Highlights: IPL 2019, MI Vs KXIP: Stand-In Skipper Pollard Steals The Thunder As Mumbai Beat Punjab In Last Ball Thriller

Indian Premier League at its best. Kings XI Punjab, season's thriller specialists, were robbed by Mumbai Indian's stand-in skipper Kieron Pollard. 83 from 31, with the help of three fours and ten fours.

Everything was there. A fluent, well-controlled unbeaten hundred from KL Rahul and veteran Chris Gayle keeping the Windies flame alive with a perfect exhibition of power-hitting. 63 from 36 with three fours and seven sixes. And the visiting KXIP have 197/4.

But what followed in the Mumbai innings was chaos. Theory or therapy, it's up to to the fans. Exploiting the home conditions, Mumbai started the chase on a confident note only to see chaos serving as perfect therapy for the visitors with the so-called white ball expert making Mohammed Shami the red cherry talk like a well-trained parrot. His figures of 3/21 would have given any side a win, but against Kieron Pollard's Mumbai, it wasn't enough.

As a precautionary measure, Mumbai rested skipper Rohit Sharma and gave local lad Siddhesh Lad IPL debut. The youngster, who spent some five years with the team before the debut, started his IPL career with a six. And soon, there was the talk of comparison, with of Alzarri Joseph, who took David Warner's wicket with his maiden IPL delivery few nights ago.

Then the chaos gave birth the chaos, and Pollard was there, chaos personified.

In the first reverse fixture of IPL 2019, MI exacted the revenge on KXIP.  And they leapfrogged KXIP to the third spot.

But beyond the result and points, what fans witnessed was the brutality of Windies players. They are mercenaries in various T20 leagues, but thankfully, the world will get to see most of them in the World Cup.

Brief Scores:

Kings XI Punjab: 197/4 (KL Rahul 100 not out off 64 balls, Chris Gayle 63 off 36; Hardik Pandya 2/57)
Mumbai Indias: 198/7 (Kieron Pollard 83 off 31 balls, Quinton de Kock 24 off 23; Mohammed Shami 3/21)

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12:13 AM IST: Joseph plays it straight and a double. Win for Mumbai. Revenge for Mumbai.

12:10 AM IST: Rahul Chahar is the new man. A juicy bowler and Alzarri Joshep hits it back to the bowler. A dot. Four off three. Into the blockhole and a single. Three from two. Punjab have won two such thrillers this season. A yorker, and a single. Two from one. Joseph on strike.

12:06 AM IST: Ankit Rajpoot is back for the over of his life. A teaser, as the injured bowler pulls off in the last moment. A full toss, and a six over deep mid-wicket, and that too from a no-ball. Seven runs from zero ball in the last over. Eight from six. And Kieron Pollard hits the next ball for a four, to fine leg boundary. Hardik Pandya is on his feats on the sidelines. Four from five. A bouncer, and Pollard find David Miller at long on. FoW-194/7 (19.2 Over). What's happening. Pollard was about to celebrate. Four from. 893 from 31 for Pollard.

12:01 AM IST: Sam Curran on with the penultimate over. A four off the first ball, to long-off boundary. A dot, then a six, over long off as Kieron Pollard makes it interesting. Another six, over long on. That's not huge, that's mighty. And spectators are running for cover. 16 off eight. It seems poor Curran is looking for some divine intervention. And a dot to Alzarri Joseph. 17 runs from the over. MI-183/6. Mumbai need 15 from six balls. And Pollard is on 73 from 28 balls. Who's gonna bowl the last over? Who's the brave soul?

