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Chandigarh: Lendl Simmons 71 off 46 balls and Parthiv Patel (59, off 36 balls) secure third straight win for Mumbai Indians.
The Mumbai Indians bowled and fielded well, and made good use of conditions which were slightly tilted towards the bowlers to hand Kings XI Punjab a 23-run defeat the PCA Stadium in Mohali.
Despite posting 172 runs on the board – which looked about 20-30 runs short at the interval, MI exerted pressure all round to restrict the hosts to 149 for 7.
Earlier in the evening, Mumbai Indians, who opted to bat first, couldn’t capitalise on the century opening stand and only posted 172 runs on the board. Lendl Simmons and Parthiv Patel added 111 runs on the board with both batsmen contributing almost evenly.
Simmons was quick off the blocks, picking up three boundaries in the first three overs. Parthiv took his time to get going, scoring five runs off the first eight balls he faced.
However, enter Mitchell Johnson into the attack, and Parthiv launched into the Australia pacer. The first ball he faced from the Australian, he opened the face of the bat and helped it on its way over the thirdman boundary. The second ball was put away to the midwicket boundary. Two balls later, he unleashed a meaty cover drive that too raced away to the fence.
Parthiv brought up his half-century in the eleventh over at the same time as 100 runs were posted on the board. The left-hander was dismissed in the thirteenth over when he attempted to muscle a Karaveer Singh delivery, but picked out the man at midwicket; he made 59 from 36 balls, aided with five fours and three sixes.
Simmons brought up his half-century off 38 balls and carried on to 71 before he found the man patrolling the midwicket boundary in the final over. Rohit Sharma’s 20-ball 26 was the only other notable contribution in the innings.
To chase a modest total, KXIP lost Virender Sehwag at the start of the second over, a leading edge lobbing to the fielder at point. Glenn Maxwell, who returned to the KXIP XI, attempted a few shots – connecting on two occasions, but perished when his attempted reverse sweep was caught by an athletic Vinay Kumar.
That KXIP never had any momentum in their innings is illustrated by the knocks of Murali Vijay and David Miller; the opener Murali Vijay battled at one end but hit only three boundaries and a six in his 34-ball 39. Miller too struggled to force the pace; the left-hander scored 43 but consumed 37 balls, and hit three boundaries and a six.
For MI, Lasith Malinga was the most successful bowler, returning figures of two for 31 from his four overs.
Brief scores
Mumbai Indians - 172/3 (Simmons 71, Patel 59)
Kings XI Punjab - 149/7 (Miller 43, Vijay 39, Malinga 2-31)
Result - Mumbai Indians won by 23 runs
Points - Mumbai Indians 2, Kings XI Punjab 0
MOM - Lendl Simmons (Mumbai Indians)
