Mumbai Indians lost their 8th consecutive game in this year’s Indian Premier League after Lucknow Super Giants beat them by 36 runs at Wankhede. Rohit Sharma won the toss and elected to bowl first. MI bowlers did a good job to restrict LSG under 170. It was pure brilliance from KL Rahul once again as he scored his second ton this year. Chasing 169 is not the hardest of jobs at Wankhede but LSG bowled brilliantly. Apart from Rohit Sharma at the top and Tilak Varma in the middle, no MI batters could settle and eventually they fell 36 runs short.
LSG skipper is very happy with his team’s performance and said that he is very lucky to have some great all-rounders in his team.
After the game, KL Rahul said, “Tried to stay in the moment and see what is expected from me. Fingers crossed I can carry on doing the same thing. We bat deep with Holder walking in at No. 8, he has hardly batted. When you have that depth, can play freely and take more chances. Think that is the only reason. Teams that can defend well and can bowl well in the powerplay and the death, are the teams that sit at the top and win tournaments. We were lucky enough to get some of the finest all-rounders, having them in the team, I have options in the middle. That makes my life easier.”
Let’s look at the talking points from the game –
KL Rahul’s second ton this season
KL Rahul almost single-handedly took the responsibility on his shoulders to help LSG post a competitive score of 168 on the board with his brilliant unbeaten 103. It was his second ton in this year’s IPL and his 4th IPL ton overall. His innings included 12 boundaries and 4 sixes, one of which he hit in the final over to reach the landmark. Rahul became the second player after Virat Kohli to score two 100s against the same opponent in a single season.
Manish Pandey’s looked off-colour again
LSG gave all their trust to sign Manish Pandey in the auction but he has not been a hit so far for them. Pandey played a world-class knock in the 2014 IPL final to help Gautam Gambhir’s KKR win the title that year. This season he is playing under the mentorship of Gambhir at LSG but he has only managed to score 88 runs in 6 innings with a poor strike rate of 110. Against Mumbai, he did help to build a 58 run partnership with Rahul but he scored a run a ball 22.
Ishan Kishan’s slow start
MI’s 15.25 CR signing Ishan Kishan has been a flop for them this year. Chasing 169, MI needed a good start. Even though Rohit Sharma played a good knock of 39, Kishan struggled at the other end. He could not hit a single boundary in his 8-run knock off 20 balls. That increased the asking rate even more and other batters came under pressure. Tilak Varma did show some fight but it was too much to ask from a batting unit which didn’t click as yet.
