The Mumbai Indians are on a roll in the tenth edition of the Indian Premier League. And their latest casualty was Gujarat Lions, whom they beat by six wickets to record their fourth consecutive victory in the competition. The sea of blue at the Wankhede was treated to a master-class from both the sides in the high scoring game.
This is also the first win for the Mumbai Indians over the Gujarat Lions ever since their inception last year.
Electing to field first, the hosts chased down the target of 177 runs with vital contributions from Nitish Rana, Kieron Pollard and captain Rohit Sharma. For the Lions, Brendon McCullum and Dinesh Karthik provided the team with some much-needed impetus to guide them to a huge first innings total.
Here’s a look at the performance of the players from both the sides:
Mumbai Indians
Rohit Sharma – 9/10
The captain of the Mumbai Indians has finally arrived on the big stage of the IPL. Rohit Sharma was struggling for form in the first few matches of the tournament but he was at his very best in this huge run chase.
The right-handed batsman scored an unbeaten 40 off 29 balls and ensured that the Mumbai Indians chase down a huge first innings total from the Lions. His form is crucial for the Mumbai Indians going into the mid-stage of the tournament and he has shown glimpses of his class in this innings.
Harbhajan Singh – 8/10
Harbhajan Singh got all his international experience into play on a slightly slow Wankhede surface and bowled exceptionally well in his four overs which included one over in the field restrictions and gave away only three runs.
He returned in the middle overs to put the brakes on the scoring rate and was rewarded with the all important scalp of Suresh Raina. Bowling it wide outside the off stump, he forced the Lions’ skipper into a false shot over cover, only to scoop it to his counterpart at cover point.
In his quota of four overs, he returned with figures of one for 22 and was the most economical bowler for the Mumbai Indians
Mitchell McCleneghan – 8/10
The left arm pacer provided the Mumbai Indians with an ideal start as he picked up the wicket of Dwayne Smith in the first over of the match. He was consistent with his line and length throughout the match giving away just 24 runs in his four overs.
In his second spell at the fag end of the innings, the left arm pacer got rid of Ishan Kishan with a good short delivery. The attempted pull shot did not come from the middle of the bat as the ball got a little too big on him, ending in a simple catch for Krunal Pandya at the deep square leg boundary.
Nitish Rana – 8/10
Nitish Rana made the most of the reprieve he received as he scored a well-crafted half-century (53) off just 36 balls to bail Mumbai out after the early loss of Parthiv Patel. The left-hander was dropped on 9 by Jason Roy and he made the Lions pay for this costly error.
Playing the role of the aggressor during the powerplay, Rana stitched a crucial 85 run stand with Jos Buttler for the second wicket to lay the foundation for the Mumbai Indians in the huge run chase. His impressive knock of 53 comprised of four boundaries and two maximums.
Kieron Pollard – 7/10
The big-hitting all-rounder continued his good work from the last game against the Royal Challengers Bangalore. He scored a quick fire 39 off 23 balls after coming into bat at number five. His innings enabled Mumbai Indians skipper Rohit Sharma to take his time and settle down in the middle. He was involved in a match-defining partnership of 68 with Sharma to take the hosts over the line.
Jos Buttler – 6/10
The explosive batsman from England failed to convert his start into a big score as he was dismissed after scoring 26 runs from the 24 balls he faced. He played an anchor role in his partnership with Nitish Rana by picking up the singles and rotating the strike and let the young left-hander dominate the bowling attack. Buttler was caught on the long-on boundary by McCullum as he failed to pick a slower delivery from Munaf Patel.
Krunal Pandya – 6/10
The left arm spinner from Baroda has been a star for the Mumbai Indians with both bat and ball this season. Although Krunal was not required to bat in this run chase, he bowled with a lot of discipline in his three overs. In the context of the game, he was economical in his three-over spell as he conceded juoff-colour.
Hardik Pandya – 5/10
The finisher for the Mumbai Indians did not have much to do in this match as he came into bat with just 17 runs required to win. He was unbeaten on 6 from his three deliveries. He would be disappointed with his performance in the field as he was smashed for 15 runs in the only over he bowled in the match.
Lasith Malinga – 4/10
The spearhead of the bowling attack for the Mumbai Indians was taken apart by the batting unit of the Gujarat Lions as they smashed him for 51 runs in the four overs. Bowling a number of slower deliveries, Malinga was off-colour throughout the game as he failed to find his line and length resulting in a lot of poor deliveries.
Although he picked up an important wicket of Brendon McCullum in the middle overs to restrict the scoring, his exploits with the ball did not help the Mumbai Indians as they let their opposition score a huge first innings total.
Jasprit Bumrah – 1/10
The death over specialist for the Mumbai Indians has not lived up to the expectations in this edition of the Indian Premier League. The youngster failed to consistently deliver his toe-crushing yorkers, resulting in the ball being a full toss and easy pickings for the batters. He leaked 45 runs in his four overs without anything to show in the wickets column.
