IPL 10: Match 22, Who Said What: Kings XI Punjab v Mumbai Indians

The 22nd match of the IPL 2017 saw Kings XI Punjab and Mumbai Indians clashing against each other as the crowds in the Holkar stadium ran for cover with raining sixes. Mumbai Indians won the toss and elected to field first following their winning formula in this tournament. The decision to put the Punjab side into bat might have been taken into scrutiny after the home team posted as many as 198 in their 20 overs.

It was a Hashim Amla show throughout the first innings of the match as he annihilated the Mumbai bowlers with his graceful and effortless boundaries. He brought up his maiden century in T20s in 58 balls on course his 104* at an unbelievable strike rate of 173. Amla hit 8 graceful fours and 6 massive sixes during. Shaun Marsh gave a crucial start to the innings with his 26-run knock. Maxwell decimated the Mumbai bowling attack with his 18-ball 40, which came at a strike rate of 222.22 and comprised of 3 sixes and four boundaries.

The fire set by Amla ignited the Mumbai Indians batsmen as they came out all guns blazing to chase Punjab’s 198. Parthiv Patel, Jos Buttler, and Nitish Rana, collectively chased down the total within 16 overs as the hapless Punjab bowlers were taken to the cleaners. Buttler scored his 77 at a strike-rate of 208, which comprised of five maximums and seven boundaries. Nitish Rana impressed with the bat yet again, as he went on to claim the Orange Cap during the course of his 62 which came at a strike-rate of 182, with 6 towering sixes.

Mumbai Indians continued their supreme form while chasing as they steam-rolled Kings XI Punjab with 8 wickets and 27 balls to spare. Jos Buttler was adjudged as the man of the match for his blitzkrieg with the bat.

Jos Buttler

Buttler seemed relieved that he could finally convert his starts into something substantial. The English wicket keeper believed that he is in a good zone at the moment. He accepted the fact that expectations from him had beared him down in the previous innings, but today he was light headed in his approach, which gave him the desired result.

I found a really good touch in the tournament. I was always desperate to carry on and am glad that it has come out today. It is a small ground and it is a fantastic wicket as well. Luckily we won the toss and we got off to a good start after which we managed to carry the momentum right through the innings. Today chasing that kind of total was good for me to go on from ball one and not think too much about it with the field in. I almost tried too hard in the last few games to score the runs because I felt in good touch putting too much of an expectation on myself. While a big score you can just go for your shots and I just tried to stay still and the shots came off.

Rohit Sharma

Mumbai Indians skipper stated that the match reminded him of their must-win encounter against Rajasthan Royals three years back. Sharma praised the batting of Amla as his acknowledged the fact that his innings was one of the finest he has ever seen.

Incredible game to be a part of. Something reminded me of the game in 2014 when we chased down 195. To be able to go and chase a target in 15 overs was fantastcic. Not to forget Hashim Amla played one of the finest knocks we’ve seen. The talk in the dressing room was the ground is small and we backed our batsmen to play their shots. The way Jos and Parthiv started off was amazing. We all know Jos’ capability with the bat and Parthiv was brilliant with his cameo. He is coming off a good First Class season and is carrying it on here.

Having commended the efforts of his opening batsmen, Sharma was honest about the need to look into the bowling of the side as they leaked way too many runs in the match. He stressed on the fact that one cannot afford to be complacent with wins in their bag as things can change quickly during the later stages of the tournament.

The bowling is something we need to look into. They are proven match winners not just for Mumbai Indians but for their respective countries as well. It is always challenging for them, the batsmen come after them and they need to always keep thinking. But the management and me are constantly backing them. You need to be on the money and you shouldn’t lose the momentum which is something that we know very well. We have focussed only on one opponent at a time and we need to stay focussed.

Glenn Maxwell

Maxwell suggested that pitch was a batting paradise. He stated that the team believed that they could defend during the interval. The skipper lauded the efforts of Marsh and centurion Amla. He accepted the fact that there’s nothing a team can do if the opposition comes and bat in that fashion. Maxwell looked forward to their fixture against Gujarat Lions.

Conditions were pretty favourable for batting as you can probably tell. 198 was a good score and I thought we would be able to defend it given how well the bowlers had performed recently. Hashim getting a hundred was a positive. Marsh hit the ball beautifully but he found the fielders with some shots. Plenty of positives on the batting side. Bowlers are bowling well enough to create those chances. Last couple of innings, we’ve dropped a lot of catches. Any time a guy comes out and takes you on in the powerplay, there’s nothing you can do, especially on a wicket like that. We tried change of pace, slower balls, but he hit them all. We go to Rajkot now, another good wicket.

Mumbai Move on top of the IPL points table with their victory with 10 points in 6 games, Kings XI Punjab remain at the fifth spot with four points. Mumbai host the Daredevils next while Punjab will clash against Gujarat Lions at Rajkot.