Mumbai : Rashid Khan’s valiant knock of 79(32) was insufficient as Mumbai Indians registered a 27-run victory against Gujarat Titans in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 at the Wankhede Stadium in Maharashtra’s Mumbai on Friday.
Rashid kept GT’s hope alive when it stood on the verge of losing the game by a bigger margin. His knock ensured that GT didn’t end up losing the game by a margin of 50 or 60 runs. Mumbai Indians set the tone of the chase from the very first over as Jason Behrendorff bowled a tidy over. Akash Madhwal followed by bagging the first wicket of the match. The ball struck Wriddhiman Saha’s pads, everyone was taken by surprise when the umpire lifted his finger to dismiss Saha. The wicketkeeping batter took a review and the ball barely struck the stumps. Saha had to walk back to the pavilion due to the umpire’s call.
GT skipper Hardik Pandya started the innings well as he found the boundary on the first ball. But his stay was shortlived as Behrendorff bowled beautifully to find an edge and Ishan Kishan made no mistake while taking the catch. Pandya walked back to the pavilion with a score of 4(3).
All eyes were on Shubman Gill, his innings could have turned out to be the defining moment of the game. However, Akash ensured that this possibility didn’t pan out. He broke through Gill’s guard and the ball went straight crashing into the stumps. Gill ended his innings with a score of 6(9).
Vijay Shankar and David Miller managed to hold on for some time but it seemed MI was just one step away from claiming another wicket. Rohit brought in Piyush Chawla to find the breakthrough and the veteran Indian spinner didn’t disappoint. He dismissed Shankar (29) by sending the bails flying into the air.
GT’s hopes of securing the qualification took a major blow when their rising star Abhinav Manohar was bowled by Kumar Kartikeya for a score of 2(3).
David Miller and Rahul Tewatia were the two batters taking the final stand for the visitors. They managed to keep the scoreboard ticking.
But the pressure of scoring boundaries on a consistent basis broke their partnership as David Miller was trapped in front of the stumps by Akash.
Rahul Tewatia fell on the very next ball as he tried to clear the boundary in Chawla’s over. His shot fell straight into the hands of Camron Green.
Rashid Khan came and started scoring sixes for fun with an inside-out shot and a reverse helicopter. He kept GT in the chase with his valiant knock unbeaten of 79(32)*. But in the end, it wasn’t enough as MI managed to win the game by 27 runs.
GT ended the innings with a score of 191/8.
Put to bat first, Mumbai got off to a fiery start as their openers Ishan Kishan and Rohit Sharma slammed boundaries at regular intervals. Rohit looked in rich form as he smoked Mohit Sharma for 14 runs with two cracking fours and one massive six.
In the 5th over the blistering duo took their team’s total beyond the 50-run mark.
Rashid Khan brought GT back into the game, dismissing Rohit and Kishan in a single over. Rohit went back to the pavilion after scoring 29 while Kishan played a knock of 31 runs in 20 balls.
Nehal Wadhera and Suryakumar Yadav rotated the strike brilliantly, not allowing the Gujarat bowlers to settle down while whacking the loose balls on offer. The Afghanistan spinner later claimed the wicket of Nehal Wadhera as well in the 9th over of the game.
Vishnu Vinod then came out to bat. Suryakumar was the aggressor of the batting pair, smashing boundaries regularly.
The duo of Vinod and Suryakumar hammered Alzarri Joseph for 15 runs with the help of two sixes in the 12th over of the game.
It did not take long for the Mumbai duo to dominate Gujarat bowlers and smacked them all around the ground. The pair displayed great resilience and determination as they brought up their 50-run partnership.
Mohit Sharma provided his team with a much-needed breakthrough as he removed the well-set batter Vinod, breaking 65 run partnership between MI batters.
In the 17th over, Suryakumar brought up his fine fifty in 32-balls. Rashid Khan bagged his fourth wicket of the match when he dismissed new batter Tim David for 5.
Mohit Sharma was on the receiving end with Suryakumar smashing him for three boundaries and one maximum in an over, gathering 20 runs.
In the 19th over of the game, Suryakumar slammed two boundaries and one maximum off Mohammed Shami’s deliveries, gathering 17 runs.
On the last over’s final ball, Suryakumar brought up his century with a stunning six and took his team’s total to 218/5.
Brief scores: Gujarat Titans 191/8 (Rashid Khan 79(32)*, David Miller 41(26) and Akash Madhwal 3/31) vs Mumbai Indians and Mumbai Indians 218/5 (Suryakumar Yadav 103(49)*, Ishan Kishan 31(20) and Rashid Khan 4/30) vs Gujarat Titans.
