Parthiv, Rayudu and bowlers deliver for Mumbai Indians

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 Indian Premier League — 2016

Kings XI’s misery continues, suffers its fifth loss in six games.

Mumbai Indians produced an all-round performance to extend Kings XI Punjab’s misery in the ninth edition of the Indian Premier League.

After Parthiv Patel and Ambati Rayudu helped Mumbai set a target of 190, the medium-pacers — Jasprit Bumrah, Tim Southee and Mitchell McClenaghan — struck crucial blows to ensure a much-needed emphatic victory for Mumbai, the margin being 25 runs.

After the visitors broke free from 25 for the loss of Rohit Sharma’s wicket in five overs, the hosts’ middle-order held some hope of meeting the challenge but never seriously threatened Mumbai. It managed 164 for seven and crashed to its fifth defeat of the season.

Beyond reach

Though Shaun Marsh and Glenn Maxwell raised 89 for the third wicket off 61 deliveries, the asking rate kept climbing and eventually proved beyond the reach of Kings XI.

Once the two Australians departed within 18 runs of each other to leave Kings XI gasping at 139 for four after 17.1 overs, it was too much for the rest, including David Miller, to script a turnaround.

It was a well-deserved victory for the defending champion. The batting clicked even without Rohit firing and the bowlers did enough to take the team to a convincing win.

Piling it on

For Mumbai, which added 164 between the sixth and 20th overs — nine of them producing double-digit scores — Parthiv and Rayudu set the stage with their counter-attack. Though both rode their luck, their batting enthralled the near-capacity crowd at the I.S. Bindra Stadium here on Monday.

Their 137-run stand, which came off 86 balls, was dotted with five sixes and 14 boundaries.

Often getting off a good start but failing to make it count, Parthiv made the most of a second ‘life’ he received when on 15. He was ‘caught’ at deep square-leg but bowler Mitchell Johnson was found to have overstepped.

A relieved Parthiv returned to the crease and smacked two boundaries — like he did in Johnson’s first over and again in the third — to rub it in. Throughout his innings, he was severe on anything bowled on his pads and did not hesitate to play lofted strokes. The left-hander survived a close stumping chance on 32 and was dropped again, by Axar Patel, on 66. He went on to score a well-crafted half-century.

Rayudu, appearing more assured of the two, kept punishing the bowlers from the other end. After Sandeep’s first two overs produced just four runs, Rayudu made his intentions clear.

He chose Axar for special treatment — hitting a six and a four in his third over — and also smashed two successive sixes at the start of the fourth but fell attempting a third.

Scoreboard

Mumbai Indians: Rohit Sharma c Naik b Sandeep 0 (2b), Parthiv Patel c Marsh b Johnson 81 (58b, 10x4, 2x6), Ambati Rayudu c Vohra b Axar 65 (37b, 4x4, 4x6), Jos Buttler b Mohit 24 (13b, 3x4, 1x6), Kieron Pollard c Sandeep b Mohit 10 (9b), Hardik Pandya c Miller b Mohit 4 (2b, 1x4), Krunal Pandya (not out) 0 (0b); Extras (lb-1, w-3, nb-1): 5; Total (for six wkts. in 20 overs): 189.

Fall of wickets: 1-0 (Rohit), 2-137 (Rayudu), 3-174 (Buttler), 4-180 (Parthiv), 5-189 (Pollard), 6-189 (Hardik).

Kings XI bowling: Sandeep Sharma 4-0-20-1, Mitchell Johnson 4-0-43-1, Axar Patel 4-0-41-1, Mohit Sharma 4-0-38-3, Glenn Maxwell 1-0-11-0, Pardeep Sahu 3-0-35-0.

Kings XI Punjab: M Vijay c Buttler b Southee 19 (13b, 2x4, 1x6), Manan Vohra c Buttler b Bumrah 7 (11b), Shaun Marsh c Rayudu b Southee 45 (34b, 3x4, 1x6), Glenn Maxwell b Bumrah 56 (39b, 5x4, 1x6), David Miller (not out) 30 (17b, 1x4, 2x6), Nikhil Naik b Bumrah 1 (3x4), Axar Patel b McClenaghan 0 (2b), Mitchell Johnson b McClenaghan 1 (2b), Mohit Sharma (not out) 0 (0b); Extras (lb-2, w-2, nb-1): 5; Total (for seven wkts. in 20 overs): 164.

Fall of wickets: 1-20 (Vijay), 2-32 (Vohra), 3-121 (Marsh), 4-139 (Maxwell), 5-141 (Naik), 6-149 (Axar), 7-151 (Johnson).

Mumbai Indians bowling: Tim Southee 4-0-28-2, Mitchell McClenaghan 4-0-32-2, Jasprit Bumrah 4-0-26-3, Krunal Pandya 2-0-20-0, Harbhajan Singh 4-0-31-0, Kieron Pollard 2-0-25-0.

Toss: Kings XI.

Man-of-the-match: Parthiv Patel.

Mumbai Indians won by 25 runs.