Mumbai
Indians sealed their second victory in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL)
2020 with a comfortable 48-run victory over Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) on Thursday.

The
defending champions showed exceptional game management as they rallied back
strongly after shaky starts to both innings.

Also Read: Mumbai Indians’ Rohit Sharma becomes third player to score 5,000 IPL runs

Mumbai lost
the wicket of opener Quinton de Kock in the very first over of their innings as
Jamaican pacer Sheldon Cottrell bowled a wicket maiden to give KL Rahul an ideal
start to the match.

The going
got tough for Mumbai as skipper Rohit Sharma and Ishan Kishan were starved of
loose deliveries and restricted to running between the wickets.

Kishan, who
played a starring role in Mumbai’s super-over, loss to Royal Challengers
Bangalore – scoring 99 runs from 58 balls – could not repeat his heroics and
was soon put out of his misery as his search for quick runs ended with his
lofted shot being caught by Karun Nair in the deep. 

However,
they upped the ante as Sharma and Kieron Pollard started finding the boundary
with increased frequency and ease, taking the Punjab bowlers to the cleaners.

Sharma
joined a super-exclusive club as he reached the 5,000 IPL runs-milestone with a
well-made 70 from 45 balls while Pollard smashed a quick-fire 47 from 20 balls
for a big finish as Mumbai ended their innings with a commanding 191-run total.

Hardik
Pandya also played a handy cameo, scoring 30 runs in 11 balls.

KXIP came out
of the block with all guns blazing, as in-form openers Mayank Agarwal and KL
Rahul gave KXIP the perfect platform to launch their chase, scoring 33 runs
from the opening three overs.

However,
they soon found themselves in a spot of bother after as Mayank (25 from 18) and
Karun Nair (0 from 3) soon returned to the pavilion after great bowling from
Jasprit Bumrah and Krunal Pandya respectively.    

Also Read: IPL 2020: Royal Challengers Bangalore beat Mumbai Indians in nail biting contest

Further
misery was piled on when Rahul Chahar castled skipper Rahul, leaving their
middle-order exposed with a big target to chase. The pressure on the Punjab
batsmen proved too great in the end as there were no meaningful contributions
other than Nicholas Pooran’s 27-ball 44.

The win
propels MI to the top of the table with four points from as many games, while
KXIP languish in the sixth spot.