Dubai, October 18: Quinton de Kock smashed a sublime half-century and late blitz from Kieron Pollard and Nathan Coulter-Nile propelled Mumbai Indians to 176/6 in 20 overs against Kings XI Punjab in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020 contest here on Sunday (October 18).
Electing to bat first, Mumbai Indians were off to a disastrous start as they lost three batsmen in the power-play itself. Rohit Sharma and (9) and Suryakumar Yadav (0) fell in quick succession and Ishan Kishan (7) also fell cheaply while trying to clear the fences.
Later, De Kock along with Krunal Pandya revived the Mumbai innings with their partnership of 58 runs for the fourth wicket. Krunal - who was promoted higher by captain Rohit in this game - didn't disappoint as he played some good strokes and didn't let the pressure of scoreboard pile up on De Kock. It looked as if the duo were extending partnership but young leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi dismissed the left-handed batsman for 34.
Hardik Pandya - the new-man-in - showed his intents when he hit a maximum on the first delivery he faced but his innings didn't last long as he was dismissed for 8 by Mohammed Shami. But the late cameos from all-rounder Kieron Pollard (34*) and Nathan Coulter-Nile (24*) guided Mumbai Indians to 176/6 in 20 overs. Together Pollard and Coulter-Nile amassed 57 runs off 21 deliveries for the seventh wicket and helped their team post a respectable total.
Shami, Glenn Maxwell and Arshdeep Singh picked up a couple of wickets each for Kings XI and kept the flow of runs in check until Pollard and Coulter-Nile wreaked havoc in the death overs to help their team post a respectable total.