Mumbai Indians OUT
MUMBAI,APRIL 25: Mumbai Indians (MI) returned to the Wankhede Stadium after 1083 days but there was no change of fortunes for them as they sank to their eighth defeat in a row, losing to Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) by 36 runs on Sunday (April 24). The five-time champions are out of contention to reach the playoffs while LSG climbed to fourth place on the 2022 Indian Premier League table.
Rohit Sharma won the toss and chose to bowl first. Jasprit Bumrah helped MI get a brilliant start as ex-MI player Quinton de Kock departed for just 10 runs with skipper Rohit taking a sublime catch at short cover. Manish Pandey’s struggles continued with the Indian batter as he managed to score only 22 runs in as many balls.
LSG’s decision to promote Marcus Stoinis to the number four position terribly backfired as he was dismissed for a duck by Daniel Sams. Krunal Pandya failed to make a mark against the team he won 3 IPL titles with as Kieron Pollard sent him back to the dressing room for just one run.
Both Deepak Hooda and Ayush Badoni failed to give LSG a strong finish as skipper Rahul kept running out of partners. However, the LSG captain continued his onslaught to score his second century of the season vs MI. Rahul’s sensational knock of 103 in 62 balls helped his side put up a score of 168 on the board. Pollard and Riley Meredith book took two wickets each while Bumrah and Sams picked up one wicket each.
In reply, Rohit Sharma showed signs of returning to form after a horror run in IPL 2022 so far with a knock of 39 in 31 balls. He put up a 49-run opening partnership with Ishan Kishan but MI’s 15.25 crore signing scored just 8 runs after playing 20 deliveries. Kishan’s dismissal led to a series of wickets as Dewald Brevis, Rohit, and Suryakumar Yadav departed in quick succession to leave MI in huge trouble.
With all hopes looking lost for MI, teenager Tilak Varma once again stepped up for the five-time champions and kept them alive in the game. The youngster produced a breathtaking array of shots to get the Mumbai crowd on its feet and lead the game to a grandstand finish.
However, LSG were in no mood to let MI win their first game of the season as pacers Mohsin Khan, Jason Holder, and Dushmantha Chameera put up an exceptional display of death over bowling. Krunal finished the job in style for LSG to ensure a comfortable victory for Rahul & co.
-PTI
