Published: Apr 16, 2017, 07:42 PM (IST)
Edited: Apr 29, 2017, 06:16 PM (IST)
Before match 16, Mumbai Indians (MI) had never beaten Gujarat Lions (GL) in Indian Premier League (IPL). In the last contest between these two teams, Nitish Rana had scored 70 off 36 balls that eventually went in vain with a last-ball defeat. However, on Sunday evening, Rana faced same number of balls to stitch a resounding 53 to put MI ahead in a pursuit of 177 runs. To end the proceedings, Rohit Sharma and Kieron Pollard laced their 11th 50-plus stand and took MI to a comprehensive 6-wicket win, which put MI at the top of IPL 2017 points table. LIVE CRICKET SCORECARD: Mumbai Indians vs Gujarat Lions – Match 16
It was quite evident that Rohit Sharma would opt to bowl first after winning the last three matches while chasing. Before that, he had faced Sachin Tendulkar and Karn Sharma in the nets to overcome his difficulty against wrist-spinners. However, GL did not feature any wrist-spinner in the side. They went for Munaf Patel who played his last IPL match in 2013. In addition, Finch had to sit out making way for Jason Roy. “Finchy misses out, unfortunately his kit bag didn’t arrive,” said Suresh Raina at the toss.
Dwayne Smith achieved a rare feat he would not have wanted against his name. He got dismissed without putting any score for the 24th time — the most by any player in T20 cricket.
Brendon McCullum top-scored with 64 off 44 inclusive of 6 fours and 3 sixes. In fact, McCullum loves playing against MI, as this was his fifth half-century against them. With Raina, he added 80 runs for the second wicket. However, it was Dinesh Karthik who provided late blitz with his unbeaten 26-ball 48. Amidst GL posting a competitive total, Mitchell McClenaghan and Harbhajan Singh gave less than run a ball in 8 overs, taking three vital wickets. Live cricket updates: Mumbai Indians vs Gujarat Lions – Match 16
Harbhajan dismissed Raina for the fifth time in IPL, making him his bunny. Rohit, running behind at cover-point, took a stunning catch.
MI did not have a start they had expected. Praveen Kumar swung the ball away from Parthiv, inducing an outside edge Jason Roy at point. However, Roy later on went on to drop Rana who ended up scoring his second half-century of IPL.
Rohit, who had only 9 runs in 4 matches, finally found his lost paradise. He scored an unbeaten 40 off 29 balls, hitting 3 fours and a six. Pollard, on the other hand, continued his stunning form. He scored 39 off off 23, taking MI closer to their fourth consecutive won.
Andrew Tye, after his hat-trick exploit, ended with figures of 2 for 34.
Brief scores:
Gujarat Lions 176 for 4 in 20 overs (Brendon McCullum 64, Dinesh Karthik 48*; Mitchell McClenaghan 2 for 24) vs Mumbai Indians 177 for 4 in 20 overs (Nitish Rana 53, Kieron Pollard 39; Andrew Tye 2 for 34) by 6 wickets.
Man of the Match: Nitish Rana
