IPL 2018: From Mitchell McClenaghan's poor last over to Kieron Pollard's brain fade, turning points in MI's loss against RCB

It’s often difficult to pinpoint a specific reason behind a team’s loss. Various factors play a role but as far as Mumbai Indians’ defeat on Tuesday is concerned, the team management must be knowing where they went wrong. [caption id=“attachment_4453805” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Royal Challengers Bangalore’s Mohammed Siraj celebrates after dismissing Kieron Pollard of Mumbai Indians. Sportzpics[/caption] Out of the 20 allotted overs which Mumbai bowled, Royal Challengers Bangalore scored 101 from 17 of those; less than six an over. But in the rest three overs, Mumbai leaked 66 runs! One of those bad overs was the final one, which not only gave Bangalore an above par total but also gave them the momentum going into the second innings. Thanks largely to those three overs, Mumbai Indians are all but out of the tournament. They could sneak through if they win all the remaining six games but that’s a distant possibility. So while Mumbai figure out their way forward in IPL 2018, let’s go through the talking points of the game: JP Duminy twice in a Powerplay? Rohit Sharma used the first-over card once again in this IPL. Even though the trend seems to be changing, many teams believe that batsmen don’t target the first over. So Rohit punted on Duminy, an off spinner – largely because of the presence of Quinton de Kock – and it paid off. A rubbish ball on the pads was rightly deposited to the stands by Manan Vohra but that was the only scoring shot in the over. Tempted to sneak in another over, Rohit went back to Duminy, this time from the other end and it cost the Mumbai Indians. Vohra cut loose and took the attack to Duminy. The 22-run over provided tempo to the RCB innings and the hosts consolidated on it. Virat Kohli termed it ’the game-changing moment of the match’. McClenaghan follows Hardik’s mistake How many times have you seen a bowler concede 13 runs off a single ball? That is what Hardik Pandya did when he was introduced in the 10th over. In a match where both teams conceded a lot of extras, Hardik bowled a waist-height full toss to Brendon McCullum and the Kiwi batsman dispatched it to the stands. And sensationally scooped the Free Hit delivery over the keeper’s head for another maximum. Eventually, Hardik picked up three wickets but his first over, which went for 20 runs, didn’t help Mumbai Indians at all. Mitchell McClenaghan followed suit in the last over. What should’ve been a 150-run chase for Mumbai Indians eventually became a 168-run chase. It was always going to be difficult on that Chinnaswamy deck, which gripped and offered turn. Umesh, once again, makes merry early on The Vidharba pacer’s second overs this season have been quite impressive and it was no different on Tuesday. Out of the five biggest stands that Mumbai have stitched this season, Suryakumar Yadav has been a part of four of those. That is how consistent his performances have been. But Umesh Yadav pinged him in front of the wicket for nine. He further dented Mumbai’s chances by sending Rohit Sharma back to the hut for a golden duck. After the fourth over, Mumbai Indians were playing the catch up game till the 15th over. Another brain fade by Pollard After making no significant contribution for six consecutive matches, Pollard was dropped for the Chennai Super Kings fixture. An injury to Evin Lewis allowed him another chance but he didn’t cash in on the opportunity. In the 2017 season, Kieron Pollard, along with Krunal Pandya, took Mumbai Indians over the line from a precarious position. From 7/4, Mumbai Indians recovered and chased down 143, with Pollard scoring 70 off 47. He was in a similar position once again but Pollard, despite being aware that a slip has been deployed, tried to Mohammed Siraj through third man. He only managed to nick it to Quinton de Kock. Pandya brothers fail to change gears Pandya brothers played a instrumental in Mumbai Indians’ successful 2017 season. However, so far in this season, they haven’t yet contributed for a win together. On Tuesday, they guided their team from 84/5 to 123/5 in the 16th over. Mumbai needed 45 off 24 but Pandya brothers couldn’t find a way past Siraj and Southee’s brilliantly executed yorkers and the visitors fell 14 runs short.