Part of the original set of franchises, Kings XI Punjab and Mumbai Indians have played several thrilling encounters between them and picking the top 5 is an extremely tough job. Nevertheless, some games have been exceptionally close, proverbially going down to the wire. Here are the best five:
#1 KXIP win by 1 run, Mumbai, 2008
In a high-scoring game, Kings XI Punjab amassed a massive 189 runs thanks to a 133-run second wicket partnership between Shaun Marsh (81) and LA Pomersbach (79*). KXIP managed to score 39 runs in the last 14 balls.
Sachin Tendulkar was fantastic during the chase for MI smashing a 46-ball 65. There wasn’t much support from the other end though and that cost Mumbai the match. When Sachin was out at 159, MI needed 31 more in the last 3 overs, which was quite possible but they lost Uthappa soon enough.
Siddharth Chitnis brought them close with a 6-ball-15-run cameo and MI needed just 7 in the last 5 balls. However, they ended up losing three wickets, all run-outs. KXIP held their nerve in the end, winning the match by a solitary run.
It is probably one of IPL’s best matches ever. Piyush Chawla was KXIP’s best bowler with figures of 1-22 in his 4 overs and Marsh was the Player of the Match.
#2 KXIP win by 3 runs, Durban, 2009
This was a low-scoring thriller where KXIP pulled off a victory from the jaws of defeat. They were pretty poor with the bat, managing just 119 in their 20 overs. They reached the score because of Kumar Sangakkara’s knock, as he scored an unbeaten 45*, with wickets falling all around him.
The extras made the second highest contribution – 17. Malinga registered figures of 2-12 in his 4 overs for the Mumbai Indians. In reply, MI were 12 for 3 in first four overs. JP Duminy then scored a 63-ball 59 and was all set to take MI to a victory. He had good partnerships with Dwayne Bravo and Abhishek Nayar.
Nevertheless, Duminy lost his wicket to Yusuf Abdulla, who bowled the 20th over. MI could only crawl to 116, falling 3 short of their target. Irfan Pathan was terrific with figures of 2-20 in his 4 overs and so was Abdulla. Sangakkara picked up the Player of the Match, even though he was outscored by Duminy.
#3 MI wins by 4 runs, Mumbai, 2013
MI thought they had it when they piled on 174 runs for the loss of just 3 wickets, thanks to Rohit Sharma, who smashed a 39-ball 79, adding 88 for the fourth wicket with Kieron Pollard, who surprisingly scored just 20 of those runs. Praveen Kumar was good for KXIP, with figures of 1-24 in 4 overs.
KXIP started very badly, reduced to 16 for 2 in 3 overs. However, David Hussey and David Miller played well to keep their team’s hopes alive. Miller smashed five sixes in his 34-ball 56, while Hussey scored an 18-ball 34.
When Miller was gone, KXIP still needed 26 off 13 balls and, Praveen’s 15-ball 24 took them real close. He was out off the last ball of the match and KXIP fell short by just 4 runs. Mitchell Johnson was the star of the show for MI with figures of 2-29 in 4 overs. Rohit Sharma took the Player of the Match for his brilliant innings.
#4 MI wins by 4 wickets, Mohali, 2012
KXIP registered a score of 168, which on a lively Mohali track didn’t exactly look enough. David Hussey scored a 40-ball 68 with four sixes and four fours, giving the score a fillip after a very slow start. Miller scored a 17-ball 34 but would have wondered why he wasn’t sent in earlier. RP Singh was impressive with figures of 1-27 in 4 overs.
MI looked solid in reply, with Rohit Sharma scoring a 30-ball 50. At 90 for 3 in the 14th over, they seemed to be cruising but lost some quick wickets to find themselves at 135 for 6 in the 18th over. They required 34 in the next 14 balls but Ambati Rayudu played a blinder, a 17-ball 34 under pressure along with Robin Peterson who scored a 7-ball 16 to take MI home on the penultimate ball of the match.
MI won by four wickets with just a ball to spare as Rayudu picked up the Player of the Match.
#5 MI wins by 4 wickets, Mumbai, 2010
Kings XI batted first and managed to score 163 at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai, all out off the last ball of their innings. Shaun Marsh top-scored with 57 but he hardly had any support. Piyush Chawla’s 13-ball cameo fetched KXIP 22 runs which came in quite handy.
MI had a good start to their chase, with Shikhar Dhawan scoring a half-century. Saurabh Tiwary scored a 23-ball 31 in the middle. MI were 122 for 4 when Rayudu departed, needing 42 in 25 balls. R Sathish played a good cameo down the order as MI sprinted to the finish line.
Eventually they managed to score 164 in the last over, winning by 4 wickets with just 3 balls to spare. Irfan Pathan was impressive for KXIP with figures of 1-20, even though he didn’t bowl his full quota of 4 overs. Ravi Bopara picked up 3 wickets for Punjab too.
But it was Malinga who picked the Player of the Match for his sensational figures of 4-22 in 4 overs choking KXIP completely. He got great assistance from Zaheer Khan who had figures of 3-34 in his 4 overs.
Also Read: IPL 2017: Kings XI Punjab vs Mumbai Indians, 5 factors of winning
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