The Mumbai Indians had a chance to clinch first place in the Indian Premier League points table when it took only six runs to win the Super Over against Kings XI Punjab on Sunday. But Mohammed Shami threw a superb over to restrict Quinton de Kock and Rohit Sharma to just five runs as the match headed for another Super Over.
Ultimately, KXIP ended up winning the match in the second second, as they improved their points tally to six of 9 games. However, there was a surprise at the end of the match, as instead of the boss Rohit, his substitute Kieron Pollard came out to attend the press conference. The media asked if everything was okay with the MI boss. Pollard gave an update on the situation when he said Rohit was not feeling well.
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“They told me that he (Rohit) is not feeling well, so I am here to chat with you. We’ll see what happens but he’s a fighter, ”Pollard said.
Pollard also commented on Jasprit Bumrah’s influence on the IM team, saying that the Indian pacemaker has taken over from Sri Lankan pacemaker Lasith Malinga.
Malinga had withdrawn from the Indian Premier League (IPL) for personal reasons. The Sri Lankan pacemaker was a key cog in the bowling wheel of the Mumbai Indians.
Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) defeated the Mumbai Indians after the end of two consecutive Super Overs at Dubai International Stadium on Sunday.
However, in the first super over Bumrah he had conceded just five runs and the Mumbai Indians looked ready for a comfortable victory, but Mohammad Shami turned the tide and took the game to another super change.
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“He (Bumrah) is a world-class cricketer. It has been number one in a couple of formats for a long period of time. He has learned and gone by leaps and bounds for us in Mumbai Indians in a while and so on. We have comfort in him. A couple of years ago we had a fair and fit Lasith Malinga and he (Bumrah) has taken over that mantle now and so on, ”Pollard said during the post-game press conference.
In the first Super Over, Rohit Sharma and Quinton De Kock came out to bat and couldn’t get the team to the other side of the line. In the second Super Over, Pollard helped the Mumbai Indians score 11 runs.
“Obviously there are decision makers to make the decision, you know we can look at those things and say that’s where we lost the game, but we played a very good game of cricket. We hit well and we hit 170 odd and we took the game to the end, ”Pollard said.
The defending champions Mumbai Indians are in second place with 12 points, two points less than the leading Delhi Capitals.
“It is only a matter of improvement, every time we step on the cricket field it is to improve and do better. We will look back and analyze the game, come up with a better plan and hopefully get two points in the next game, ”said the SUV.
The Mumbai Indians will face Chennai Super Kings (CSK) on Friday.
(with ANI inputs)
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