IPL 2020: Match 36 – KXIP vs MI – Who Said What

The 36th match of the Indian Premier League got underway between defending champions Mumbai Indians and Kings XI Punjab. KXIP clinched the match most thrillingly in the second Super Over of the contest. Choosing to walk up with willows first, MI posted a sublime total of 176/6 on the board. Skipper Rohit Sharma came and went in no time, but Quinton de Kock’s half-century (53 off 43) remained crucial to get them going.

KL Rahul was named as the player of the match for his scintillating knock while he chased the big target. Mumbai were looking for an average total on the board until their end game was accelerated by Kieron Pollard (34* off 12) and Coulter-Nile (24* off 12). Mohammed Shami and Arshdeep Singh picked two wickets each for KXIP.

Chasing the target, skipper KL Rahul came to the team’s rescue once again like a King as he smashed 77 off 51 balls. Chris Gayle and Nicholas Pooran added 24 runs each from their ends. Jasprit Bumrah showed an exceptional game with the ball as he conceded 24 runs off four overs to pick three wickets.

Winning skipper and player of the match KL Rahul said

It’s not the first time, I’m getting used to it but we’ll take the two points however they come. It doesn’t always happen so you don’t know how to stay balanced in a situation like this. We have put in some really amazing performances even in the games we lost. We’re trying to come back harder in each game and wins like these help. After wicket-keeping for 20 overs, batting in the first six is very crucial. We knew it would get slower with their decent spinners, so Mayank and I got a good start over 50 runs. When Chris plays against spinners, I trust them to take down the spinners. Chris coming in helps, he is an experienced player and knows how to carry the team through.

You can’t prepare for Super Overs, no team prepares for Super Overs. You have to trust your bowling group and it is important you let them believe their instinct and gut. Shami was certain he wanted to go for six yorkers and he has been phenomenal for us. It is important seniour guys put their hands up for us. We still want to take it one game at a time and when you haven’t won a lot in the first seven, every victory is sweet. The talk in the dressing room is to focus on the process and stay calm. That is the kind of mood we want to set and everybody is professional and competitive and they want to win games. We know we need to win everything from here, but not at the cost of processes, we need to enjoy ourselves here.

Stand-in Captain of MI, Kieron Pollard said

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 overs, we knew we were a couple of overs behind. Getting 170-odd, that was a good total – above-par on a track that was a on the slower side. With the dimensions, we thought we can defend that. KL again batted beautifully, congratulations to them. ‘What’s the worse that can happen?’ That’s how I look at things. It’s a game of cricket, you go out there to do your best, you prepare, there’s a process and the situation dictates what happens. We should won this I believe deep down. These things happen.