Two Super Overs, 4.5 hours of action – King XI Punjab and Mumbai Indians arguably played one of the greatest T20 matches. In the end, KL Rahul & Co had the last laugh winning the game in Super Over in what has been a thrilling encounter in Dubai.
After the end of the normal game, the first Super Over also ended in a tie with both teams managing five runs each. However, Chris Gayle and Mayank Agarwal had the last laugh taking on Trent Boult who had a tough day in business. Kieron Pollard powered to set up a target of 12 runs which was chased down by Punjab.
Punjab emerge winners after two Super Overs
Chasing a mammoth total, KL Rahul was once again in his elements. Although Kings XI Punjab lost Mayank Agarwal Rahul anchored the innings alongside Chris Gayle to set the platform. They added 42 runs for the second wicket to set the platform before Gayle departed.
Mumbai Indians made a stunning comeback picking Nicholas Pooran and Glenn Maxwell early but with KL Rahul still in the middle, Kings XI Punjab backed themselves to go all the way. But a brilliant yorker from Jasprit Bumrah undid all the hard work put in by KL Rahul and Mumbai Indians right in front before the match went in a super over.
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Asked to bowl first, Kings XI Punjab started well by picking three wickets in the powerplay. Krunal Pandya and the in-form Quinton de Kock weathered the storm with a fifty-run partnership. The South African wicket-keeper notched up his fourth fifty in five matches and his partnership with Krunal laid the platform for the lower order to go berserk.
Punjab deserved two points – Kieron Pollard
And, that’s exactly what the defending champions did. The 16th and 17th over went for only 3 and 5 runs respectively. Post that, it was carnage. Kieron Pollard smacked four sixes and was ably supported by Nathan Coulter Nile who didn’t shy away from playing his shots.
Speaking at the end of the game, Kieron Pollard, who appeared instead of Rohit Sharma, admitted that Kings XI Punjab deservedly took the two points home.
“It shows that 1 run and 2 runs are very very crucial in T20 cricket. I am sure it was great for viewership. Kings got the better of us and deserved the two points. Around the 11-12 over, we knew we were a couple of overs behind. Getting 170-odd, that was a good total – above-par on a track that was on the slower side. With the dimensions, we thought we can defend that. KL again batted beautifully, going down to a Super Over, congratulations to them,” Kieron Pollard said.
Meanwhile, Rohit Sharma didn’t turn out in the Super Over. Kieron Pollard said that Rohit was not feeling well and will come back even stronger.
“I was told that he’s (Rohit) not feeling well. We’ll see what happens. He’s a fighter,” Kieron Pollard signed off.
