Mumbai Indians depend largely on the batting of Rohit Sharma, as the team bats around him, but his form lately has been inconsistent. In the next over, Dwayne Smith (2-37) effected a double blow by dismissing Martin Guptill (7) and Krunal Pandya (4).
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But incoming batsmen Rane and Jos Buttler (33) held their nerves and played sensibly without losing any more wickets to take the team past the 100-run mark after 12 overs.
Gujarat Lions surged to the top by defeating Mumbai Indians by six wickets to ensure a top two berth along with Sunrisers Hyderabad.
Suresh Raina’s half-century helped Gujarat Lions clinch a spot in the Indian Premier League play-offs with a six-wicket win over Mumbai Indians in Kanpur.
Finch’s exit paved the way for Raina to enter, and he provided a signal of intent by hitting Mitchell McClenaghan (0-38) for 18 runs – three boundaries and a maximum – in the third over.
In fact after Rohit’s brief onslaught initially, it was Rana-Buttler combination that added 75 runs in 8.5 overs to lay the foundation for a decent total.
Nitish Rana was sent up the order and he scored runs at will.
Raina hammered eight boundaries and two sixes in the knock while McCullum hit eight boundaries and a six in his 27-ball knock. Out of 104 runs that he has scored, 76 have come in boundaries. Rana hit Shadab Jakati, Lions’ other left-arm spinner, for a six in the 13th over and three fours – two in the midwicket region – in the 15th.
In reply, Gujarat displayed an all-round show with the bat as they chased down the target with 13 balls to spare.
A massive 80-run win against Delhi Daredevils in their last outing on May 15 has boosted Mumbai’s confidence and they would want to carry on the momentum this time. This being the IPL, there was a small wobble, as McCullum, Dinesh Karthik and Raina fell in the space of 19 balls to leave 51 needed from 46. Smith and Ravindra Jadeja (21 not out) plundered 20 runs from the next two overs. They will need a miracle to stay alive but with a poor net run rate they can start thinking about next season.
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Their win also mean that Sunrisers Hyderabad, who are also 16 points will qualify for play-offs even if they lose to Kolkata Knight Riders in their final group league game tomorrow. Lions had bowled first in their last match at Green Park, and restricted Kolkata Knight Riders to 124 on their way to a commanding six-wicket win. “My teammates played a beauty today”, Raina said in the post-match briefing on StarSports.
