History was made at the Dubai International Stadium on October 18. Mumbai Indians and Kings XI Punjab were involved in a double Super Over, cricket’s equivalent of sudden death in football. That had never happened before in Twenty20 cricket.
Batting first after winning the toss, Mumbai made 176 for six, with opener Quinton de Kock’s 53 (43b, 3x4, 3x6) holding much of the innings together as wickets fell at the other end in regular intervals. Krunal Pandya was more sedate than usual while making 34 (30b, 4x4, 1x6), but Kieron Pollard (34 not out, 12b, 1x4, 4x6) wasn’t; neither was Nathan Coulter-Nile (24 not out, 12b, 4x4).
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Punjab captain K. L. Rahul (77, 51b, 7x4, 3x6) led the chase from the front and it looked as if he would take his side home. But he was yorked by Jasprit Bumrah when 24 runs were required off 15 balls. Chris Jordan (13, 8b, 2x4) and Deepak Hooda (23 not out, 16b, 1x4, 1x6) took 13 off Coulter-Nile in the 19th over and Punjab needed only nine from the last, bowled by Trent Boult. It came down to two from the last ball, but Jordan was run out going for the winning run; Pollard’s throw from mid-on was accurate and de Kock did the rest.
That meant the match would be decided in the Super Over, just as the one between Kolkata Knight Riders and Sunrisers Hyderabad was earlier in the day. Bumrah had Nicholas Pooran caught at square-leg and trapped Rahul lbw with the last ball as Punjab ended with five for two. Mohammed Shami bowled superbly to take the match into the second Super Over; he gave just four runs in his five balls. Off the last ball, de Kock’s attempt to complete the second was cut short by a combined effort from Pooran and Rahul behind the stumps.
In the second Super Over, Pollard and Hardik Pandya scored 11 runs off Jordan; it could have been more but for a superb piece of fielding at the boundary by Mayank Agarwal, who soon came out to bat for Punjab. The Karnataka opener hit the winning shot too, with a boundary off Boult to midwicket, off the fourth ball.
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