Mumbai Indians (MI) sank to a record low by suffering their sixth defeat in as many matches with an 18-run defeat against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG). A century by skipper KL Rahul inspired the Lucknow-based franchise to a phenomenal victory at Mumbai’s Brabourne Stadium and ensured MI find themselves on the brink of elimination from the tournament.
Rohit won the toss and chose to bowl first. MI made a change to their playing XI once again with West Indian all-rounder Fabian Allen making his debut for the franchise. After playing two games in a row without having four overseas players, MI played with their full quota of foreign players on Saturday.
Rohit’s decision to bowl first and put pressure on the LSG batting unit backfired as Quinton de Kock and skipper Rahul gave them a quick-fire start with 50-run partnership before de Kock’s stay against his old franchise came to an end after scoring a 13-ball 24.
Manish Pandey ensured LSG make the most of their flying start and continued to put pressure back on MI bowlers. Pandey showed signs of returning to form and scored a solid knock of 38 in 29 balls as part of a 72-run partnership with Rahul. While wickets kept falling around him, the LSG captain ensured his team puts a big score on the board as he hit the third IPL century of his career with the Lucknow-based franchise ending with a big score of 200 on the board.
Jasprit Bumrah went wicketless but conceded just 24 runs in his four overs while Jaydev Unadkat took two wickets in his four-over spell while going for 32 runs. Tymal Mills had a day to forget as 55 runs were hit of his bowling in just three overs.
Mumbai’s chase got off to a forgettable start as skipper Rohit Sharma’s poor run with the bat continued. Dewald Brevis gave another show of his exceptional talent smashing a 13-ball 31 and put MI on the front foot in the chase before Avesh Khan dismissed him. Ishan Kishan failed to make an impact and only managed to put 11 runs on the board.
Suryakumar Yadav and Tilak Varma ensured the five-time champions stay in the hunt with a solid 64-run partnership. However both lost their wickets at crucial junctures leaving Kieron Pollard with a mammoth task ahead of him.
Pollard gave the Brabourne crowd hopes of pulling off a vintage innings with a couple of sixes while Jaydev Unadkat’s 19th over blitz over Jason Holder kept MI alive in the contest. However, 26 runs of the final over proved too much as LSG registered their fourth win in six games. Avesh Khan was the star with the ball as he took three wickets in his four-over spell.