11:56 PM IST: And comes the decisive over. Mohammed Shami on with his last over. Figures so far: 3-0-13-3. Kieron Pollard hits back the first ball and Shami puts his hand on the path. And we all know the result. Pain. Pollard hits come with lots of pain. And they get a new ball. Shami bangs it hard, and a dot ball. But Alzarri Joseph can swing, and he finds the gap in the cover. A half volley and a four. A double as Pollard pushes for the second. A full toss and to deep cover, but won't take the single. Eight runs from the over. Shami's figures: 4-0-21-3. MI-166/6 after 18 overs. Mumbai need another 32 runs from 12 balls. And Punjab are one bowler down. Ijured Rajpoot not in the field.

11:48 PM IST: Sam Curran on with his third over, and Kieron Pollard welcomes him back with a six, over long-off. Another lofted shot, but the ball falls short of deep mid-off for a single. And a dot to Alzarri Joseph. Next, a single. Pollard, already halfway down the pitch, makes it easy. Shaping away and in the yorker area. Pollard misses the fifth ball. Full toss, and a six. Pollard asks for a no ball. Not given. Fifty for Pollard in 22 balls. Seven sixes and a four. 14 runs from the over. MI-158/6 after 17 overs. They need another 40 from 18 balls.

11:41 PM IST: Almost a third for Mohammed Shami as new man Alzarri Joseph plays a pull shot. But Moises Henriques drops at fine leg boundary, for a four. Nine runs and two wickets from the over. MI-144/6 after 16 overs. They need another 54 from 24 balls.

Known as white ball bowler, Mohammed Shami at his best against MI. AP Photo.

11:39 PM IST: Krunal Pandya comes after the fall of younger brother Hardik. And Mohammed Shami started spraying. Two wides, but the pacer gets the better of Krunal. A slower delivery, and Krunal ends up offering an easy catch to David Miller at cover. FoW-140/6 (15.4). That's two in the over for Shami.

11:32 PM IST: Mohammed Shami returns for his third over, and gets the wicket of Hardik Pandya (19 off 13), caught by David Miller at long on. FoW-135/5 (15.1 Over). Mumbai need another 63 runs from 29 balls. Time out.

11:29 PM IST: Hardus Viljoen on with his last over. And he's in control of the proceedings in the over. Seven runs -- two doubles and three singles. His figures: 4-0-34-0. MI-135/4 after 15 overs. They need another 63 from 30 balls. Kieron Pollard and Hardik Pandya have added 41 runs in  18 balls.

11:24 PM IST: Kieron Pollard is taking on his opposite number. Hits Ashwin for a six over long on off the fourth ball, his fourth maximum. And another, into the second tier. A double to finish the over. Earlier, Hardik Pandya hit the second ball for a four. 19 runs from the over. MI-128/4 after 14 overs. They need 70 from 36 balls. Pollard is on 40 off 15 balls.

11:20 PM IST: New man Hardik Pandya gets into the action right away. Involves in five wides. Very thin line for the bowler. Hardik hits the next ball for a four, pulls away. Hardus Viljoen concedes 15 runs from his third over. MI-109/4 after 13 overs. They need another 89 runs from 42 balls.

11:12 PM IST: Sam Curran on with his second over. Ishan Kishan takes a single off the first ball, then a wide. Kieron Pollard then lofts the second legal delivery over deep square leg for a six. He follows it up with a four through mid-wicket. A dot, then Pollard power to the fore. A straight, flat six over. Bullet. But Curran responded with a direct hit after collecting the ball from his follow through, to the bowler's end. And Ishan Kishan's gone. Brilliant stuff. MI-94/4 after 12 overs. Mumbai need another 104 runs from 48 balls. Helter skelter in the middle.

11:06 PM IST: Ravichandran Ashwin leaks 11 runs from his third over as rival captain Kieron Pollard hits the last ball for a six. Two ball earlier, Ishan Kishan hit a four to deep extra cover. MI-76/3 after 11 overs. They need 122 balls from 54 balls.

11:00 PM IST: Hardus Viljoen on with his second over even as Ishan Kishan joins Kieron Pollard in the centre for Mumbai. Three runs from the over, including a wide of height. MI-65/3 after 10 overs. They need another 133 runs from ten overs. 15 runs and two wickets from the last four overs.

