In a nail-biter at the Wankhede Stadium, the Gujarat Lions outclassed the Mumbai Indians to register their third win in VIVO IPL 2016. After opting to field and restricting the hosts to a modest 143-8, the visitors needed a composed, mature and almost workman-like half-century from Aaron Finch to take them past the finish line. The Lions got past the line off the last ball of their allotted 20 overs.
The visitors started poorly losing the dangerous Brendon McCullum in the second over. Skipper Suresh Raina and Finch stitched together a 53-run partnership to put the innings on track before the former was dismissed for 27. MI used this opportunity to squeeze in a few tight overs; the Pandya brothers – Krunal and Hardik, and Jasprit Bumrah – bowled five tight overs conceding only 24 runs, while also picking up two wickets.
When Akshdeep Nath was dismissed at the start of the seventeenth over, the Lions were left to score 35 runs from 23 balls. Things became tighter when Mitchell McClenaghan struck twice in the penultimate over and conceded only two runs.
The Lions needed 11 from the last over. After picking up three runs off the first two balls, local-lad Dhawal Kulkarni picked up a boundary over mid off of the third delivery to bring the equation to 4 from three balls. It came down to the visitors needing a single off the final delivery, and Aaron Finch duly put away a Jasprit Bumrah short delivery to the midwicket boundary.
The Lions should be thankful to Finch, who reined in his instincts and played in a manner that doesn’t come naturally to him, but most importantly ensured the job was done. The Australian, who brought up his half-century off 46 balls, was troubled by cramps; yet he battled through that, soaked in the pressure of the run-chase and took his team past the finish line. He was very severe on any width offered or on anything that was banged in short by the MI bowlers. Finch, together with his winning hit, remained unbeaten on 67 from 54 balls, decorated with seven boundaries and a six.
For the home side, McClenaghan was the most successful bowler; he returned with figures of 4 for 21, this despite bowling one over in the Powerplay period and two of the last four overs. Bumrah (2-32) and Krunal (1-20) were the other wicket-takers.
Earlier in the evening, after being put in to bat, the Mumbai Indians never really came to terms with the pitch, one on which the ball tended to stop on the batsmen at times. Rohit Sharma and Hardik Pandya were dismissed in similar fashion – pulling a back of a length delivery to the fielder at square-leg within the circle.
Jos Buttler (16), batting at four, and Parthiv Patel applied well briefly, adding 32 runs. But in an attempt to push the scoring rate, Buttler came down the track a little too early, giving enough time for Shadab Jakati to fire the ball down the leg-side; Dinesh Karthik duly completed the stumping.
Things went from bad to worse when poor choice of shots from Kieron Pollard and Parthiv Patel – who was dismissed in the 30s yet again – saw MI slump to 77 for 5. When Harbhajan Singh and Ambati Rayudu (20) were dismissed in the 16th and 17th overs, it appeared the home side would be bowled out for under 100.
However, debutant Krunal Pandya and Tim Southee chanced their arms and threw caution to the winds. Krunal hit three boundaries and remained unbeaten on 20, while Southee hit two sixes and a boundary in his 11-ball 25. The 42-runs added by Krunal and Southee was the highest partnership for the hosts. MI added 43 runs in the final three overs and as a result finished their 20 overs at a respectable 143-8.
Given how close the match ended up being, one has to recount the brilliant piece of fielding by Akshdeep Nath in the last ball of MI’s innings; the youngster, patrolling the boundary, parried an air-borne ball back into the field of play and save four crucial runs.
For the visitors, Dhawal Kulkarni and Pravin Tambe picked up the key wickets; Kulkarni, playing his first game of the season – but in the familiar surrounds of his home ground – dismissed Rohit and Hardik and finished with impressive figures of 4-1-19-2, while Tambe (2-0-12-2) accounted for the dismissals of a well-set Parthiv and Pollard. Praveen Kumar was yet again impressive, though he did not get any wickets. Shadab Jakati (1-13), James Faulkner (1-40) and Dwayne Bravo (1-39) were the other wicket-takers.
Brief Scores
Mumbai Indians 143-8 in 20.0 Overs (Parthiv Patel 34, Dhawal Kulkarni 2-19, Pravin Tambe 2-12)
Gujarat Lions 147-7 in 20.0 Overs (Aaron Finch 67*, Mitchell McClenaghan 4-21)
Man of the Match: Aaron Finch, for his match-winning 67*.
