Mumbai Indians are hosting Kings XI Punjab currently at Wankhede is what is a do or die game for them. Kieron Pollard's quickfire 50 off 23 balls took Mumbai to a competitive score of 186 for 8 in their 20 overs.
Earlier, Punjab won the toss and elected to bowl first. Rohit Sharma was yet again disappointing for Mumbai after their openers gave them a sedate start. Mumbai's innings, however, was all about Pollard's powerful innings. He was given a game after being benched for the longer part of the tournament.
Tye bowled a superb spell for Punjab taking wickets at regular intervals to halt Mumbai's scoring rate. He finished with 4 for `16 off his four overs. The rest of the bowlers did go the distance but Tye's spell was crucial for Punjab.
Here is how Twitterverse reacted to the first innings of the game.
Pollard came to party today for MI n Ashwin leading from the front by bowling difficult overs for kings11 #goodcricket #ipl #MIvsKXIP
— Irfan Pathan (@IrfanPathan) May 16, 2018
Big hitting Pollard, in and out of the Mumbai team, making up for lost time with a vengeance. Punjab bowlers hapless victims
— Cricketwallah (@cricketwallah) May 16, 2018
MI were 85/4 after 11 overs. Despite losing Krunal, they have scored 66/1 in the next 4 hours. Kings 11 have been absolutely clueless . Need to pull it back in the next 5 if they are to have any chance #MIvKXIP
— Mohammad Kaif (@MohammadKaif) May 16, 2018
Playing Pollard over JP turning out to be a master stroke. Having the same impact as the decision to send Kishan ahead of Hardik vs #KKR. Decisions that might define #MI’s season in the end. #MIvKXIP #IPL
— Aakash Chopra (@cricketaakash) May 16, 2018
#MI should be happy with this score. Gives their bowlers a lot to play with
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) May 16, 2018
