Mumbai Indians tried everything they could to restrict Kings XI Punjab from chasing down 164 in the Indian Premier League match at the Wankhede Stadium yesterday.
They put up a commendable total of 163 for six. They bowled reasonably well, but the hosts were done in by the brilliance of man of the match Shaun Marsh, who remained unbeaten on 68.
ADVERTISEMENT
However, James Franklin, who top-scored for Mumbai Indians with 79, said Dinesh Karthik’s run out was the turning point of the game. Karthik (20-ball 35) was run out following a misunderstanding with Franklin while going for a second run. They together put on 75 off 36 balls for the third wicket.
“It was an unfortunate mix-up between us. We had pretty good momentum till then and they came back quite well,” said Franklin in the post-match media conference.
Not enough
“I don’t think we did enough in the last three overs of our batting and thought we were in a good position with five overs to go. After the first three overs, we thought 160 was a good score, but then, 170 would have been better. We could have pushed for more,” he rued. The southpaw praised Marsh’s super knock. “In the end, it was Shaun Marsh who played unbelievably and won the game. You have to give him a lot of credit,” he said.
MI clearly missed Lasith Malinga yesterday. Barring Kieron Pollard’s exceptional 2-14, no other bowler looked impressive. “He (Malinga) has been a big player for us since the inception. Any side would love to have him. He is out through injury (sore back)… it happens in cricket and we can’t do anything about it. Hopefully, he will be back soon,” Franklin said.u00a0