IPL 2018: Two contrasting approaches, a breathtaking over, and five balls of mayhem underline MI's win over KXIP

Opener Suryakumar Yadav’s 57-run knock and some useful contributions from other batsmen helped Mumbai Indians beat Kings XI Punjab by six wickets in their Indian Premier League (IPL) match on Friday. With this win, Mumbai are sitting at the fifth spot with six points in nine matches, while Punjab are at fourth spot with 10 points in eight matches. Here’s a look at some of the best moments from the match. [caption id=“attachment_4456935” align=“alignleft” width=“381”] Rohit Sharma and Krunal Pandya of Mumbai Indians celebrate during their win over Kings XI Punjab. Sportzpics[/caption] Classy Rahul adds a shot to T20 batting manual Chances are that if you have attended cricket coaching classes, the tutor would have described to you at length about holding the bat light with your back hand, raising your elbows to play the push forward or the drive, keeping your head steady and completing the shot with a follow through. However, in the age of Bheem-sized bats and cubicle-sized grounds, power and bat swing are the biggest skills. Yet, conventional batting is never out of fashion and KL Rahul underlined and emboldened this point with a classic drive off Jasprit Bumrah’s very first ball — still head, high elbow and all — that ended up in the second tier of the stadium. A length ball outside off-stump from Bumrah first up was elegantly thumped over cover by Rahul who appeared to have concocted his Test game with the shorter formats in the correct proportion. The usually stringent Bumrah was taken aback by Rahul’s offensive shot off the very first ball. Such was the former RCB player’s timing behind the shot that he barely needed any kind of power to send the ball soaring over the ropes. Universal Boss aims for the orbit Timing the ball is a gift but when you have brute power and the ability to clear the stadium, forget the ropes, why would you need timing? Chris Gayle, the Universal Boss, would probably be amongst NASA’s first options if they wish to send a satellite into space in quick time. The marauding West Indian opener made a mockery of Mitchell McCleneghan’s skiddish back of a length delivery that has confounded many batsmen in the IPL when he stood tall and nailed the pull shot to send the ball out of the Holkar Stadium. Gayle had ambled along to a run-a-ball 16 when the Kiwi seamer decided to test the opener’s skills against the short ball. Least perturbed by the length, Gayle rocked back, belted the ball with a bang and had every single person in the stadium staring into orbit. The crazy mix-up after the crazy mix-up Karun Nair walked in at the non-striker’s end after Gayle’s dismissal and would have made the long walk back to the pavilion even before facing a ball if he hadn’t turned around quickly enough after a miscommunication with Yuvraj Singh. The veteran Indian southpaw dabbed the ball to third man and stood ball watching as Karun ran from the other end to take strike. Yuvraj, though, sent him back and the mix-up might well have ended in disaster for Karun. An over later, it was Karun’s turn to return the favour and he dropped the ball in front of point and set off for a non-existent single. Yuvraj, perhaps driven from the guilt of nearly running him out the previous over, hared across to the striker’s end but was well short of making ground when the keeper took out the bails after an accurate throw from Evin Lewis. Where Ashwin tames the uncapped duo Just when Mujeeb Ur Rahman completed a tidy two-run over, including the scalp of Lewis, to cap off an excellent powerplay for Kings XI Punjab, Ravichandran Ashwin strolled in and bowled the over of the match. With Ishan Kishan new to the crease and Suryakumar still hitting his straps, the experienced off-spinner had the Mumbai Indians duo dancing to his beat. Here’s how the over unfolded: 6.1 - ZERO runs - Ashwin to Suryakumar - Fullish on middle stump, cramped for room and tapped to mid-wicket. 6.2 - ZERO runs - Ashwin to Suryakumar - Shortens his length, sticks to the same line and the batsman resorts to defending. 6.3 - ONE run - Ashwin to Suryakumar - It’s still shorter and there is no room for the batsman to free his arms. Suryakumar pulls to mid-on and sets off for a single. 6.4 - ZERO runs - Ashwin to Kishan - Loopy off-break that Kishan takes a big stride out to defend. 6.5 - ZERO runs - Ashwin to Kishan - Fuller on off-stump, minimal room and although Kishan steps out to meet the ball, he changes his mind and defends. 6.6 - ZERO runs - Ashwin to Kishan - Draws Kishan into a forward-and-push and finds the edge but it doesn’t carry to a fielder. The brilliant over reiterated Ashwin’s credentials as a limited-overs spinner. Quite often these days, off-spinners aren’t given due credit or are underrated. In a tactful over of off-breaks, the Kings XI captain proved that you could tie down the scoring rate with conventional ideas too. Five balls of mayhem With 36 needed from 18 balls, Mumbai were always the favourites to chase down the target, especially with Rohit Sharma still out there. Yet, what unfolded next was an exhibition of hitting from the elder Pandya brother, who has often lived in the shadows of the flamboyant Hardik Pandya. Krunal took a special liking to Marcus Stoinis and his variations and made it count. A slower ball was smashed through cover with disdain and a low full toss was flicked away through fine-leg effortlessly. Krunal completed the expensive 18th over with a massive six off a length delivery through long-on. Not satisfied until he had Mumbai fans in a frenzy, Krunal cheekily dabbed Andrew Tye over point for four the next over and then clobbered the next ball through cow corner for six. In the last five balls he faced, Krunal hit only boundaries — two maximums and three fours to be precise. From five off four balls, he raced to 31 from 12 deliveries and put the result beyond any doubt in five balls of complete carnage.