Debutants Gujarat Lions became the first team to confirm a play-off berth with a thumping six-wicket win over defending champions Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League in Kanpur, on Saturday.
- Scorecard
Their victory also meant that Sunrisers Hyderabad, who are on 16 points have made it to the play-offs irrespective of what happens in their final group league game against Kolkata Knight Riders on Sunday.
Chasing a stiff target of 173, Lions hunted down the formidable Mumbai outfit in 17.5 overs with their skipper Suresh Raina leading the charge with a quickfire 58 from 36 balls.
Opener Brendon McCullum smashed 48 from 27 balls, adding 96 in nine overs for the second wicket with Raina to rally Lions after the early dismissal of Aaron Finch, in the first over.
If Raina and McCullum started the carnage, it was Dwayne Smith, who provided the final flourish with a blazing innings of 37 from 23 balls, hitting four boundaries and two sixes to guide Gujarat to a convincing victory, their ninth in 14 games in the league stages.
Meanwhile, Mumbai's chances of making it to the play-offs depends on the results of Sunday's matches. They will need Kolkata Knight Riders to lose against Sunrisers Hyderabad, and also hope that Royal Challengers beat Delhi Daredevils.
The difference between the two teams was the whopping 48 dot balls that Gujarat Lions bowled and poor fielding that cost Mumbai atleast 15 runs.
Mumbai Indians started well with R Vinay Kumar trapping Aaron Finch leg before wicket for a duck in the very first over.
However, Gujarat went on the attack after that early wicket as Raina and McCullum -- two of the most explosive players in the T20 format -- took the MI attack to the cleaners with a flurry of boundaries in the Powerplay.
The duo rallied Gujarat Lions to an imposing 70 for one in six overs with 37 runs coming from the last two overs bowled by Krunal Pandya and Jasprit Bumrah respectively.
It was McCullum, who hit the first boundary off Jasprit Bumrah with a drive through mid-off. Having helped himself with another clip off pads off Vinay's bowling, the former New Zealand captain was in his element when Krunal Pandya with his flat left-arm orthodox was introduced into the attack.
He smashed the spinner for two boundaries and a six in his first over to put his team in control of the run chase.
Bumrah, Harbhajan all lost their lengths and were punished by McCullum. He was finally bowled by a Harbhajan as he attempted to pull it on the leg side but missed it completely.
But there was no stopping Raina as he played his trademark lofted cover drives, whipped off deliveries behind square and raced to his half-century from just 30 balls.
The MI bowlers tried to pepper the Lions captain with short deliveries but he was equal to the task as he slashed one off Mitchell McLenaghan over third man for a six apart from three fours from the same over. Raina's second six was over deep mid-wicket off Bumrah's bowling.
Even after McCullum left, Raina did not let the tempo down as he carried on playing his natural game before he top edged a flick off Bumrah and was caught by Buttler behind the stumps.
But Smith saw to it that there were no hiccups in the chase as he kept hitting regular boundaries to take Mumbai to victory in the 18th over.
Earlier, Delhi youngster Nitish Rana hit his maiden half-century in the IPL as his scintillating 70 enabled Mumbai Indians post a competitive 172 for eight in their 20 overs.
Left-handed Rana blasted the Lions attack to hit seven fours and four sixes in only 36 balls. There were useful contributions from skipper Rohit Sharma (30 off 17 balls), Jos Buttler (33 off 31 balls) at the top of the order.
In fact after Rohit's brief onslaught initially, it was Rana-Buttler combination that added 75 runs in 53 overs to lay the foundation for a decent total.
Rana treated the spinners especially Shadab Jakati with a lot of contempt hitting him for three boundaries in an over including one which brought up his maiden IPL 50 off only 28 balls. He was finally dismissed when he failed to clear the deep square fielder Kulkarni off a Bravo slower.
For Lions, Dwayne Bravo was the best bowler on view with figures of two for 23 in four overs with 10 dot balls to his credit.
© 2024 Rediff.com -