Mumbai Indians vs Kings XI Punjab Match Review

It wasn't pretty to watch if you are a Mumbai fan. After two really close defeats, the team had the stuffing knocked out of them in this game. I guess I was a bit too optimistic in predicting a win for Mumbai.

The game went about in predictable fashion, with Kings XI scoring at a good rate. Sangakkara played a fantastic knock to propel them to 182, though at one stage it looked as if a total in excess of 200 was more likely. A combination of poor shot selection by the batsman and some restrictive bowling by Mumbai meant that the total looked about 20 runs short.

As it turned out, it didn't matter one jot. Like I mentioned in the previous review, Mumbai need a good start to win games, and this time we saw a complete collapse. Lee pushed us on the backfoot with two great pieces of fielding, and Ronchi's run out brought back memories of Jonty Rhodes and Inzamam in the 92 world cup, even though that was in an altogether different class.

Mumbai's defeat was really of their own doing, though credit must go to Lee and Chawla for some ripping bowling performances. Almost every batsman got out playing ill-advised shots. Even in T20, it is sometimes better to build an innings than try to finish things off as soon as possible, and no one other than Pollock really showed the inclination to do so. Where other teams have a couple of players who can win games for their team single-handedly, Mumbai seem to be relying on a team effort to win games. It almost worked against Chennai when everyone contributed their bit, but yesterday, with no one able to/capable of imposing his authority on the game, Mumbai always looked like losing once the top order fell away cheaply.

The defeat has to hurt, and possibly might affect the team morale as well. If that is true, then it does look like an uphill battle for the rest of the season. The odds are against them for the next game against the Chargers at home, which will be DY Patil for the rest of the tournament. It will be interesting to see if the crowd is as good as it was at the Wankhede. Chargers look like they might be coming good, despite a third successive loss to the Royals because of their bowling. With Mumbai's current form, I am not expecting much from this game. I only hope the they manage to run the Chargers close, if not actually win.

Finally, things became dramatic off-field as Bhajji allegedly slapped Sreesanth after the game. Whatever be the provocation, it was an extremely stupid thing to do, if true. And if so, Bhajji might be facing a lengthy ban, which is the last thing the team needs at this point. The captain of the team should show a bit more responsibility, and given all that has happened, I hope the team does away with the policy of only letting an Indian captain the team, and hands it over to Pollock or Jayasuriya.

On a final note, it is puzzling why a player of the quality of Rahane finds himself on the sidelines when others like Khote and Yeligati keep getting chances. Maybe it is time for me to start a petition for including Rahane in the team, just like Uncle JRod did for David Hussey.