10:52 PM IST: R Ashwin continues with his second over. Three singles -- a double and a single -- from the first three balls. New man gets his second run, a single. Then, a blinder of a catch from David Miller at long-off to send back Quinton de Kock. FoW-62/3 (8.5 Over). De Kock wasted another start. And for Miller, making amends for that earlier drop catch. Mumbai need another 136 runs from 67 balls. Time out.

10:46 PM IST: Sam Curran strikes in his first over. Gets the big wicket of Suryakumar Yadav. Had him caught by sub Moises Henriques at deep backward square leg. FoW-56/2 (7.4 Over). Yadav made 21 off 15.

10:40 PM IST: Ravichandran Ashwin into the attack, and he almost gets the wicket of Suryakumar Yadav off the last ball. Caught and bowled chance. Three singles from the over. MI-53/1 after seven overs. They need another 145 runs from 78 balls.

Magical stuff from Suryakumar Yadav. No room but still can pull. AP Photo.

10:36 PM IST: Hardus Viljoen gets his first over. A single to Quinto de Kock, then Suryakumar Yadav plays a brilliant pull shot for a four. Three singles. KL Rahul drops de Kock off the last ball, a tough chance. Nine runs from the over. MI-50/1 after six overs. They need another 148 runs. Rahul is having medical attention, cramped.

10:31 PM IST: Ankit Rajpoot continues with his third over. A four to start the over as Suryakumar Yadav hit it past point. Next ball and David Miller drops Yadav cover. Two fours, off the fourth and sixth balls. 12 runs from the over. MI-41/1 after five overs. They need another 157 runs.

Siddhesh Lad pays the price for carefree batting, courtesy Mohammed Shami. AP Photo.

10:27 PM IST: One and one wicket from the over as Mohammed Shami showed his class. Suryakumar Yadav was the new man for Mumbai. MI-29/1 after four overs. They need another 169 runs.

10:24 PM IST: Siddhesh Lad gone. Cleans up by Mohammed Shami. FoW-28/1 (3.4 Over). Carefree batting and paid the price. The debutant made 15 off 13 balls.

10:20 PM IST: Ankit Rajpoot can continue. And singles off the first two balls. Quinton de Kock hits back-to-back fours, off the third and four deliveries -- first one to deep mid-wicket and the second one to deep extra cover. Siddhesh Lad plays a lofted shot over extra cover for a double. 14 runs from the over. MI-28/0 after three overs. They need more 170 runs.

10:15 PM IST: Mohammed Shami one with the second over of the innings. A dot ball to Quinton de Kock, a single. Siddhesh Lad blocks the next two balls. A single off the fifth ball. Another single, and three runs from the over. Good start from the experienced bowler. MI-14/0 after two overs. They need another 184 runs.

10:10 PM IST: Nerves! What nerves? That's Siddhesh Lad for you. Six over fine leg boundary off the first ball he faces on debut. He follows it up with a four. These Mumbai Indians. Alzarri Joseph got a wicket off his very first IPL delivery. Quinton de Kock on one off two. Ankit Rajpoot thus leaked 11 runs from the first over.  And Rajpoot has a torn webbing.

Brief Score: Kings XI Punjab: 197/4 in 20 overs. (Rahul 100*, Gayle 63, Hardik 2/57)

9:53 PM IST: Bumrah to bowl the last over. Six of the first ball. Hoicked over deep mid wicket.  A couple of dot balls. Then a couple. A maiden century in IPL for Rahul. Mandeep manages a four of the last ball. KXIP are 197/4 after 20 overs. K L Rahul (100 not out off 64), Mandeep (7 not out 3)

 9:47 PM IST:  Hardik is in for his last over. Big Big over for KXIP. 25 runs off the over. Six off the first ball. Four of the next. Both in the extra cover region. Two sixes off the next two balls. One over fine leg. One over long off. Rahul enters the 90s. KXIP 184/4 after 19.

