Published: May 21, 2016, 07:15 PM (IST)
Edited: May 21, 2016, 05:53 PM (IST)
It is Match No. 54 of the ninth season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) as Gujarat Lions (GL) take on Mumbai Indians (MI) at Kanpur. You can catch the live cricket streaming of the game on starsports.com and Hotstar, while the live telecast of the match will be available on Sony ESPN and Sony ESPN HD, along with Tamil, Telugu, and other commentary on Sony SIX, while the Hindi commentary is available on Sony SIX HD and SET MAX. In the previous contests between these two teams, GL outplayed MI by 3 wickets, courtesy Aaron Finch’s match-winning half-century in crunch situation. Despite boasting of T20 superstars, both teams have been blowing hot and cold and have only one chance to make it to the penultimate stage of this cash-rich domestic spectacle. Live Cricket Scorecard: Gujarat Lions vs Mumbai Indians, IPL 2016, Match 54 at Kanpur
While GL have 16 points under their belt, MI have 14 points with one match to go. If GL beat MI, they are undoubtedly through to the playoffs. If they lose, they will have same points as MI and hope RCB and KKR lose their remaining contest, given their unimpressive net run-rate. MI drafted Martin Guptill in their previous contest against Delhi Daredevils (DD). Despite losing in-form Rohit Sharma early, he played an innings of substance and steadied MI’s ship with Krunal Pandya. It was rare sight to see Guptill play the second fiddle, as he let Krunal take on the bowlers. Eventually, Krunal was awarded Player of the Match for his outstanding 37-ball 86.
GL, on the other hand, have one of the most destructive opening pair in Brendon McCullum and Dwayne Smith. Both these talismanic batsmen have been one of the prime reasons why GL put up a stellar show in their maiden IPL extravaganza. And, with Suresh Raina back in the team, it will be an uphill task for the MI bowlers to keep GL’s onslaught at bay.
