After finishing the league leg of the 2020 IPL in the top ranked team, the Mumbai Indians put on another clinical performance on Thursday to break into the final. Batting first, MI posted 200/5, in response to what the Delhi Capitals could only muster 143/8, allowing the defending champs to beat them in Qualifier 1 and book a spot in Tuesday’s summit clash.
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There have been many wonderful takeaways from IM this season on the way to reaching the final. Suryakumar Yadav has kept the batting together in the middle order, and with a quarterfift of the season, against DC on Thursday, the batter brought his tally to 461 runs. In addition to him, Quinton de Kock has been a formidable figure at the top with 483 runs in 15 games, while Hardik Pandya and Kieron Pollard have regularly managed to give MI the impetus they needed in death overs.
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Having said that, one of the biggest positives for the four-time champions appears to have been the coming of age of young Ishan Kishan, who starred undefeated half a century in Dubai against the Capitals. Out of 13 games, Kishan has 483 runs at an average of 53.66 with four out of fifty since playing his first game of the season and hitting a scintillating 99 against Royal Challengers Bangalore.
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However, it should not be missed that Kishan is a wicketkeeper hitter and quite an impressive figure behind the wicket. Yet somehow his name disappears every time the next Indian wicketkeeper is spoken of. People like Sanju Samson and Rishabh Pant are the first two that come to mind, almost taking Kishan’s attention away.
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However, former Australian all-rounder Tom Moody feels that after this season’s success, Terrain Guardian Kishan is sure to enter the reckoning and while he hasn’t held the grounds for MI this year with De Kock doing maintenance, he doesn’t ‘Doesn’t take away from the fact that the 22-year-old is a’ royal pack ‘and one of the most promising goalie hitters in India today.
“We will start to hear about him for sure. He’s been in the shadows and there’s no reason why he shouldn’t be in the spotlight right now because we’re just looking at the hitting he has to offer, ”Moody said on ESPNCricinfo. “We know that he can stay too. You don’t need to stay on that side of Mumbai, so it is the real package. The other thing is, he can open up the hitting and also looks comfortable hitting in the middle and that’s pretty rare for a young player to have that kind of open mind and flexibility.
“I heard an interview you did a couple of games ago. He talked about how relaxed he was with the fact that he opens or hits at 4 or 5, he didn’t care. I was very happy to play whatever role it took. That maturity in itself was quite significant. “
As Moody pointed out, Kishan has been brilliant wherever he hit for MI this year. He has excelled as a starter, taking the spot when Rohit Sharma got injured and did equally well in the middle order. On Thursday, the fact that IM hit 200 had a lot to do with Kishan’s hitting. With IM’s score reading 122/4 in the 15th over, together, Kishan and Hardik hit 78 runs in the final five overs to ensure that MI did not waste the start provided by de Kock and Suryakumar.
“I just thought his was a particularly mature entry. Let’s face it, the Mumbai Indians finished with 200, but I think the only reason they finished with that many was because of their dexterity in the middle of the innings. They lost a couple of key terrains, particularly Rohit Sharma at the top and then Pollard went really fast, “added Moody.
“But it seemed to stabilize the boat and be the kind of backbone for the innings without a problem. He seems to be able to navigate those tough times quite comfortably. When he reaches the limits, he has this incredible ability to hit the ball from the ground. “
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