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Mumbai Indians (MI) and Chennai Super Kings (CSK) will battle it out in the first game of the rescheduled second leg of the IPL 2021, which is less than a week away.
Mumbai Indians have always carried the tag of slow starters in the tournament but have fared considerably well this time around. The Mumbai-based franchise have won four of their seven games and are fourth on the points table.
Before their campaign was brought to an abrupt halt, MI and CSK delivered a classic contest that produced some memorable batting performances from both sides, with MI running out eventual winners led by Kieron Pollard's match-winning knock.
On that note, let's take a look at the three best individual batting performances by Mumbai Indians batsmen in the first leg of the tournament.
#1 Kieron Pollard (Holds the highest individual score by a Mumbai Indians batsman this season)
The big West Indian all-rounder has been a vital cog in the Mumbai Indians set-up, which has been such a formidable unit over the years. The aforementioned knock against CSK before the IPL was brought to a halt was hands down, the best knock an MI batsman produced in the first leg.
Chasing 219, Mumbai Indians lost their top three for 81, when Kieron Pollard walked in to join Krunal Pandya, with the asking rate for the chase nearing 14 runs per over.
Needing 125 runs in the last eight overs, it was the Trinidadian's blitzkrieg knock of 87* off just 34 balls that bailed his side out in a memorable contest. Mumbai fans will be hoping their big all-rounder can deliver in a similar fashion when the two sides meet on September 19th.
#2 Quinton de Kock
After missing the first game of the season, the Mumbai Indians wicketkeeper-batter didn't get off to the best of starts in the first leg of the IPL, recording scores of 2, 40, 2 and 3 in his first four games.
However, Quinton de Kock was quick to find his range with an unbeaten 70 against the Rajasthan Royals to get his side off the line, bagging the man of the match award as well.
He also played his part in the mammoth chase of 219 against the Chennai Super Kings, with a 71-run opening stand alongside Rohit Sharma to lay the platform for the likes of Pollard and the Pandya brothers to chase the total down.
Quinton de Kock was Mumbai's second-highest run scorer in last year's edition in the UAE and the team management will be hoping for more of the same from him at the top of the order.
#3 Suryakumar Yadav
Having only recently debuted for the Men in Blue, all eyes will be on Suryakumar Yadav (SKY) in of the second leg of the IPL. The Mumbai-based batsman has been rather erratic in the first leg of the tournament, producing brief cameos and only showing glimpses of his potential.
While SKY has failed to record a string of high scores together, he's shown how reliable he is in the middle overs against the spinners, with his effective use of the feet and sweep against the slow bowlers.
In his only half-century during the first leg of the IPL 2021, SKY displayed just how dangerous he could be, on a rank-turner at the MA Chidambaram Stadium.
His knock of 56 off 36 deliveries against the Kolktata Knight Riders ensured that the Mumbai Indians posted a decent target of 153 on the board. While most Mumbai batsmen struggled to get going, SKY looked like he was playing on a different surface compared to the rest.
Mumbai eventually won the game courtesy of a four-fer from Rahul Chahar as KKR threw the game away, ensuring a 10-run victory for the five-time champions.
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