A no-show by Mumbai Indians (MI) batters nudged the side closer to the brink of elimination and gifted a four-wicket victory to Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in their Indian Premier League match at the Ekana Cricket Stadium here on Tuesday.

On a day when India announced the T20 World Cup side, its captain, vice-captain, and No. 4 fell for only 14 runs in Mumbai’s meagre display with the willow.

Rohit Sharma started with an inventive paddle sweep off Mohsin Khan but sliced the next delivery to the cover fielder.

Suryakumar Yadav followed in the same vein getting strangled down leg three deliveries after smoking a half-tracker over mid wicket. Ravi Bishnoi’s direct hit charging in from point caught Tilak Varma short of the striker’s end. Hardik Pandya’s golden duck meant the visitors hobbled to 28 for four by the end of the PowerPlay.

Ishan Kishan’s match-saving 53-run alliance with Nehal Wadhera (46, 41b, 4×4, 2×6) allowed MI some breathing time before rearguard muscle from Tim David (35 n.o., 18b, 3×4, 1×6) took it to 144 for seven.

In its pursuit, LSG needed back-to-back pull shots from Marcus Stoinis (62, 45b, 7×4, 2×6) off Gerald Coetzee in the fourth over to break the snooze that fell upon it after the early wicket of debutant Arshin Kulkarni.

Rahul took a leaf out of his partner’s book in the next over from Nuwan Thushara and pocketed 18 runs in boundaries. Stoinis reserved his onslaught for Jasprit Bumrah too, lofting the Purple Cap holder over the long-off fence in the sixth over. The LSG captain, however, perished trying to take on his counterpart Hardik Pandya, holing out at deep mid wicket.

Deepak Hooda top-edging a swat off Pandya to mid off could not slow down Marcus Stoinis either, who romped to a 39-ball fifty.

The game was in the home team’s hand when Mohammed Nabi prised out Stoinis in the 15th over. The fall of Ashton Turner and Ayush Badoni in the space of six deliveries prolonged the contest to the final over but could not prevent the inevitable.

Scoreboard

MUMBAI INDIANS

Ishan Kishan c Mayank b Bishnoi 32 (36b, 3×4), Rohit Sharma c Stoinis b Mohsin 4 (5b, 1×4), Suryakumar Yadav c Rahul b Stoinis 10 (6b, 1×6), Tilak Varma run out 7 (11b, 1×4), Hardik Pandya c Rahul b Naveen 0 (1b), Nehal Wadhera b Mohsin 46 (41b, 4×4, 2×6), Tim David (not out) 35 (18b, 3×4, 1×6), Mohammad Nabi b Mayank 1 (2b), Gerald Coetzee (not out) 1 (2b); Extras (lb-2, nb-2, w-4): 8; Total (for seven wkts. in 20 overs): 144.

FALL OF WICKETS

1-7 (Rohit, 1.3 overs), 2-18 (Suryakumar, 2.4), 3-27 (Tilak, 5.1), 4-27 (Hardik, 5.2), 5-80 (Kishan, 13.6), 6-112 (Wadhera, 17.1), 7-123 (Nabi, 18.1).

SUPER GIANTS BOWLING

Stoinis 3-0-19-1, Mohsin 4-0-36-2, Naveen 3.5-0-15-1, Mayank 3.1-0-31-1, Bishnoi 4-0-28-1, Hooda 2-0-13-0.

LUCKNOW SUPER GIANTS

K.L. Rahul c Nabi b Hardik 28 (22b, 3×4, 1×6), Arshin Kulkarni (Impact Player in place of Mayank) lbw b Thushara 0 (1b), Marcus Stoinis c Tilak b Nabi 62 (45b, 7×4, 2×6), Deepak Hooda c Bumrah b Hardik 18 (18b, 2×4), Nicholas Pooran (not out) 14 (14b, 1×4), Ashton Turner b Coetzee 5 (9b), Ayush Badoni run out 6 (6b, 1×4), Krunal Pandya (not out) 1 (1b); Extras (lb-4, w-7): 11; Total (for six wkts. in 19.2 overs): 145.

FALL OF WICKETS

1-1 (Arshin, 0.4), 2-59 (Rahul, 7.2), 3-99 (Hooda, 13.1), 4-115 (Stoinis, 14.5), 5-123 (Turner, 17.1), 6-133 (Badoni, 18.1).

MUMBAI INDIANS BOWLING

Thushara (Impact Player in place of Suryakumar) 4-0-30-1, Bumrah 4-0-17-0, Coetzee 3-0-29-1, Chawla 3-0-23-0, Hardik 4-0-26-2, Nabi 1.2-0-16-1.

Toss: LSG.

MUMBAI INDIANS

Ishan Kishan c Mayank b Bishnoi 32 (36b, 3×4), Rohit Sharma c Stoinis b Mohsin 4 (5b, 1×4), Suryakumar Yadav c Rahul b Stoinis 10 (6b, 1×6), Tilak Varma run out 7 (11b, 1×4), Hardik Pandya c Rahul b Naveen 0 (1b), Nehal Wadhera b Mohsin 46 (41b, 4×4, 2×6), Tim David (not out) 35 (18b, 3×4, 1×6), Mohammad Nabi b Mayank 1 (2b), Gerald Coetzee (not out) 1 (2b); Extras (lb-2, nb-2, w-4): 8; Total (for seven wkts. in 20 overs): 144.

