IPL 2018: Twitter Reacts As Mumbai Indians Beat Kings XI Punjab In Must-Win Clash
The duo added 111 runs for the second wicket (Credits: BCCI)

KL Rahul’s 94-run knock went in vain as defending champions Mumbai Indians beat Kings XI Punjab by 3 runs to remain alive in the tournament.

Chasing 187, Kings XI openers KL Rahul and Chris Gayle made the usual blazing start, adding 34 runs in 22 balls before Mitchell McClenaghan sent back the latter. Rahul and Aaron Finch then took the innings forward. At the end of the powerplay, Kings XI were comfortably placed at 57 for 1.

The duo looked at ease throughout as Kings XI entered the three-digits in the 13th over. Prior to that, Rahul had completed his fifty off 36 balls. The match only drifted away from Mumbai as Punjab raced away to 127 for 1 at the end of 15 overs. Jasprit Bumrah finally ended the stand by dismissing Aaron Finch for 46,  reducing the hosts to 145 for 2.  4 runs later, Bumrah dismissed Marcus Stoinis to turn the game on its head. The equation was finally down to 38 off the last 3 overs.

Rahul then hit Ben Cutting for three fours in the18th over to bring down the equation to 23 from the last 2 overs. However, Bumrah dismissed Rahul for 94 to once again bring Mumbai in the game. Mitchell McClenaghan then went on to defend 17 runs in the final over to fire his side to the win.

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Earlier in the game, fifty from Kieron Pollard helped the hosts post a competitive 186 for 8 in the allotted 20 overs. Asked to bat first, Mumbai were off to an electric start, racing away to 37 off just 3 overs.

Andrew Tye then castled Evin Lewis for 9 to give Punjab the early breakthrough. Mumbai soon completed its fifty and was comfortably placed at 59 for 1 in the sixth over before wickets started falling. Tye opened the floodgates by sending back Ishan Kishan for 20.  On the very next ball, Tye sent back in-form Suryakumar Yadav before Ankit Rajpoot dismissed Rohit Sharma. From 59 for 1, Mumbai found themselves reeling at 71 for 4.

Krunal Pandya and Kieron Pollard then stopped the rot. The duo mixed caution with aggression to lead the foundation for a good total. They added 65 runs for the fifth wicket. Marcus Stoinis broke the stand by accounting for Krunal who scored 32 off 23. Pollard then went on to score his fifty 0ff 23 balls before returning to the pavilion. Handy knocks from lower-order batsmen then propelled Mumbai to a good total.

Here is how Twitter reacted to the game:

#Rahul proving his worth in gold

https://twitter.com/mainbhiengineer/status/996818117413212161

#Out of the game

#Tye taking social media by storm just like the IPL:

https://twitter.com/imjsk27/status/996770042019643392

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https://twitter.com/sagarcasm/status/996768514164879364

#Words from the expert :

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