It was the Rohit Sharma–Ryan Rickelton show as the duo put on a show for everyone to see at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. Making a return after a long lay-off due to injury, Rohit Sharma dazzled under the lights in Mumbai while Rickelton continued his rich vein of form with another dazzling knock to flatten LSG and keep them at the foot of the table. It was Nicholas Pooran’s dazzling 63 and Mitchell Marsh’s 44 that helped LSG post a massive 228/5 in 20 overs. A total which is good but slightly below par on that wicket.
In reply, Ryan Rickelton and Rohit Sharma guided the chase through with a magnificent 143-run stand inside 11 overs as the Mumbai Indians overcame LSG by 6 wickets with more than an over to spare. Others chipped in too, like Naman Dhir, for instance and Will Jacks with the middle order. But all in all, a good, important win for MI to keep their hopes alive, albeit a slim one.
Nicholas Pooran’s beligerant half-century powers LSG to a competitive 228/5 in 20 overs
Put into bat first, Mitchell Marsh and Josh Inglis came out to open the batting for LSG while Deepak Chahar had the new ball in hand for MI. The duo were quickly off the blocks. They took the MI bowlers to the cleaners. Marsh was doing most of the scoring while Inglis complemented him well. The duo put on 29 runs for the first wicket before Inglis fell for 13 off 5 balls with 3 boundaries to his name. Allah Ghazanfar got a wicket to his name. Nicholas Pooran came out to bat next.
Pooran was quickly off the blocks and alongside Marsh to dominate the power play. The duo made sure that the power play score was 90/1 in 6 overs, with some big overs coming in for the batting side. LSG carried on the momentum in the middle phase of the game. Pooran and Marsh were unstoppable out there. Pooran scored his fifty in just 16 balls. The duo of Pooran and Marsh put on 94 runs for the second wicket before Pooran, the set batter, fell for 63 off 21 balls with one four and six sixes to his name to Corbin Bosch.
Captain Rishabh Pant came out to bat next. Pant played his shots a little bit. Just 2 runs were added to the tally before Marsh fell for 44 off 25 balls with 4 fours and 3 sixes to his name to Corbin Bosch, who had two wickets in the over. Aiden Markram came out to bat next. Markram and Pant tried to forge another important partnership. The duo added 23 runs for the 4th wicket before Pant, the keeper batter, fell for 15 off 10 balls with one four and one six to his name to Will Jacks.
Akshat Raghuwanshi came out to bat next. He got off the mark with the maximum. The debutant did not last long as 12 runs were added to the total before Raghuwanshi fell for 11 off 7 balls with one six to his name to Raghu Sharma. Himmat Singh came out to bat next. The duo made sure there was no damage in the end overs as they complemented each other really well. They remained unscathed and batted slowly.
MI came back well in the end overs and executed their plans to perfection. The duo of Markram and Himmat forged a partnership to stabilise things over here. They put on an unbeaten 68 runs off 49 balls to propel LSG past the 200-run mark. In the end, Markram was unbeaten on 31 off 25 balls with one four and one six to his name, while Himmat was unbeaten on 40 off 31 balls with 2 fours and 2 sixes to his name. 11 extras given by the fielding side as LSG were 228/5 in 20 overs.
For MI, who came back well with the ball, Corbin Bosch finished with 2/20 in 2 overs. Raghu Sharma bowled a good over as he finished with 1/36 in 4 overs. Will Jacks finished with 1/34 in 2 overs. Allah Ghazanfar finished with 1/50 in 4 overs. Jasprit Bumrah finished with 0/45 in 4 overs, while Deepak Chahar finished with 0/43 in 4 overs. This meant that the target for MI was a stiff 229 runs to win off 50 overs.
Rohit Sharma & Ryan Rickelton pulverise LSG to give MIÂ a dominant winÂ
Chasing 229 for the win, Ryan Rickelton and Impact Player Rohit Sharma came out to open for MI while Mohammed Shami had the ball in hand for LSG. It was the Rickelton-Rohit show from the get-go as they tore apart the Lucknow bowlers to all parts. They did not get off to a blazing start like LSG, but still, it was a fast start nonetheless. Rickelton was the aggressor of the two, and Rohit, after taking his time initially, was going all guns blazing.
Both batters complemented each other really well. MI were 71/0 in 6 overs of power play. So, MI were behind LSG at this stage but had a foundation to take the side over the line. It was high-quality hitting from both Rohit and Rickelton, and they never looked back after that in the end. They went beyond the power play and made sure to bat till almost 11 overs. They put on 143 for the first wicket inside 11 overs before Rickelton was the first to depart for 83 off 32 balls with 6 fours and 8 sixes to his name to Mohsin Khan. Tilak Varma came out to bat next.
Tilak was a mere spectator as Rohit was now upping the ante and putting on a show. The duo added 34 runs for the second wicket before the Impact Player Rohit fell for 84 off 44 balls with 6 fours and 7 sixes to his name to another Impact Player Manimaran Siddharth. Captain Suryakumar Yadav came out to bat next. Tilak and Surya tried to forge a partnership of note and added 12 runs for the third wicket before Tilak fell for 11 off 13 balls to Siddharth. Naman Dhir came out to bat next and made his intentions clear.
Naman was quickly off the blocks, and Surya also hung in there and got a couple of boundaries away. But Naman was the real star and took his side closer. The duo put on 24 runs off 13 balls for the 4th wicket before the captain Suryakumar Yadav fell for 12 off 7 balls with 2 fours to his name. Will Jacks came out to the middle with just the formalities required to complete the job.
Naman made sure there were no hiccups as well. Jacks was rotating the strike, and then, with 6 needed for the win, he hit a maximum over long-off as the MI side finally had a win and got over the line as well. Naman was unbeaten on 23 off 12 balls with 3 fours and a maximum to his name, while Will Jacks remained unbeaten on 10 off 4 balls with one six to his name, adding 16 runs for the 5th wicket. MI finished with 229/4 in 18.4 overs with 6 extras given by the fielding side.
For LSG’s bowling point of view, Impact Player Manimaran Siddharth was the pick of the bowlers with figures of 2/47 in 4 overs. Mohsin Khan finished with 1/47 in 4 overs. Mohammed Shami finished with 1/47 in 4 overs. Prince Yadav finished with figures of 0/24 in 3 overs. Avesh Khan finished with 0/56 in 3.4 overs. So, MI upstage LSG by 6 wickets with 8 balls to spare to stay in 9th place with 6 points from 10 games. Ryan Rickelton was awarded the Player of the Match Award.
What Lies Ahead.Â
So, MI keeps their slim playoff hopes alive while LSG have now lost their 6th consecutive match this season. LSG stays in the bottom place with 2 wins in 9 games. They can only get to 14 points. MI can still get only 14 points. Lots to look forward to for both teams going ahead. Tomorrow night, it’s DC hosting CSK live from Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi. Both teams have 3 wins from 9 matches and have 6 points. So, this is a must-win game for both teams.
Let’s see how this important clash pans out in New Delhi.
Also Read: MI VS LSG: Nicholas Pooran’s Explosive Half Century Powers LSG To 228/5.