Rohit Sharma-led Mumbai Indians went on to register a thrilling win over Kings XI Punjab at the Wankhede stadium on Wednesday night.
The game had a lot of twists and turns but the hosts managed to have the last laugh. With this win, MI’s hopes of making it to the playoffs are still alive as they look forward to beating Delhi Daredevils in their last encounter.
Chasing 187 to win, Punjab once again lost their opener, Chris Gayle, early. However, it was KL Rahul’s knock of 94 runs from just 60 balls which kept the Mumbai bowlers on check throughout the innings. Aaron Finch also played a key role at No.3.
After Marcus Stoinis was send back packing on 1, there was a surprising decision from the dugout. Axar Patel walked in to bat ahead of players like Manoj Tiwary and Yuvraj Singh. It could’ve been a tactical ploy by Kings XI Punjab but it ended up being a huge failure for them.
There were also a lot of questions raised over Yuvraj Singh batting down the order. The fact that Aswin and KXIP management sent Axar Patel ahead of Yuvraj shows the loss of faith in the senior.
Later, when Yuvraj Singh entered the ground, his team needed 17 runs in the last over. Yuvi missed out on a couple a couple of opportunities, and KXIP fell short of just 3 runs, therefore, losing the match which they should have comfortably won.
As soon as the match got over, fans started shaming Ashwin for his poor captaincy and for disrespecting a player like Yuvraj by first not letting him play for the team for a few matches and then for his demotion from the batting order against Mumbai.
Here are some of the Twitter reactions on Yuvraj Singh being demoted in the batting order:
https://twitter.com/akshat_lovemsd/status/997027407780548608
What a match well played #MI What an innings by #KLRahul
Mind blowing thinking from #Ashwin sending #Stoinis and #Axar instead of #Yuvraj
Dear #Ashwin wash your mind with "Fena" Washing powder which was promoted by You and think better#MI vs #KXIP— Akhil Bommera (@bommera_akhil) May 17, 2018
https://twitter.com/syedhussaain/status/997011202718003200
https://twitter.com/ROHITHKUMAR_/status/996829209371791366
https://twitter.com/TrollywoodOffl/status/996831323108069377
Ashwin and KXIP Management has made Yuvraj Singh villain for not winning this game. #MIvKXIP #KXIP
— ਸਤਨਾਮ ਸਿੰਘ ਸੋਹਲ #MI (@imSatnam_) May 16, 2018
#MIvKXIP KXIP captain insulted it's players and the result was obvious … After Finch, Yuvraj should have come to bat .. Ashwin arrogance payed the price …
— Arun Kiran Dhavera (@AKDhavera) May 17, 2018
https://twitter.com/SirJadejaaaa/status/996827396648005633
https://twitter.com/Cricketician_/status/996827062861271042
Great thinker of the game. True that, Ravi Ashwin pulls out a new trick from the bag to not win the match. Sending Stoinis and Axar ahead of Yuvraj Singh was a masterstroke. Take a bow, Sir. #IPL2018 #MIvKXIP #VIVOIPL
— Nihal Asoodani (@AsoodaniNihal) May 16, 2018
#MIvKXIP Watching Ashwin promoting Axar ahead of Yuvraj was most painful moment. Even more painful than seeing a brilliant knock by Rahul go in vain. If he didn't have trust in yuvi why did he include Yuvi? Sad
— Vishal विशाल 🇮🇳 (@vishalkmumbai) May 17, 2018
#MIvKXIP
What is wrong with Ashwin?Poor captaincy…Axar Patel ahead of Yuvraj in this kind of crucial match…KXIP biggest mistake appointing Ashwin as captain..And not to forget about Stonis..No use of him in playing XI— M swrang (@MSwrang) May 16, 2018
Is Ravichandran Ashwin the worst captain in IPL history? 🤷🏻♂️🤷🏻♂️😳😳
Who the hell sends Axar Patel before Yuvraj Singh and Manoj Tiwary !
Axar toh khud ko ni bheje … 😅😡🤦🏻♂️🤦🏻♂️
— Sankalp Jain (@Sttifffler) May 16, 2018
https://twitter.com/iamjhamukesh/status/996823655672934401
https://twitter.com/aditya_dorby/status/996823580347256832
What a captaincy from Ravi Ashwin under-estimating Yuvraj Singh in a very crucial and must win match.
He surely don't deserve playoffs.— Emanuel Messi (@aoMaNiaL) May 16, 2018