FALL OF WICKETS

1-7 (Rohit, 1.3 overs), 2-18 (Suryakumar, 2.4), 3-27 (Tilak, 5.1), 4-27 (Hardik, 5.2), 5-80 (Kishan, 13.6), 6-112 (Wadhera, 17.1), 7-123 (Nabi, 18.1).

SUPER GIANTS BOWLING

Stoinis 3-0-19-1, Mohsin 4-0-36-2, Naveen 3.5-0-15-1, Mayank 3.1-0-31-1, Bishnoi 4-0-28-1, Hooda 2-0-13-0.

LUCKNOW SUPER GIANTS

K.L. Rahul c Nabi b Hardik 28 (22b, 3×4, 1×6), Arshin Kulkarni (Impact Player in place of Mayank) lbw b Thushara 0 (1b), Marcus Stoinis c Tilak b Nabi 62 (45b, 7×4, 2×6), Deepak Hooda c Bumrah b Hardik 18 (18b, 2×4), Nicholas Pooran (not out) 14 (14b, 1×4), Ashton Turner b Coetzee 5 (9b), Ayush Badoni run out 6 (6b, 1×4), Krunal Pandya (not out) 1 (1b); Extras (lb-4, w-7): 11; Total (for six wkts. in 19.2 overs): 145.

FALL OF WICKETS

1-1 (Arshin, 0.4), 2-59 (Rahul, 7.2), 3-99 (Hooda, 13.1), 4-115 (Stoinis, 14.5), 5-123 (Turner, 17.1), 6-133 (Badoni, 18.1).

MUMBAI INDIANS BOWLING

Thushara (Impact Player in place of Suryakumar) 4-0-30-1, Bumrah 4-0-17-0, Coetzee 3-0-29-1, Chawla 3-0-23-0, Hardik 4-0-26-2, Nabi 1.2-0-16-1.

Toss: LSG.

PoM: Stoinis.

LSG won by four wickets with four deliveries remaining.

With T20 World Cup selection round the corner, KL Rahul will have one final chance to stake claim on the second wicketkeeper’s spot in the Indian team when Lucknow Super Giants host Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League in Lucknow on April 30.
| Photo Credit: Sandeep Saxena

Hanging on to its playoff chances by a thread and fast running out of time, Mumbai Indians (MI) will hope its season turnaround can begin with the Indian Premier League match against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) at the Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow on April 30.

The dwindling returns from its batters, starting at the top with Rohit Sharma and Ishan Kishan, have been symptomatic of its ailing season.

The opening salvo had four 50-plus stands in the side’s first six games. In the three outings since, it has had none.

MI will hope Pandya’s 46 off 24 against the Capitals last week can help him turn a corner and bring some support for Tilak Varma.

With the ball, Nuwan Thushara has made an unceremonious start to his IPL career, conceding at 12 runs per over. The potential return of Gerald Coetzee will ease some of Jasprit Bumrah’s burden.

These issues hold a familiar ring for the Super Giants too, who will want to mend their inconsistent form before it weighs on their playoff contention. On the ascendency after back-to-back wins over Chennai Super Kings, Lucknow was handed a reality check by Rajasthan Royals last week.

To begin with, Mayank Yadav’s return to fitness brings handy reinforcement for a misfiring pace unit.

K.L. Rahul would want to put his spinners, Ravi Bishnoi and Krunal Pandya, to better use. The pair has bowled a combined 50.4 overs across nine games.

Calls for improvement will fall on the Lucknow batters as well, with the heavy lifting having been left for Rahul and Nicholas Pooran so far. The contributions from overseas starters Quinton de Kock and Marcus Stoinis have been too far and few between.

Squads:

Mumbai Indians: Hardik Pandya (c), Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav, Dewald Brevis, Jasprit Bumrah, Piyush Chawla, Gerald Coetzee, Tim David, Shreyas Gopal, Ishan Kishan (wk), Anshul Kamboj, Kumar Kartikeya, Akash Madhwal, Kwena Maphaka, Mohammad Nabi, Shams Mulani, Naman Dhir, Shivalik Sharma, Romario Shepherd, Arjun Tendulkar, Nuwan Thushara, Tilak Varma, Harvik Desai, Nehal Wadhera, Luke Wood.

Lucknow Super Giants: Quinton de Kock, KL Rahul (c & wk), Deepak Hooda, Ayush Badoni, Marcus Stoinis, Nicholas Pooran, Krunal Pandya, Ravi Bishnoi, Mohsin Khan, Shamar Joseph, Yash Thakur, Manimaran Siddharth, Prerak Mankad, Arshad Khan, Krishnappa Gowtham, Amit Mishra, Kyle Mayers, Ashton Turner, Matt Henry, Naveen-ul-Haq, Devdutt Padikkal, Yudhvir Singh Charak, Mayank Yadav and Arshin Kulkarni.

Match starts 7.30pm IST.