Kings XI barely defend 230 to stay alive
Mohit Sharma put three ordinary overs behind him to deliver a clinical final over, off which he defended 15, as Kings XI lived to fight another day
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
No Hashim Amla? No problem. Manan Vohra has been successful at the top for Kings XI this season, but the management took a punt by sending Wriddhiman Saha to open with Martin Guptill. Before today, Saha had opened in only six out of 163 T20s for 126 runs. He might not have all the shots, but has the smarts. Remember his hundred in the 2014 IPL final?
If Mumbai had thought Karn's dismissal of Guptill in the last over of the Powerplay would slow Kings XI down, they were wrong. Maxwell, promoted to No. 3, and Saha pillaged 50 off the next three overs. The highlights included Saha's dexterous paddle sweep off Mitchell McClenaghan for four and Maxwell's monstrous clubs over the leg-side boundary off Harbhajan Singh.
Desperate for the wicket, Rohit turned to Lasith Malinga and Jasprit Bumrah. It was Bumrah who bowled Maxwell for 47 off 21 balls with a skiddy delivery. On a night when he colleagues went for over 10 runs an over, Bumrah stood out with figures of 1 for 24 in his four overs. In all, Saha managed just 10 off 13 balls against Bumrah.
Given the enormity of the task, Mumbai's openers showed intent from the first ball. Lendl Simmons, preferred again over Jos Buttler, led the charge smashing 44 of the 68 runs Mumbai hit in the first six overs. Kings XI's seamers fed his strengths by bowling too straight, and Simmons duly picked them off. He also played some fluent strokes on the off side by staying leg side of the ball. Soon after the Powerplay, he brought up his second fifty in three matches, off 27 balls.
In the next over, Simmons swung hard at a full-toss that was destined to sail over the long-on boundary…until Guptill took flight and pulled off an incredible one-handed catch. Rahul Tewatia then struck in his first over to remove Rohit Sharma and leave Mumbai at 119 for 3 by the 12th over. It was the sixth time this season that Rohit had perished to legspin. Mumbai only added two runs before Axar Patel had Nitish Rana holing out with a 102kph dart.
When Pollard and Hardik Pandya got together, Mumbai needed 110 off 44 balls. What followed in the next three overs was carnage: 52 runs. With 56 needed off 24 balls, Maxwell recalled Sandeep. The seamer found Hardik's outside edge with Saha flying to his right and claiming a low catch. However, Pollard, aided by Karn, kept peppering the arc between midwicket and long-on with clean strikes.
Deivarayan Muthu is a sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo