The Gujarat Lions and Mumbai Indians produced the first Super Over of VIVO IPL 2017 when both teams finished with an identical number of runs – 153 – at the end of the 40 overs of the regular contest. But in the one-over-per-side bash that followed – to decide which team would walk away with the two points from the match – the Mumbai Indians prevailed.
Batting first in the Super Over, MI lost their two wickets for 11 runs – with one ball of the six allotted deliveries remaining to be bowled. Jasprit Bumrah started poorly when the Lions came out to chase 12, but he discovered his mojo and bowled five superb deliveries to outfox Aaron Finch and Brendon McCullum and restricted the home side to 6 runs. MI walked away with the two points from the match.
Needing to get 154 in the regular match, MI were cruising at one stage, before the batsmen committed hara-kiri and brought the hosts back into the match. Parthiv Patel dominated the Lions bowlers at the start and raced to his half-century in the eighth over; the left-hander carried on to make 70 before he became the second of James Faulkner’s victims in the fourteenth over.
From 109-4 when Parthiv was dismissed – at which MI needed 45 from 37 balls – the visitors lost six wickets for 44 runs, to be bowled out for 153. MI needed 15 runs at the start of the nineteenth over, but Basil Thampi bowled a sensational over in which he dismissed Hardik Pandya and Harbhajan Singh and conceded only four runs. In the same over, Mitchell McClenaghan was run out too. MI needed 11 runs off the final over – which was bowled by Irfan Pathan, and the equation reduced to MI needing 5 off the final five deliveries after Krunal Pandya hit the first ball for a six. Brilliance on the field by Ravindra Jadeja – who scored two direct hits under pressure from difficult fielding positions, including one off the final delivery – meant MI fell short of their target by one run.
For the hosts, Thampi was the most-successful bowler, returning figures of 3-29. Faulkner struck twice in one over and derailed MI’s run-chase; the Australian, who should have had a third wicket if Thampi had held on to the catch offered by Kieron Pollard, finished with figures of 2-34. The leg-spinner Ankit Soni bowled a tidy spell too, conceding only 16 runs in his four overs while also accounting for the wicket of Nitish Rana.
In the evening, the Lions captain Suresh Raina won the toss and opted to bat first. The hosts lost Brendon McCullum in the second over, but that did not deter Ishan Kishan from going after the MI bowlers; the teenager collected a four and a six in the first two overs, before he got stuck into Mitchell McClenaghan, hitting the Kiwi pacer for 6,4,4 off the first three balls of the third over. The teenager welcomed Harbhajan Singh into the attack hitting him for two boundaries in the fourth over.
The Lions then lost Suresh Raina and Aaron Finch cheaply and that resulted in the brakes being applied on the scoring. In the ninth over, the Lions suffered another blow when Dinesh Karthik was deceived in the air to be stumped by Parthiv Patel. GL 56-4.
Ravindra Jadeja opened his account with a six, and he added 27 runs in the company of Kishan, who watched on as wickets fell at the other end. Kishan had raced to 36 from 19 balls at the end of the fourth over, but could only add a further 12 runs in the next seven overs. The teenager, deprived of strike, ran out of patience and attempted to hit Harbhajan Singh over the top, but only succeeded in miscuing it to Kieron Pollard. GL 83-5.
The hosts lost Jadeja (28 from 21 balls) and debutant Irfan Pathan in the next 5.5 overs – while also adding 27 runs, before Andrew Tye gave the innings some much-needed impetus at the backend. Tye, batting at nine, hit two fours and two sixes in his 12-ball 25, while birthday-boy James Faulkner contributed a useful 21 batting at seven.
The Lions ended their innings on a high, with Ankit Soni depositing the final ball of the innings into the stands at midwicket; the Lions had added 53 runs in the final five overs and finished at 153-9.
For MI, the wickets were shared by four bowlers. Krunal Pandya returned career-best figures of 3-14 – which included three middle-order wickets, while Jaspit Bumrah and Lasith Malinga picked up two wickets apiece. Harbhajan Singh was economical yet again, though he was only successful in picking up one wicket.
Brief Scores:
Gujarat Lions: 153-9 (Ishan Kishan 48, Ravindra Jadeja 28, Krunal Pandya 3-14, Jasprit Bumrah 2-32) tied with
Mumbai Indians: 153 (Parthiv Patel 70, Krunal Pandya 29, Basil Thampi 3-29, James Faulkner 2-34).
Super Over Details:
Mumbai Indians: 11 in 0.5 Over
Batsmen: Buttler 1, Pollard 10, Rohit (0*)
Bowler: Faulkner
Gujarat Lions: 6 for 0 (Extras NB 1, Wd 1, LB 1, B 1)
Batsmen: Finch 1*, McCullum 1*
Bowler: Bumrah
Result: Mumbai Indians won the Super Over.
Man of the Match: Krunal Pandya
