Yuzvendra Chahal put down a straightforward chance to dismiss Naman Dhir in the fifth over, a miss that proved costly for Punjab Kings at the Wankhede Stadium on Thursday, April 16.
Stationed at short fine leg, Chahal failed to hold on to a simple catch after Dhir miscued a scoop off Marco Jansen, later indicating that the lights may have affected his sight of the ball. At that stage, Dhir was batting on 10.
Here's a look at that drop by Chahal:
The reprieve came back to haunt Punjab, with the Mumbai Indians batter making the most of it, bringing up a half-century and helping accelerate the innings.
The right-hander switched gears immediately taking on Punjab's bowlers with some clean hitting, targeting both pace and spin. In the very next over after the drop, Dhir smashed two fours and a six against Vijaykumar Vyshak.
Chahal himself entered the attack in the 7th over and was given a warm welcome by Dhir who lifted the first delivery over long-off for six.
The 26-year-old brought up a fifty off just 29 balls, before he was finally dismissed in the 14th over. The batter hit three boundaries and three sixes, two of them off Chahal. More importantly, Dhir stabilised the innings through a 122-run partnership with Quinton de Kock.
From a tactical standpoint, the drop proved extremely expensive for the visitors. It not only cost Punjab Kings 40-plus runs but also denied them the chance to expose Mumbai's middle order early in the game.
Meanwhile, it could well prove to be the slice of luck Mumbai Indians needed to turn around their poor start to the season. Walking in at a precarious 12/2, Dhir made full use of the reprieve, stitching a crucial partnership with Quinton de Kock to lift MI to 134/3 by the time he was dismissed in the 14th over.
de Kock went on to score a century on his maiden appearance this season, smashing an unbeaten 112* off 60 balls to help MI post 195/6.
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