IPL 2018, MI vs KXIP: 4 unnoticed things from the game

The stakes were high as both Mumbai Indians and the Kings XI Punjab needed a win to stay alive in the tournament. Ashwin won the crucial toss and opted to chase. Lewis and Suryakumar got Mumbai off to a flier as the hosts raced to 37 in just three overs.

Tye was given the ball in the fourth over and the man from Australia struck gold straightaway by dismissing Lewis with a knuckleball. He got another over and dismissed Kishan and Suryakumar of successive balls to dent the Mumbai Indians as they slipped to 71 for 4 in the ninth over.

They needed a partnership and it came in the form of Krunal and Pollard. Krunal and Pollard started off slowly but once they got their eye in, the runs started to flow at a fast clip. Just when Mumbai looked to take the game away, Stoinis pegged the hosts back by dismissing Krunal.

Pollard continued with the big hits and reached his 13th IPL fifty as the hosts looked set to score in excess of 200+. A few tight overs towards the end coupled with a few wickets restricted Mumbai to 186 for 8 in 20 overs.

Chasing 187, Punjab got off to a flying start and despite losing Gayle they reached 57 for 1 at the end of six overs. Finch and Rahul stitched a fine 100+ partnership as Punjab looked set to ace the chase.

Bumrah came back and got the better of Finch and the newcomer Stoinis in one over as Mumbai hoped for a turnaround. Bumrah got Rahul in the following over as the Mumbai crowd erupted. Mumbai held their nerve and eked out a narrow three-run win to keep themselves alive in the tournament.

Let's take a look at some of the things which you might have missed during the game.

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#1 Suryakumar became the first uncapped player to 500 IPL runs

Ever since moving to the top of the order, Suryakumar Yadav has been a revelation for the Mumbai Indians. He along with Evin Lewis have given Mumbai great's starts more often than not. Suryakumar has been in blistering form and has played some crucial knocks this season.

In a do-or-die clash versus Punjab, he gave his team another fast start but unfortunately couldn't kick in and fell for a quickfire 27. While scoring those 27 runs Suryakumar Yadav reached 500 IPL runs this season and in the process became the first ever uncapped player to reach that landmark. Well done, Surya!

#2 All seam attack by KXIP in the powerplay overs

In a crucial game, Punjab opted to bowl first. Ashwin started off with his seamers but the Mumbai openers teed off as they raced to 37 in just three overs. Ashwin could have turned to his spinners but he persisted with his seamers and the move paid off.

He gave his best bowler, Tye the fourth and sixth over and he delivered. He got the ball to talk and picked up as many as three wickets in the powerplay to bring Punjab back into the game.

All of a sudden Mumbai Indians were 60 for 3 in six overs. Ashwin's move to persist with his pacers despite leaking runs upfront was crucial in Punjab by reducing a batting heavy Mumbai team to below 200.

#3 Ashwin bowls two overs at the death

At 151 for 5 in 15 overs and with a certain Kieron Pollard at the crease who was looking in great touch, Mumbai looked set to score in excess of 200+. Tye was Punjab's most impressive bowler on display and had already picked up three wickets in the match but Ashwin decided to bowl himself.

Up till then, the skipper had bowled only one over. He bowled the 16th and the 18th over and picked up the crucial wickets of hard hitters Pollard and Cutting as Punjab sensed a mini-comeback. Punjab managed to give away only 35 runs for three wickets in the last five overs as the hosts rued their chances of not keeping wickets in hand for the final five overs.

#4 KL Rahul breaches the 600-run mark in the IPL this year

Kings XI Punjab's form may have dipped in the latter half of the tournament but KL Rahul has consistently been amongst the runs. In thirteen innings so far, Rahul has managed to reach double digits in each of those innings.

In crunch game against Mumbai in their own backyard, Punjab once again relied heavily on Rahul as they were set a stiff target of 187. KL Rahul single-handedly kept Punjab in the hunt with a superb 94 off just 60 deliveries and in the process became the first batsman to cross the 600-run mark in the IPL this season. In the end, Rahul's brilliance went in vain as Punjab fell just three runs short of the target.

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