In a welcome diversion from the recent IPL 2024 hit-a-thons, the hosts Lucknow Super Giants defeated the Mumbai Indians by four wickets in a low-scoring thriller on Tuesday on a sluggish Lucknow surface. After Marcus Stoinis and KL Rahul put on a 58-run partnership for the second wicket in 6.4 overs and their all-around bowling display limited the visitors to 144/7, the outcome appeared certain. However, MI’s pacers, Hardik Pandya (2-26) and Jasprit Bumrah (0-17), carried the battle to the last over with their economical spells, only to give up the two points in the end. With 12 points from 10 games, LSG has thus jumped up to third place in the standings, forcing CSK to drop to fourth.
The distinction is Powerplay.
Early wickets are a recipe for catastrophe, as the saying goes. And MI lost them horribly; in just 5.2 overs, four of their top five were back in the pavilion, leaving the middle and lower order to carry the bulk of the workload. After a cautious start, LSG were, in comparison, off to a flyer. The second-wicket combination of Stoinis and Rahul initially got their eye in during the first half of the powerplay, and then they went ballistic against Gerald Coetzee and Thushara to enable LSG swiftly surpass the asking rate. This was made possible by Nuwan Thushara and Bumrah getting the ball to swing.
PowerPlay
MI: 28/4, 4s/6s:2/1, RR 4.67)
This IPL, birthday boy Rohit Sharma lost his wicket to a left-arm bowler for the second time in as many games after feeding a sitter to short cover. After being called on for the match against Ishan Kishan, Stoinis—his archenemy this season—instead forced Suryakumar Yadav to return with a slower ball. After being startled by the LBW plea and momentarily losing sight of the ball, Tilak Varma attempted the dangerous single but was run out at the non-striker’s end. And the captain of MI lost his life trying to stop Rahul from edging outside the stumps on an extravagant drive first ball. MI lost more wickets than they had boundaries in the phase, playing 17 dots.
intermediate overs
MI: 68/1 (RR: 7.55, 6/2) for 4s and 6s
Even though the 53 off 56 balls partnership was the slowest fifty partnership of the season, MI really needed it. Ishan Kishan (32 off 36) and Nehal Wadhera (46 off 41) persevered to get their team out of a deficit. Kishan, the set batter, restored the boundaries even though it was challenging to remove the spinners often. But after one too many, the MI opener top-edged a googly attempt at a planned sweep by Ravi Bishnoi. The most expensive over of MI’s innings was when Wadhera struck Mayank Yadav with back-to-back sixes after deciding he had had enough.
Death is over
(RR: 9.6, 4s/6s: 4/1) MI: 48/2
With Tim David providing support and Wadhera changing gears, MI could have hoped for a higher score than anticipated. Mohsin Khan, however, came back and denied him a half-century with a flawless yorker. MI would have scored even less than the 144/7 they managed if David hadn’t taken Mohsin apart with three fours and a six during his last overs session. Mohammad Nabi kept disappointing MI.
Super Giants of Lucknow
PowerPlay
LSG: 52/1 (RR: 8.67, 6/2) for 4s and 6s
When a Thushara outswinger trapped Arshin Kulkarni for LBW on his debut, he became the second IPL opener to record a golden duck. However, Stoinis and Rahul’s simultaneous assault, which resulted in a fifty partnership in just 28 deliveries, allowed LSG to advance rapidly. After hammering two boundaries in Coetzee’s opening over, Stoinis extended the score to 15 runs, then Rahul finished his PowerPlay innings with a devastating 6, 4, 4. The Australian even welcomed Bumrah back with a six, laying a strong foundation for the hosts’ pursuit.
intermediate overs
LSG: 64/3 (RR: 7.11, 6/1) for 4s and 6s
In the middle overs phase, MI performed better than LSG, but the hosts were able to afford the slowdown because of that fifty partnership’s cushion. In addition to hitting a first-ball duck, Pandya also caused his opponent to skye a catch on his second delivery of the match to deep midwicket, where Nabi made a stunning catch that was just inches inside the ropes. MI only bowled four overs of spin during this session, mostly because to Stonis’s prolific scoring against Nabi and Piyush Chawla, who he took for a 39-ball half-century and a total of 29 runs in just 16 deliveries. But as the final overs drew near, he also lost his wicket to the former captain of Afghanistan.
Death is over
29/2 (RR 6.69, 4s:2) LSG
With the ask of 30 runs in six overs on a surface that did not favour stroke play from ball one, as Nic Pooran discovered, LSG had two rather inexperienced batsmen in the middle in less than ten balls. Bumrah’s 17th over, which yielded just one run, put the batters under pressure. Coetzee, seeking a huge shot, cleaned up Ashton Turner. With a few of boundary strokes, Ayush Badoni relieved some of the pressure, but in a seesawing final over, Pandya also removed him. Pooran was lucky when he attempted a slog and managed to run into the fence for a timely boundary, narrowly missing the diving ‘keeper.
Brief scores: Mumbai Indians lost to Lucknow Super Giants 145/6 in 19.2 overs (Marcus Stoinis 62; Hardik Pandya 2-26) by 4 wickets after scoring 144/7 in 20 overs (Nehal Wadhera 46, Tim David 35*; Mohsin Khan 2-36).
What comes next?
On Sunday, LSG will go to the legendary Eden Gardens to play KKR, while MI will return home to play the team captained by Shreyas Iyer on Friday.