Parthiv Patel – 1/10
The little dynamite from Gujarat failed to provide the Mumbai Indians with a solid start at the top of the order as he was out for a second-ball duck. Parthiv was guilty of trying to play across the line to an away going delivery from Praveen Kumar, only to manage a leading edge to be safely pouched at backward point.
Gujarat Lions
Brendon McCullum – 9/10
The former New Zealand skipper continued from where he left in the last game against the Rising Pune Supergiant. After the early loss of Dwayne Smith in the first over, McCullum anchored the innings with Suresh Raina. The duo put on a crucial partnership of 80 runs for the second wicket to help the visitors post a decent first innings total.
McCullum was particularly severe on Lasith Malinga as he smashed him for two massive sixes in the last over of the power-play. His innings of 64 from 44 balls was studded with six boundaries and three hits over the fence.
Dinesh Karthik – 9/10
The wicket-keeper batsman has been in sublime form throughout the domestic season and has started off the tenth edition of the Indian Premier League in commanding fashion. Coming in at number five, Karthik provided the Lions’ innings a much-needed impetus as he scored a quick-fire 48 runs off 26 balls.
His cameo in the back end of the innings helped the Lions post a mammoth 176 runs in the first innings. Karthik pierced the field with perfection and was unorthodox with his approach which resulted in the Mumbai bowlers missing their line and length and being hammered around the park.
Andrew Tye – 7/10
The right arm pacer was the standout bowler for the Lions in the last game with a match winning five-wicket haul against the Supergiant. Tye was always going to be the trump card for Suresh Raina in this game mainly due to his exploits in the previous game.
However, despite picking up two crucial wickets of Nitish Rana and Kieron Pollard, the Australian was not able to make as big an impact has he had in the last game – something which really can’t be expected in every game. A lack of support from the other bowlers also did not help his cause as he returned with figures of two for 34.
Jason Roy – 6/10
The right-handed batsman from England was surprisingly sent to bat lower down the order at number six. The explosive batsman did not face many balls as he came into bat with a little over dozen balls to spare. He, however, showed his big hitting capabilities in the seven balls he faced as he launched Malinga straight down the ground for a six in the penultimate over of the innings.
The English opener scored an unbeaten 14 in those seven deliveries. He would be disappointed with his efforts in the field, though, as he dropped Nitish Rana when he was on just 9 in the second over of the match. This proved to be a big turning point.
Suresh Raina – 6/10
The skipper of the Gujarat Lions has been in decent form throughout the tournament. Coming to bat at number three, Raina consolidated the innings with the in-form Brendon McCullum. Although he was not at his usual best as he failed to get going, he scored 28 runs off 29 balls before being dismissed by Harbhajan Singh. The southpaw would be disappointed as he lost his wicket at the crucial juncture of the innings with nine overs to spare.
Basil Thampi – 5/10
One of the stars of the 2017 player auction, Basil Thampi was brilliant with his four overs for the Lions. Although he was a touch unlucky as Jason Roy dropped Nitish Rana off his bowling, the youngster showed immense character to bowl the yorkers on a regular basis to the Kieron Pollard and Rohit Sharma.
The bowling analysis of Thampi does not really reflect his brilliant control over the yorkers. But he was the standout performer for the Lions in today’s game.
Munaf Patel – 4/10
Playing his first match of the tenth edition of the tournament, Munaf Patel did not have a great start to the season as he was taken for runs at will by the Mumbai batting unit. The experienced medium pacer picked up the wicket of Jos Buttler with a well disguised slower delivery but failed thereafter giving away 35 runs in his spell.
Ravindra Jadeja – 3/10
The all-rounder from Saurashtra did not get an opportunity to bat in the high scoring encounter. A lot was expected from Jadeja in the bowling department but unfortunately for him and the Lions, he failed to live up to those expectations in this crucial encounter. He could neither provide his team with wickets in the middle overs nor restrict the flow of runs. He finished the match was figures of none for 34 in the four overs.
Praveen Kumar – 2/10
Praveen Kumar had an off day on the field as he just could not find his line and length. Despite scalping the wicket of Parthiv Patel, he was smashed for 25 runs in his 2 overs including four consecutive wide deliveries to Nitish Rana.
Ishan Kishan – 2/10
The left-handed batsman from Jharkhand was promoted at number four by the management. The move, though, backfired as he failed to rotate the strike in the middle overs. He was eventually dismissed trying to pull a rising short delivery from Mitchell McCleneghan for a scratchy innings of 11 in 14 balls.
Dwayne Smith – 1/10
After an explosive 47 in the last match against the Rising Pune Supergiant, Smith was handed the responsibility to open the batting along with Brendon McCullum. The West Indian, however, failed to give his team an ideal start at the top of the order as he was dismissed on the second ball of the match without troubling the scorers.
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