Surya, Krunal keep MI in the hunt
LIFELINE Pandya cameo after opener’s halfcentury helps Mumbai Indians blast 51 in 3 overs and chase down KXIP’S 174
INDORE: across the line but got a leading edge and Rahul did the rest.
Kishan (25), who smacked three sixes after a slow start, became Mujeeb’s second victim of the night. A flatter delivery from Mujeeb, the MI no 3 charged down the track, looking to slog but missed it completely.
After Hardik Pandya fell in the 15th over, skipper Rohit Sharma (24*) and Krunal (31*) put together a quickfire 56-run stand in 3.3 overs to hand MI their third win. Earlier, Gayle’s fourth fiftyplus score in five IPL games this year and a Stoinis special guided KXIP to 174/6.
Early into his innings, Gayle was kept in check by Jasprit Bumrah, who targeted the KXIP opener with slower deliveries. He scored just a run off his first eight balls before getting into the act with consecutive boundaries off Hardik in the fourth over.
Gayle reached his fifty with a single off Ben Cutting in the 11th over. He got out for 50 in the same over, trying to clear the deep midwicket region but handing a straight catch to Suryakumar Yadav.
With 89/2 in 12 overs, the stage was set for KXIP’S middle-order to take the team to a big total. But they floundered as a mix-up with Karun Nair had Yuvraj Singh (14) run-out in the 13th over.
Nair (23) looked in good touch before becoming Mitchell Mcclenaghan’s only victim of the night. Cutting 3-0-28-1, Krunal Pandya 1-0-10-0