don’t really know how to stay balanced. I was just hoping we get over the line because the boys have been working really really hard. In the games that we have lost, even then we have played well and just not been able to get over the line. After wicketkeeping for 20 overs, I knew the first six overs were crucial. The wicket was slightly slower so it was important for us to get runs in the Powerplay. I knew Chris and Pooran… I trust them to take down spinners. So Chris coming in has made my job easier as a batter. 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. He was very clear he wanted to go six yorkers. He has been phenomenal, and keeps getting better every game. It is important that senior players win the games for the team. We still want to take it one game at a time. It is sweet after the kind of matches we have lost but the talk in the dressing room is to focus on the process. We know we need to win everything from here, but we can’t forget the processes that lead to a win.”
Earlier today, the match between Kolkata Knight Riders and Sunrisers Hyderabad too was decided in a Super Over.
