IPL Pulse: Churned teams and cleansed guts

Look away, Mumbai fans. It hurts. That comeback might be a dream too far, even if Kieron Pollard doesn't want to call it in yet. That orange bazooka of a batting attack can hunt down anything. And it's really widened that gulf between the top four and the rest of the lot.

Don't blame yourself if midweek work calls did not let you watch the action live. You could have followed the scores here. Not to worry, we got you covered with key bits on Cricketlineguruji's IPL Pulse.

Last night in five lines

Ryan Rickelton and Quinton de Kock are interchangeable. They both open, keep, and score tons for MI

Eshan Malinga can make snow castles even in an avalanche. An economy of 7.2, in a near-500 match aggregate, was ridiculous

It's Power-pray for the opposition when Trav-ishek are in form. Six overs, 92/0. The defence just crumbled then and there

Klaasen & Salil cracked open the 200+ chase, a record tenth time this IPL, the most in any edition

Oh, that happened

Form ki yaad nahi aayi, Jassi?That's not the right movie dialogue, and this is not the Jasprit Bumrah we know. After a brief relief from his wicketless stretch, the GOAT was left sans fodder again. Klaasen carved him over covers. A rookie clobbered a no-look six. MI fan or foe, you gotta feel bad.

Pulse Awards

The Crackerjack award goes to Will Jacks for a cracking comeback to the IPL after weeks of suspense. A handy 38 (18) in the Powerplay, matching Rickelton stroke-for-stroke. Let's pardon that one over in the SRH Powerplay though

The giant-slayer award goes to Salil 'David' Arora for taming Goliath. That six off Bumrah, wrapped in sheer impudence of a no-look, really earned him some new fans. Extra aura points for wrapping it up in style versus Pandya

The stand 'out' award goes to Ishan Kishan for not succumbing to the rat-race, and quietly purchasing a golden duck in an ocean of runs

The Infact Subaward goes to Shardul Thakur for being the de facto Impact Sub, when he neither batted nor bowled

The catch-me-yes-you-can award goes to this IPL for being the most chase-friendly edition ever

Talking point

Mumbai Indians are running a fair employment scheme, giving a chance to 22 players in their squad so far, the most by any team. For context, table-toppers PBKS have used only 15 so far, making just five changes. MI's 21 (!) changes make for a jarring case of instability and failed tactics. Ninth on the points table, that famed comeback might just not happen.

Who's saying what?

Kieron Pollard, the eternal optimist, has not given up all hope. Even after six defeats in eight games, the batting coach insists the team has "not accepted defeat", and that the boys are "willing and wanting to fight".

Heinrich Klaasen revealed a chink in his shoulder, saying he is "not strong over cow-corner anymore" due to past injuries, and has been practicing hits over extra cover. Analysts, take note.

Hardik Pandya says it hurts when the home crowd starts chanting names of the opposition. "We need to entertain them more to make sure we get that love and trust from them".

Stat snack

This was the fourth-highest total chased down in the IPL. Three entries in the top five are from this year. It was also the tenth successful chase this edition, beating nine from last year.

Putting up a score? You better be sure.

What's the latest gossip?

The vape-gate in Mullanpur has kept officials busy, with plenty of speculation and conjecture on the nature of "breach", if any. It remains to be seen what the response will be, and if a penalty follows.

Tonight's watchlist

Gujarat Titans will aim to break into the oligopoly of the top four. They've blown hot-and-cold so far, while RCB have been more consistent. As always, watch out for King v Prince.

Reckless prediction

Ultra-heavy meals require a gut cleanse. The proverbial scriptwriters should follow up a 244 chase with a 100 all out and a Super Over. Thanks for hearing me out.