Mumbai : The trend, of teams batting second winning Indian Premier League matches, continued as Mumbai Indians completed a double over Kolkata Knight Riders on Thursday at Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai.
But it was not the trend which rocked the league, but a certain Kieron Pollard. The West Indian registered fastest ever fifty for a Mumbai Indian player. He hit six sixes to change the dynamics of the match in the final stretch, which was until his arrival in the centre, anybody’s game.
Thanks to his exploit, Mumbai Indians won the match by six wickets with 12 balls remaining in the match. And most importantly, Mumbai ended their campaign at Wankhede Stadium on a winning note.
Just like in the first meeting between the two teams at Eden Gardens, in Kolkata, MI skipper Rohit Sharma outshone his rival skipper with the bat. His unbeaten knock of 68 runs from 49 balls was the anchor the team needed while chasing a big total of 174.
Both the captains today notched up their respective 29th fifties, which is a joint record with another captain David Warner of Sunrisers Hyderabad. But the joy belonged to Mumbai skipper.
With the win, the defending champions have climbed back to third position with four wins from eight matches.
For KKR, their chance to return to top position failed with the defeat and are now second behind Gujarat Lions. Gautam Gambhir’s side has four wins from six matches, while Lions have five wins from an equal number of outings.
