Simmons Ton Alive Mumbai Indians Play-off Hopes

Chandigarh: Lendl Simmons scored the first hundred of IPL 2014 and was unbeaten on 100* off 61 as Mumbai Indians won by 7 wickets against Kings XI Punjab at Punjab Cricket Association Stadium, Mohali, Chandigarh on Wednesday.

MI chased down 157 with 6 balls to spare as kept their remote play-off hopes alive.

It was MI's fifth win in 12 matches, while KXIP suffered their third defeat in 12 matches.

The West Indian tear into the hosts' bowling as MI, chasing 157 to win, reached 53 in just 4.4 overs. His dominance could be gauged from the fact he made 42 out of those runs and a batsman like Michael Hussey contributed just two.

Even after Hussey's departure for six, Simmons kept tormenting the bowlers. His straight shots off spinners Shivam Sharma and Akshar Patel were particularly intimidating.

Ambati Rayudu kept Simmons company for a considerable period and both added 43 off 29 balls to doused any hopes KXIP might have had after Hussey's departure.

After Rayudu (17) and captain Rohit Sharma (18) fell, Kieron Pollard (7*) joined Simmons, who hit 14 fours and two sixes during his innings, and both took the team over the line with six balls to go. Pollard finished off the match in style, hitting Shivam for a six over long-on.

Earlier, Mumbai Indians spinner Shreyas Gopal took two wickets in the space of three balls, including the prized scalp of Orange Cap holder Glenn Maxwell, to help his team restrict table-topper Kings XI Punjab to 156 for 8.

KXIP got off to a great start though, after being put in to bat by MI captain Rohit Sharma. Virender Sehwag greeted Harbhajan Singh's replacement Praveen Kumar with a four and a six off the first two balls of the match. Sehwag (17) was looking in great touch but his stay at the crease was ended by an unfortunate run-out in the third over.

Shaun Marsh, who came in for David Miller for the match, hit his stride straight away. Opener Manan Vohara and Marsh added 64 for the second wicket to put the hosts in a very strong position with 90 in 10 overs. With Maxwell and George Bailey still to come in, KXIP looked well-placed to get a big score.

But Krishmar Santokie returned to see the back of Marsh for 30 as Kieron Pollard took a nice catch at long-on. Gopal then got in on the act, cleaning up first Vohra for 36 and following it up with Maxwell's return catch two balls later.

MI never looked back from there. Wriddhiman Saha (3) and Akshar Patel (6) were also sent back to the pavilion soon. Amabati Rayudu's direct throw from mid-on accounted for Saha while Patel found Rohit at extra cover off the bowling of Praveen.

Amid the pitch supporting the spinners, KXIP captain George Bailey (39 off 30 balls) played a responsible innings before cutting loose in the last two overs to help his team reach a fighting total. Jasprit Bumrah (2 for 31) eventually accounted for the Aussie. The hosts made just 66 runs in the last ten overs. Gopal returned 2 for 32.

Earlier, Mumbai Indians have won the toss and have opted to field first.

KXIP rested David Miller and brought in retained player Shaun Marsh. Mumbai Indians got in Praveen Kumar for the injured Harbhajan Singh.

Teams:

Punjab: Virender Sehwag, Manan Vohra, Glenn Maxwell, Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Shaun Marsh, George Bailey (Capt.), Akshar Patel, Rishi Dhawan, Sandeep Sharma, Shivam Sharma, Beuran Hendricks

Mumbai: Michael Hussey, Lendl Simmons, Rohit Sharma (Capt.), Ambati Rayudu, Kieron Pollard, Aditya Tare (wk), Praveen Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Pragyan Ojha, Shreyas Gopal, Krishmar Santokie

Brief scores
Kings XI Punjab - 156/8 (Bailey 39, Vohra 39, Marsh 30)
Mumbai Indians - 159/3 (Simmons 100*)
Result - Mumbai Indians won by 7 wickets
Points - Mumbai Indians 2, Kings XI Punjab 0