Mumbai Indians have been the most successful franchise in the Indian Premier League. The ultimate fan-favorite team has won the trophy 5 times, being the only team to do so. However, a lot has gone into making the franchise what it is today.
Today, we’ll have a look at 5 such innings, that MI fans will never forget:
1. Ishan Kishan’s 99 against Royal Challengers Bangalore, 2020
Going down as one of the greatest IPL games ever, this game is the definition of Ishan Kishan’s very character. Chasing down a mammoth total of 202 against the Royal Challengers Bangalore, MI had lost their top 3 for 39 inside 7 overs.
Ishan Kishan came in to bat when MI were 2 for 16. Kishan’s first innings was to stabilize the innings and avoid the batting order from crumbling down like a pile of cards. Kishan held down one end while wickets kept tumbling from the other. When Hardik’s wicket fell, Mumbai’s score was 78, and they needed 124 from 8.4 overs.
A defeat seemed inevitable for MI. That’s when Kishan took the matter into his hands. He got the support of Kieron Pollard and the duo started a free flow of strokes despite the circumstances. Kishan’s ‘nothing to lose’ attitude and Pollard’s brilliant strokeplay put the pressure back on RCB bowlers and the momentum suddenly started to shift.
MI crossed the 150-run mark in 17.1 overs, needing another 50-odd runs in 17 deliveries. Ishan and Pollard continued their strokeplay and took the match to the very final over. MI needed 19 to win, RCB needed to just stall. It all came down to the last two balls, with MI requiring 5 to win. Ishan was batting on 99, and a hundred was most definitely on the cards when the anomaly happened. Kishan had hit the previous delivery for a six over long-on and was trying to replicate the same when he was caught by Devdutt Paddikal at the boundary ropes.
Kishan got out just 1 short of his century. However, Pollard hit the final ball for four, ending the innings in a tie. RCB defeated Mumbai in the super-over nonetheless but it was Kishan and Pollard’s joint effort that sparked life in a rather one-sided affair.
