[www.inewsguyana.com] – A blistering century – the first of Pepsi IPL 2014 – by Lendl Simmons saw the Mumbai Indians (MI) register a big seven-wicket away win over table-toppers Kings XI Punjab.
Chasing a 157-run target, MI were guided by the flamboyant Simmons, whose 61-ball unbeaten knock saw him strike 14 fours and two big hits. As a result of the win, MI now have 10 points from 12 games and are placed fifth on the points table, and more importantly, are still in the race for a Playoffs spot.
Earlier, Rohit Sharma won the toss and asked KXIP to take first strike at Mohali. However, Virender Sehwag (17) gave the hosts a flying start. He helped plunder 23 runs off the first two overs, before getting run-out in the third. Despite the early loss, Manan Vohra continued his good run in Pepsi IPL 2014, and he had Shaun Marsh giving him great company too. Together, the duo took the KXIP score to 48 for one at the end of the power play.
They added 62 runs off 43 balls as they regularly dispatched the ball over the fence. However, their partnership ended when Krishmar Santokie got rid of Marsh (30) in the 10th over.
Capitalising on the slight shift in momentum, Shreyas Gopal then dealt a massive double-blow. The young leggie first cleaned up Vohra (36) and then held on to Glenn Maxwell’s (2) catch off his own bowling in the space of three deliveries.
Thanks to Gopal’s exploits, KXIP were suddenly reduced to 93 for four after 11 overs. Even Wriddhiman Saha (3) had to walk back to the dugout soon after; he was run-out in the 15th over. And thanks to these breakthroughs, MI were able to keep a check on the KXIP run-rate as well.
Lendl Simmons won the man of the match award for his match-winning century.
