IPL Results 2016: Indians vs. Kings XI Score, Latest Points Table, Fixture Info
Kings XI Punjab moved off the bottom of the Indian Premier League table on Friday, as they coasted to a seven-wicket win over a disappointing Mumbai Indians team.
The holders were left stunned by a brilliant bowling effort from Marcus Stoinis, who took four wickets for 15 to help limit Mumbai to just 124 from nine from their 20 overs. In response, the loss of an early wicket didn’t derail Kings XI, with a 116-run partnership between Murali Vijay and Wriddhiman Saha setting up the win with 18 balls to spare.
Mumbai’s chances of securing a playoff spot suffered a significant setback due to this loss. Here is how the standings shape up following Kings XI’s win, along with a closer look at how this clash panned out in Visakhapatnam.
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| Sunrisers Hyderabad | 11 | 7 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 14 | +0.417 |
| Gujarat Lions | 11 | 7 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 14 | -0.138 |
| Delhi Daredevils | 10 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 12 | +0.376 |
| Kolkata Knight Riders | 10 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 12 | +0.206 |
| Mumbai Indians | 12 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 12 | -0.435 |
| Royal Challengers Bangalore | 10 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 8 | -0.041 |
| Kings XI Punjab | 11 | 4 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 8 | -0.384 |
| Rising Pune Supergiants | 11 | 3 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 6 | +0.087 |
| Saturday, May 14 | 11:30 a.m. | Royal Challengers Bangalore vs. Gujarat Lions | Bengaluru |
| Saturday, May 14 | 3:30 p.m. | Kolkata Knight Riders vs. Rising Pune Supergiants | Kolkata |
| Sunday, May 15 | 11:30 a.m. | Kings XI Punjab vs. Sunrisers Hyderabad | Mohali |
| Sunday, May 15 | 3:30 p.m. | Mumbai Indians vs. Delhi Daredevils | Visakhapatnam |
| Monday, May 16 | 11:30 a.m. | Kolkata Knight Riders vs. Royal Challengers Bangalore | Kolkata |
Mumbai vs. Punjab
Punjab, 127-3 (17.0 overs, Saha 56, McClenaghan 2-24), beat Mumbai, 124-9 (Pollard 27, Stoinis 4-15), by 7 wickets
Having won the toss and decided to bat, Mumbai would have been confident of accruing some early impetus in their innings. But some slow scoring and early wickets really set them back in this one.
Unmukt Chand and Ambati Rayudu were both gone inside the first three overs without troubling the scores. And while skipper Rohit Sharma and Nitish Rana sought to rebuild steadily after these early dismissals, a testing surface made scoring sluggish.
Sharma, in particular, sought to knuckle down. But when he was bowled for 15 from 24 balls by Axar Patel, the Indians were in big trouble. As the Kings XI Twitter feed noted here, it was a buildup of pressure from the bowler that eventually culminated in Sharma’s wicket:
From there, Stoinis dominated in the middle overs, keeping a lid on the scoring and always posing a threat with his varied medium pace.
Rana (25) was the first to fall to him, before the potentially devastating Jos Buttler was out for just nine. Krunal Pandya sought to counter-attack with a brisk 19 from 12 balls, but he tried one big shot too many and was snaffled by Patel off Stoinis.
The next delivery saw Kieron Pollard, who top-scored with 27, bowled by the Aussie, completing a memorable day for him. As noted by former India international Aakash Chopra, he’s been a superb find for Kings XI:
Eventually Mumbai, who continued to lose wickets late on, stumbled to 124 for nine, leaving Kings XI with a reachable target.
Still, their chase could have gotten off to a better start. Hashim Amla opened alongside Vijay, and after failing to score off his first four balls, he was bowled off the fifth for a duck, leaving Punjab one for one at the end of the first over.
From there, Saha joined Vijay at the crease, and the two took over. The latter showed he can attack in this format with a 57-ball 89 against the Royal Challengers Bangalore last time out.
But this time, Vijay adopted his more familiar role as the innings' anchor, allowing his partner to swing freely. As HoldingWilleyCricket noted, there was a definite intent about the pairing:
"Vijay and Saha are scampering between the wickets like rabbits! Look at them go!#IPL #MIvKXIP
— HoldingWilleyCricket (@holdingwilley) May 13, 2016"
Saha raced to his half-century in just 38 balls, hammering a jaded Mumbai attack to all corners. His clean striking was the highlight of an excellent 116-run partnership between the two, ending when he was dismissed for 56 late on.
Vijay was there at the end, though, finishing unbeaten on 54 and helping his team knock off the winning runs with three overs in hand. Cricket journalist Ayaz Memon played tribute to the key combination on the day:
Mumbai will be extremely frustrated with their performance here, as a home tie against the competition’s formerly bottom side represented a fine chance to put pressure on their rivals. But after a poor start with the bat, they never looked like recovering.
Kings XI fans will also be feeling bittersweet after this display. The performance was comprehensive in all aspects, and had we seen this application from this group of players throughout the course of the season, they may well have forced themselves into the playoff picture.
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