IPL 2021: 3 Reasons why PBKS triumphed over Champions MI
The 17th match of the Indian Premier League 2021 was played between the 2020 champion team Mumbai Indians and Punjab Kings. The match was played on Chennai’s pitch which is now famous for the low total in the 14th season of IPL. Punjab’s Captain KL Rahul asked Mumbai to bat first on the Chennai pitch and Mumbai in return can only answer with a total of 131/6 in 20 overs. Punjab managed to get to the total in 17.4 overs with a loss of only one wicket. Let’s know about 3 things that got in Punjab’s favor.
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Domination of bowling department
A lot of eyebrows went up when Rahul opted to bowl first on this pitch, but the bowlers turned the decision in Captain’s favor. Punjab bowlers build the pressure from the very start as they manage to get the first wicket in the second over. Mumbai batsmen struggled to hit the ball and the credit goes to Punjab bowlers along with the pitch. Bowlers manage to get wickets at the right times which leads Mumbai to restrict on a low total.
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2. Confident Captaincy of Rahul
Despite losing games Rahul just made one change in the match. He brought Ravi Bishnoi in and left Ashwin out. Bishnoi did his job brilliantly as he managed to pick up two wickets and bowled with an economy of just 5.2. Rahul placed his field wisely as the ball was not coming easily on the bat, the batsmen threw themselves and were caught on the boundary ropes. Rahul’s field restricted Mumbai batsmen to rotate the strike and they were forced to go for the big shots.
3. Reliable batting
The average score on Chepauk’s pitch is 157 in this IPL, which means Mumbai had a chance to fight back with this total. Mumbai has some serious bowlers in their dugouts like Bumrah, Chahar, Boult. With these kinds of the bowling attacks, one can defend a total of 131 even if it is a low total. But Punjab’s batsmen learned from Mumbai’s mistakes when they came out to bat. They showed patience and held their nerves. KL Rahul went on all the way and finished his job along with Gayle. The batting of Rahul and Gayle showed that even if a total of 160-170 at this pitch would have been less to defend.