Two important events coincided for Mumbaikars on April 13. Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray was set to announce updated COVID-19 lockdown guidelines at 8:30 pm, while Mumbai Indians were also facing the Kolkata Knight Riders in the ongoing season of the Indian Premier League (IPL). And guess what; MI fans found a way to discuss their cricket even while attending the CM’s live address.
The Mumbai Paltan started sharing live updates about the game in the comments section of Thackeray’s Facebook Live. Pollard’s dismissal in the 18th over of the MI innings particularly overlapped with the timing of the lockdown update. A few MI followers were seen particularly distraught by the turn of events there.
Having been asked to bat first, the Mumbai innings collapsed after a promising partnership between Suryakumar Yadav (56) and Rohit Sharma (43) for the second wicket. But they stumbled from 86-1 to 126-7 between the 11th and 18th overs. A late fight back from Krunal Pandya (15) eventually helped them set a 153-run target for Eoin Morgan’s side, but couldn’t prevent Andre Russell from claiming a five-wicket haul in the death overs.
The KKR openers put 72 on the board before the end of the ninth over. But the slow nature of the wicket meant that leg-spinner Rahul Chahar and southpaw Krunal Pandya were able to exert more control towards the second half of the innings.
After Nitish Rana (57) was dismissed stumped by Chahar, none of the following batsmen could even reach double figures. And a match that, by the 15th over, looked all but over in KKR’s favour, was pulled back by the MI bowlers in spectacular fashion. Jasprit Bumrah and Trent Boult sealed the deal in the crucial last couple of overs and gave the five-time champions their first win of the season.
This match, as part of BCCI’s stipulations for this year, was played on the neutral venue of Chennai. Four other teams, however, will continue to play in Mumbai despite the new lockdown rules that will come into effect in Maharashtra from 8pm on April 14.
Stay safe, and enjoy your cricket on your TV sets.
