It was an evening where Mumbai Indians’ optimism would have grown many folds. After enduring a poor start to the season, they now appear to know which is their best-balanced first XI. If the IPL is about peaking at the right time, then MI seem to have cracked the code with an all-round effort.
Bumrah on the money
With Mitchell Santner missing the game with an injury, Will Jacks, an all-rounder delivered the crushing blows to LSG with his off-spin. Nicholas Pooran is always looking for the big shot. During his 15-ball stay, Pooran had a couple of close shaves. The innocuous delivery from Jacks would have ended up at the boundary ropes on any other day. Instead, as the southpaw went aerial, Suryakumar Yadav pouched it at long-off. Off the next ball, Rishabh Pant hit a boundary but off the next delivery he would press the self-destruction button once again by going for a reverse-sweep that lobbed up in slow-mo to Karn Sharma at fine-leg. Those two key wickets in the space of three deliveries meant, the good start LSG had at 60/1 by the end of powerplay would be wasted.
Playing the big knock now rested on Mitchell Marsh’s broad shoulders. Once again, he looked in touch, muscling shots with ridiculous ease, but Trent Boult’s slower delivery ended his stay for 34. Thereafter, Ayush Badoni and David Miller (impact sub) kept Lucknow in the game, ensuring the required run-rate stayed within their reach until another well-disguised slower ball from Boult saw Badoni lob one to point.
And in the next over Bumrah chose to finish off Lucknow’s resistance. Off the second ball, he would end David Miller’s stay with a low full-toss before finishing the over with two outstanding yorkers. The first one, bowled at 122kmph, would completely outfox Abdul Samad, who was half-way down his shot by the time the ball sneaked past and knocked the middle-stump. Off the next, bowled at 140 kph-plus, Avesh Khan stood no chance as this time, it took the off-stump.
MI’s batting might
On a pitch full of runs, Mumbai batsmen didn’t disappoint posting a 200-plus target. They effortlessly kept the run-rate at over 10 for nearly 90 percent of the innings as they strolled to 215/7. The ease with which they did at times, gave space for questions if they could have pressed the accelerator even more. From the moment Ryan Rickelton gave a smashing start at the top in the company of Rohit, Lucknow’s inexperienced attack was under pressure. Leg-spinner Digvesh Rathi has been their stand-out bowler but he had an off-day (4-0-48-1). He conceded four sixes and three boundaries, and the rest of the LSG attack, including Ravi Bishnoi and Avesh Khan, struggled too.
Mumbai Indians’ Suryakumar Yadav tonks the ball at the Wankhede Stadium against Lucknow. (Express Photo by Amit Chakravarty)
To get wickets, Pant would bring in both the leggies, Rathi and Ravi Bishnoi. The move did succeed as Jacks struggled to find any sort of flow, but Rickelton had no such issues. Blessed with the ability to pick the length early, he would time and again get down on his knee and slog-sweep the spinners over mid-wicket as the southpaw single-handedly ensured Mumbai didn’t lose momentum. When he fell in the ninth over, he had made 58 off the 88 on board.
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From there on, the only question was how much will Mumbai end up with.After Rickelton, it was Suryakumar Yadav, who became the showstopper with a 28-ball 54 that included four boundaries and four sixes. In an innings where he inflicted the maximum damage on Bishnoi with his slog sweeps, a trademark Suryakumar special came off Prince Yadav’s length ball. In what appeared to be a pre-mediated shot, he got down on the knee with the intention to play the scoop, but with the ball climbing over his head outside the off-stump, Suryakumar would bring out a hook that carried over fine-leg for a six. With Tilak Varma and Hardik Pandya unable to get beyond single-digits, it was left to Naman Dhir and debutant Corbin Bosch to come down with cameos that ensured Rickelton and Suryakumar efforts didn’t go to waste.