Stand-in captain Kieron Pollard led from the front and guided Mumbai Indians to their third consecutive win in Indian Premier League (IPL) 2019. Pollard scored 83 – his best-ever score in the IPL – as Mumbai beat Kings XI Punjab by three wickets at the Wankhede Stadium on Wednesday. KL Rahul had earlier scored a century for KXIP.

Chasing 198 to win, debutant Siddhesh Lad made an eye-popping start to life in the IPL by hitting the first two deliveries he faced for a six and a four. Unfortunately, the youngster couldn’t build on that and lost his stumps in the fourth over with 28 on the scoreboard. Suryakumar Yadav could have followed Lad back to the dugout the following over, but luckily David Miller dropped him at point.

Suryakumar looked to capitalise and hit three fours in quick succession, while Quinton de Kock also received a lifeline after being dropped by KL Rahul as MI reached 50 by the end of the powerplay. Suryakumar then perished in the eighth over while trying to hit Sam Curran for a maximum. The subsequent over witnessed Ravichandran Ashwin get de Kock’s wicket as Mumbai were reduced to 62 for 3 after nine overs.

The loss of Suryakumar and de Kock in consecutive overs brought Pollard and Ishan Kishan together for MI. With the onus on his shoulders, Pollard stepped up to the plate and proceeded to play a captain’s hand. The powerful Trinidadian gave Mumbai’s innings some impetus with a boundary and three quick maximums. However, just when it looked like Pollard and Kishan’s partnership was starting to blossom, the Indian youngster was run-out by Curran.

Hardik Pandya was next to the crease and he looked positive straight from the outset. Both he and Pollard looked comfortable and were dominating Punjab’s bowlers, but Hardik got caught at long-on after miscuing a shot off Mohammed Shami. Krunal Pandya was Shami’s next victim, but Pollard presence still offered us a glimmer of hope with 54 needed to win from the last four overs.

Stand-in skipper for MI on the night, Pollard continued to attack KXIP’s bowlers and reached his fifty in the 17th over with another huge maximum – his seventh of the night. Pollard went on to smash three sixes and two fours in the last two overs to get MI to within four runs of a win before being dismissed. In the end, it was Alzarri Joseph and Rahul Chahar, who held their nerve to get us over the line on the last ball of the game.

Earlier in the evening, Punjab’s openers gave them a solid foundation with a 116-run partnership at the top that saw Chris Gayle and Rahul score at a brisk pace. Gayle, who made 63 from 36 balls, was the first to depart after Jason Behrendorff returned to the attack and dismissed the big-hitting Jamaican in his final over.

Gayle’s dismissal slowed Punjab down as Miller struggled to adjust to the pace of the wicket. Hardik brought an end to the South African’s short stay at the crease in the 15th over with some intelligent bowling. Karun Nair fell next as Hardik was rewarded with his second wicket of the night for his persistence.

Curran then walked out to the middle and hit two quick fours before Jasprit Bumrah ensured that he had to walk back to the hut. Rahul though was still in the middle and his presence proved to be costly. The elegant right-hander smashed 21 off the penultimate over of the innings and brought up his century in the final over as KXIP ended on 197.

Brief score: Kings XI Punjab 197 for 4 in 20 overs (KL Rahul 100*; Hardik 2/57) lost to Mumbai Indians 198 for 7 in 20 overs (Pollard 83; Shami 3/21) by 3 wickets

Man of the Match: Kieron Pollard

Our next match will be against Rajasthan Royals at the Wankhede Stadium on Saturday.