IPL 2016: Mumbai Indians bid farewell to Wankhede in style

Brief Scores: KKR 174/5 in 20 overs (Gambhir 59(45), Uthappa 36(20), Southee 2/38) lost to MI 178/4 in 18/20 overs (Rohit 68*(49), Pollard 51*(17), Narine 2/22) by six wickets 

84*, 62, 65 are the scores of Rohit Sharma this season while batting second, and the MI skipper once again looked on course for a big score when he started the 175 run chase with an 80m six off Jaydev Undakat’s second ball. But Mumbai Indians’ happy beginning did not last long. Umesh Yadav removed Parthiv Patel on the first ball of the second over to strike the first blow. Patel’s departure did not affect the plans of the home side in any measure though. Ambati Rayudu and Rohit made sure that the run-flow continued by taking the attack to the bowlers. Rayudu, in particular, took a liking to Unadkat just before the end of the powerplay, and smashed the left-arm pacer for 19 in the over.

The other spinner in the KKR ranks, Sunil Narine, removed Krunal Pandya in the ninth over and the pendulum again shifted, this time in the favour of the away side. But Rohit was still there for the defending champions. The right-hander brought up his fourth fifty of the season – all of them scored in the second innings – in the 12th over as he and Jos Buttler started to perform a repeat of their partnership that took the team over the ropes at the Eden Gardens. Narine was not there for the away side that day, and he showed his importance to the team on the night, removing Buttler with some acrobatics from Chirs Lynn near the boundary.

But the match was not finished. Kieron Pollard, who was playing his 100th IPL match, arrived in the middle and hit one ball after another into the stands. As Rohit Sharma looked on, Pollard smashed Sathish for three sixes in the 16th over to leave the team needing just 26 runs off the next four overs. Narine prolonged the inevitable defeat by conceding seven runs off the 17th over, but Pollard came on strike in the next over and finished the match by sending Unadkat into the stands. The West Indian also brought up his fifty off 17 balls with a six and confirmed the team's victory in their last match of the season at Wankhede. 

With three fifty-run stands already in the season, the opening pair of Robin Uthappa and Gautham Gambhir once again showed their prowess on the night by forming their fourth half-century partnership of the season. McClenaghan had the opportunity to dismiss the KKR skipper early, but the Kiwi pacer made a meal of a skier off his own bowling to give Gambhir an extra life. Similar to Gambhir’s 64-run knock last time when these two met at the Eden Gardens, when Rohit Sharma dropped Gambhir, the left-hander once again made the most of the opportunity and scored 59 off 45 balls.

Although Gambhir started slowly, Uthappa made sure the run-rate stayed above the nine-run mark by sending Bumrah and Harbhajan to the stands in back-to-back overs. The partnership was looking ominous, but Harbhajan removed Uthappa in the eighth over to end the 69-run stand. Shakib came and went without anyone noticing, but Gambhir and last match’s hero Suryakumar Yadav kept the runs coming and scored 44 runs in the next five overs.

Gambhir’s wicket hurt KKR’s momentum, and they lost two more wickets in quick succession to look out of sorts for the first time in the match. The 200+ score, which once looked possible, was out of the window. But, Yusuf Pathan was still at the crease and he along with Chris Lynn took the team to 174/5 at the end with some support from Tim Southee, who dropped back-to-back catches at the deep midwicket boundary in the 19th over.hey lost two more wickets in quick succession to look out of sorts for the first time in the match. The 200+ score, which once looked possible, was out of the window. But, Yusuf Pathan was still at the crease and he along with Chris Lynn took the team to 174/5 at the end with some support from Tim Southee, who dropped back-to-back catches at the deep midwicket boundary in the 19th over.