IPL 2018, MI vs KXIP: 5 talking points

Mumbai Indians and Kings XI Punjab played out a high-scoring thriller at the Wankhede Stadium tonight with the match going all the way down to the wire before the hosts edged out Ravichandran Ashwin's side despite a brilliant knock by KL Rahul.

Mumbai Indians had a mixed powerplay after being put into bat by the visitors, losing four wickets, but a 23-ball 50 by Kieron Pollard in his comeback match ensured that the hosts reached 186 in their 20 overs.

Kings XI looked well in control heading into the final four overs of the game, requiring 42 runs to win with nine wickets in hand, but a brilliant spell of bowling by Jasprit Bumrah ensured that Mumbai Indians won the contest by 3 runs to remain in the hunt for a playoff spot.

Here are the 5 major talking points from tonight's match.

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#5 Ravichandran Ashwin's baffling captaincy

Kings XI Punjab started off brilliantly in IPL 2018 and one of the main attractions in the way the side was operating was skipper Ravichandran Ashwin's captaincy. He looked a natural leader and the number of years of playing under MS Dhoni seemed to have instilled a calmness to the way Ashwin seemed to operate on the field.

But as the season progressed, the Kings XI have struggled and so has Ashwin - with the aggressiveness that he displayed at the start of the IPL campaign going missing.

That was the case today as well when with Mumbai Indians struggling at 71/4, Ashwin chose to bowl the likes of Marcos Stoinis and Ankit Rajpoot instead of going for the kill with himself or Andrew Tye.

This allowed the likes of Kieron Pollard and Krunal Pandya to free their arms and take the match away from the visitors. Ashwin had three overs left and only came into bowl in the 16th over and got Pollard's wicket right away which makes his initial decision all the more hard to digest.

The Kings XI side needed Ashwin to lead from the front but that didn't quite happen tonight.

#4 Andrew Tye keeps pulling away in the race for the purple cap

Tye picked up his third four-wicket haul of the ongoing IPL season tonight

Andrew Tye has been by far Kings XI Punjab's best bowler this season and he has only gotten better as the season has progressed with a marked increase in his wicket-taking abilities of late.

He may have missed out in the match against the Royal Challengers Bangalore on Monday, but had taken 10 wickets in three matches prior to the contest at Indore and would have been keen to get back to what he does best at the Wankhede tonight.

Much to the delight of the Kings XI fans, Tye delivered yet again with another four-wicket haul that included the three top-order batsmen for Mumbai Indians in the powerplay overs.

Perhaps Ashwin could have given Tye another over instead of allowing the opposition to get away with Kieron Pollard striking it big, but the Australian fast bowler showed his death bowling credentials with another economical spell while also picking up the wicket of the dangerous Hardik Pandya.

It was another terrific outing for Tye as his figures at the halfway mark read 4-0-16-4. He now has 24 wickets this season.

#3 Kieron Pollard strikes big

Pollard once again showed his big-match credentials with a superb knock when the team needed it the most

Mumbai Indians had huge expectations out of Kieron Pollard this season, having used the RTM card to retain him at the player auctions.

Pollard was a regular starter in the side in the initial part of the campaign, but he failed to hit the ground running and found himself out of the side. So it was quite a surprise to see Pollard feature in tonight's match at JP Duminy's expense.

However, Pollard repaid the faith shown in him by the Mumbai Indians team management with a stellar batting display of his big-hitting prowess.

He reached his half-century off just 22 balls and looked right in his groove, once again proving that despite inconsistency being an issue, he remains a player for the big matches.

#2 KL Rahul continues to fight a lone battle

Kings XI Punjab ended up on the losing side despite KL Rahul's knock of 94 from 60 balls

KL Rahul has been Mr. Consistent for Kings XI Punjab this season and how RCB would be regretting their decision to let the 26-year-old go.

But the problem for Kings XI has been their over-dependence on Rahul. As has been the case many times this season, the Karnataka batsman was left disappointed after ending up on the losing side despite playing a stellar knock.

The way he batted, it seemed as if Kings XI would be heading for a comfortable victory. But a selfless shot by Rahul who went for the big hit despite a century being around the corner, which found the fielder at long off, meant that the visitors had to end up tasting defeat.

Despite having both the Orange Cap and Purple Cap holders in the side, it is very disappointing to see Kings XI Punjab reeling in the bottom half of the table and in grave danger of missing out on the playoff spot despite making a brilliant start to the campaign.

#1 Jasprit Bumrah's match-winning spell

Bumrah picked up 3 wickets in his final two overs conceding just 10 runs to bowl his side to a thrilling win

Jasprit Bumrah's death bowling credentials may have taken a hit this IPL season but the Indian speedster gave a gentle reminder to everyone who was questioning whether his biggest strength was on the decline.

Bumrah bowled a brilliant opening spell, conceding just 5 runs in his first overs, and considering Mumbai's lack of options in the death overs, skipper Rohit Sharma had no other option but to hold him back for the latter part of the innings.

By the time he was brought back into the attack in the 17th over, Kings XI Punjab looked to be in control, needing 42 runs from 4 overs with nine wickets in hand.

However, Bumrah changed the match's equation completely by dismissing Finch and Marcos Stoinis in the 17th over before picking up the all-important wicket of KL Rahul in the 19th over.

Not only did he pick up three crucial wickets, Bumrah conceded just 10 runs off his final two overs, allowing his fellow death bowlers the cushion to bowl their side to victory.

Bumrah deservedly picked up the Man-of-the-Match award for his figures of 4-0-15-3.

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