Snapshots: Ishant's tumbles and McClenaghan's unique ploy

When Sachin met Sehwag

Sachin Tendulkar's appearance at the Wankhede stadium always elicits a thunderous response from the crowd and it was no different when he came on to the field ahead of Mumbai Indians' match against Kings XI Punjab. This time, the roar was even louder as a certain Virender Sehwag walked out to chat with Mumbai's favourite cricketer. A few years back, chants of "Sachin.. Sachin" and "Sehwag.. Sehwag" were common when one walked in to the Wankhede. Today was a throwback to the yesteryears with the former India superstars catching the fancy of the fans at the stadium.

Aesthetic Guptill and expensive Malinga

When Lasith Malinga was introduced into the attack in the game's fourth over, Martin Guptill welcomed him by going straight over the bowler's head. The shot had class written all over. However, what Guptill's shot lacked was proper timing, as Rohit Sharma managed to run from mid-off, put in a dive and stop the ball from going to the boundary. Timing may have deserted Guptill once, but it wasn't going to happen again as the next ball was driven superbly over cover and yielded the maximum result. Like many times in this IPL, Malinga ended up having an expensive start, being hit for two more fours by Wriddhiman Saha in an over that yielded 19 runs.

Around, Over, Around, Over

In order to mix things up and unsettle batsman, Mitchell McClenaghan tried a new tactic. For four deliveries, he switched sides between round the wicket and over the wicket. Each time he came round, he managed to cramp the batsmen for room but when he switched to over, he ended up being hit for fours. Just to change the trend, his fifth delivery, bowled from over the wicket, cost just a single, while the final ball delivered from around, resulted in the third four of the over.

No half-century for Maxwell, again

Before this game, Glenn Maxwell had crossed 40 four times in this IPL, but he had failed to convert them into a 50+ score on each occasion. The last time he played against MI, Maxwell had scored a belligerent 40 before being bowled by Jasprit Bumrah off the 18th ball he faced. At the Wankhede, Maxwell's aggression was on full display as the KXIP skipper promoted himself to No. 3 to capitalise on the good platform provided by Guptill and Saha. Maxwell, who was on a six-hitting spree, hit two maximums off Karn Sharma and three more off Harbhajan to race away to 40 off only 13 deliveries. Kept quiet for his next six deliveries, Maxwell managed a four off Bumrah to register his highest score in this IPL. However, it was deja vu for the big-hitting Australian as Bumrah celebrated wildly after managing to strike timber yet again, prolonging Maxwell's wait for a half-century.

Ishant's many tumbles

Including Ishant Sharma in the eleven, especially in T20 cricket, is a gamble for any captain, for he wouldn't know what kind of Ishant would turn up on that day. He can be economical, like he was against SRH, when he conceded only 23 runs. But a bad day in the office - and he's been known to have a few - can be counter-productive as KXIP found out against MI in their previous encounter (58 runs in 4 overs). When Ishant started with a six-run over, KXIP would have heaved a sigh of relief. But the joy was short-lived as Ishant's expensive side came out in his very next over. A glorious cover drive for a four by Lendl Simmons was followed by a top-edged boundary off Parthiv Patel's bat, soon after which Ishant tumbled to the ground on his follow through. As Simmons tickled the final ball of that over, Ishant took a tumble again and watched helplessly as the ball travelled to the ropes. His misery didn't end there. Introduced back into the attack a short while later, Ishant slipped yet again, evoking a smile on Sehwag's face even as Maxwell lent him a supporting shoulder.

Guptill's brilliance empties Simmons's bag of luck

That the Wankhede stadium is Lendl Simmons's favourite hunting ground is a fact known to most. Along with his frequency of fifty+ scores here, the West Indian has also had his fair share of luck, the best example being the World T20 semis against India. In this game too, Simmons got a reprieve when he was put down by Mohit Sharma off Axar Patel. And he capitalised on that by laying into the KXIP attack to blaze away to his fifth T20 fifty at this venue. It required a splendid effort to eventually send him back and Guptill was the one to produce that piece of brilliance. The ball appeared to be going over the long-on boundary but Guptill ensured it did not, jumping to perfection and holding on to a one-handed stunner. There was still some drama with the umpires checking if the bowler, Maxwell, had overstepped, but after multiple replays KXIP ended up as the happier team.

Field placements do not matter for Pollard

It's not often that you see a field set with men positioned at both mid-on and long-on. But with Kieron Pollard blazing away and hitting them straight and big, Maxwell thought it'd be worth a punt. In the 17th over, Sandeep had been hit for a boundary straight down the ground and he bowled a full delivery next. The ball went sailing over mid-on, over long-on and well past the boundary ropes as Pollard had the last laugh and proved that number of fielders don't matter when he's clubbing them.

Mohit stands out in forgettable day for Sharmas

In the MI-KXIP clash today, there were as many as five Sharma playing. Rohit and Karn for Mumbai and Sandeep, Ishant and Mohit for Punjab. Karn didn't have the best of days as the KXIP's onslaught against him yielded 32 runs off his 3 overs for a lone wicket. Sandeep too looked off-colour, going for plenty at the start of the innings, Ishant had turned up with a banana heel while Mohit had put down a catch and was being belted by the MI batsmen, although, as a consolation, he did manage to send back Parthiv. When Rohit came on for the fifth Sharma act of the day, this too ended in a flop. It was a stay that lasted for only seven deliveries and yielded 5 runs as Rohit made his way back by holing out to Guptill, who this time took a simple catch. Karn then battled Mohit for the Sharma bragging rights, but this too did not see any definite victor. Karn hit two fours and a six off Mohit to further dent his figures before falling to the same bowler. Mohit though made up for all the lapses with an excellent final over that helped KXIP stay alive in the competition.