9:40 PM IST: Bumrah into the attack. Sam Curran hits back to back fours. Then eventually perishes going for the cheeky scoop shoot and balloons it to the keeper. Rahul gets a boundary at square third man.  16 runs off the over. KXIP 159/4 after 18.

9:35 PM IST: Very good over from Hardik. Just 5 runs given. And picks up the wicket of Karun Nair. Low full toss and Nair holes out. KXIP 143/3 after 17

9:30 PM IST: Karun Nair is the new man. Krunal gets on with his second over as Pandya brothers operate in tandem. Seven runs -- five singles and a double -- from the over. KXIP-138/2 after 16 overs.

9:25 PM IST: Hardik Pandya returns for his second over. KL Rahul plays the first ball to long-off, well timed, and destined for a four. But Jason Behrendorff pulls off a valiant fielding effort to restrict it to a double. Three singles, then David Miller finds enough power to beat the fielder at deep backward point for a four. But Miller's stay in the centre is cut short. Caught behind. Ten runs and a wicket from the over. KXIP-131/2 after 15 overs.

9:16 PM IST: Rahul Chahar on with his last over. David Miller kicks the ball away after the ball spins back to the stump. No runs off the first ball. Two singles and a double from the over. Chahar's figures: 4-0-27-0. KXIP-121/1 after 14 overs. Time out.

9:11 PM IST: Jason Behrendorff returns for his last over. On leg stump, and KL Rahul takes a single off the first ball. Chris Gayle plays the next ball to long on for a single. Rahul misses a chance to put away. Clearly on the fifth stump on the eg, and the batsman manages to get his glove. A single to extra cover and another fifty for Rahul, from 41 balls.

And Rahul demands a  new pair of gloves. Meanwhile, Gayle is down on his haunches. Before the play resumes, Pollard takes fielding suggestion from Gayle. And what, Gayle is out, caught by Krunal Pandya at deep midwicket. It was supposed to flying away. FoW-116/1 (12.5 Over). Gayle made63 off 36, with three fours and seven sixes. David Miller is the new man. Miller gets a single off the first ball. Four runs and a wicket from the over. KXIP-117/1 after 13 overs.

Behrendorff's figures: 4-0-35-1

9:02 PM IST: Rahul Chahar on with his third over. And Chris Gayle hits his seventh six, over long on. And Chahar grimaces as if he's feeling the pain felt by the ball. A single. Chahar does well to restrict to over to 10 runs. KXIP 113/0 after 12 overs.

8:59 PM IST: Krunal Pandya into the attack. A single off the first ball as KL Rahul gives the strike to Chris Gayle. A six, again straight down the ground. And fifty for Gayle, in 31 balls. A dot and a double. Krunal ends strongly with two dots. 10 runs from the over. KXIP-103/0 after 11 overs.

8:55 PM IST: Rahul Chahar does well to tie down Chris Gayle for four balls, then the Universe Boss hits the last ball for a six, straight down the ground. Seven runs from it. KXIP-93/0 after 10 overs. Gayle is on 48 off 30 and KL Rahul on 42 off 30.

8:51 PM IST: Hardik Pandya gets his first over. A single to KL Rahul, then Pandya gets some brutal treatment for Chris Gayle. This is beyond Andre Russell. A six, out of the ground, over. A four, another brutal hit. A wide, then another four, then a wide. Two dots and 17 runs from the over. KXIP-86/0 after nine overs.

8:44 PM IST: Rahul Chahar, leg spinner, on with his first over. A dot to Chris Gayle, then a single. KL Rahul hits the next ball for a four to deep mid-wicket. A single more and six runs from the over. KXIP-69/0 after eight overs. 

8:37 PM IST: First wide of the night, courtesy Alzarri Joseph. Down the leg. A dot ball, then shot of the night, so far. Length ball and he pulls it over deep mid-wicket. Beautiful. He follows it up with an uppish cover drive, KP style, for a four. Two singles and 13 runs from the over. KXIP-63/0 after seven overs. Time out.

8:31 PM IST: Jasprit Bumrah on his second over. A single to KL Rahul, then a dot to Chris Gayle.  Another single. Then, Rahul stands a deliver but with a little caress, to sweeper cover boundary. A single to bring up Punjab's fifty in 35 balls. A dot to end the over. Seven from it. KXIP-50/0 after six overs.

Chris Gayle on song against Mumbai at Wankhede. AP Photo

8:26 PM IST: Chris Gayle finally gets one in his arc, and he dismisses it over long on. And another, this time, little shorter, but Gayle's brute force means that the ball sails over deep extra cover boundary. Back-to-back sixes. A dot, then Gayle goes off side. No fielder, and one bounce to the fence. Another six, this time straight down the ground. Jason Behrendorff started his third over with a single, but ended up conceding 23. KXIP-43/0 after five overs.

8:20 PM IST: Kieron Pollard hands over the ball to Alzarri Joseph. The Antiguan is a rockstar, and he takes just one match and less than four overs to become one of the hottest stars this season. A dot to KL Rahul, and a yorker followed for a single. Chris Gayle, ready to take on the youngster, goes for a big shot, but misses. No room whatsoever and Gayle tucks it away to long on for a single. On the leg stump and sweet timing from KL Rahul and ball sails over deep midwicket boundary for a six. A single and nine runs from the over. KXIP-20/0 after four overs.

8:14 PM IST: Standing tall and find the gap through cover with some sublime timing. KL Rahul at his imperious best. A four to start the third over. Jason Behrendorff gets his line corrected, a dot. Another dot. Next ball, an on the middle. Rahul flicks and a single. Chris Gayle finds time to open his stand and whips the fifth ball to deep mid-wicket for a single. Another single and seven runs from it. KXIP-11/0 after three overs.

8:09 PM IST: Jasprit Bumrah shares the new ball. A dot ball the KL Rahul. Then three singles as BUmrah continues to enjoy an upper hand over the Punjab openers. A fuller length delivery, probably an intended yorker, but out of the line. A dot. A short ball to end the over. Three singles from the over. KXIP-4/0 after two overs.

8:04 PM IST: A single off the fifth ball as KL Rahul runs down to third man. That's brilliant first over from Jason Behrendorff. Chris Gayle blocks the last ball. One run from the first over.

8:00 PM IST: Jason Behrendorff to start the proceedings. KL Rahul to face the first delivery. Chris Gayle his opening partner.

7:39 PM IST: Local boy Siddhesh Lad comes in for Rohit Sharma. The skipper has been rested as a precautionary move. Five years in the waiting for Lad.

MI: Siddhesh Lad, Quinton de Kock (wk), Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan, Krunal Pandya, Kieron Pollard (c), Hardik Pandya, Rahul Chahar, Alzarri Joseph, Jason Behrendorff, Jasprit Bumrah

7:36 PM IST: Kings XI Punjab made two changes - Karun Nair in for injured Mayank Agarwal and Hardus Viljoen for Mujeeb.

KXIP: Lokesh Rahul (wk), Chris Gayle, Karun Nair, Sarfaraz Khan, David Miller, Mandeep Singh, Ravichandran Ashwin (c), Sam Curran, Hardus Viljoen, Mohammed Shami, Ankit Rajpoot 

7:30 PM IST: Mumbai's stand-in captain Kieron Pollard has won the toss and opted to bowl first, due to the due factor.

7:26 PM IST: Huge news! Rohit Sharma just handed the cap to Siddhesh Lad. Meaning, the skipper is all but confirmed to miss tonight's match. And Kieron Pollard, who in the past, talked about being a senior figure, is likely to lead the team. Rohit picked up an injury during the warm-up.