IPL 2016 | Raina and Smith guide Gujarat Lions to the playoffs against Mumbai
A captain's knock from Suresh Raina and an all-round performance from Dwayne Smith helped Gujarat Lions cruise to a 6-wicket win against Mumbai Indians at Kanpur on Saturday. Earlier, MI scored just 19 runs in the last three overs to post 172, after Nitish Rana's 70 put them in a strong position.
Brief Scores: MI 172/8 in 20 overs (Rana 70(36), Buttler 33(31); Bravo 2/22) lost to Gujarat Lions 173/4 in 17.5 overs (Raina 58(36), McCullum 48(27); Vinay Kumar 2/17)
This is what IPL is all about. The race for the playoffs has never been this close. None of the final four spots were decided with only 3 league matches left in the season. The equation was this: Gujarat Lions win and finish in the top 2, lose and they can still make it but will have their fates in the hands of Delhi, Bangalore and Kolkata. For Mumbai it was much more simple: Win and they are through, lose and they face virtual elimination.
Suresh Raina won the all important toss yet again, and Gujarat were fielding first with an unchanged lineup. Mumbai however made one forced change, with Hardik Pandya coming in for Ambati Rayudu, who was sidelined with an injury.
1. Nitish Rana’s day in the sun
Night rather. But the 22-year-old arrived at the big stage with a bang. After Dwayne Smith again removed most of the top order, in Martin Guptill and Krunal Pandya, and left Mumbai reeling at 45/3, the onus was on Nitish Rana and Jos Buttler to build the innings. The duo added 75 runs for the 4th wicket with Rana playing the role of aggressor. The southpaw welcomed Ravindra Jadeja to the bowling crease with a four and a six, before smacking Dwayne Smith for 16 runs to up the run-rate just in time for Mumbai to raise their targeted score. Shadab Jakati was the next to face Rana’s brunt as the player brought up his maiden IPL 50 with a beautiful pull shot. His 35-ball 70 propelled Mumbai to a 170+ score.
2. Bravo and Gujarat’s smart death bowling
Dwayne Bravo was a constant thorn to the Mumbai batting, and having come to bowl only in the 10th over, the West Indian removed Jos Buttler in the 14th over with an outstanding reflex catch off his own bowling to end the 75-run stand. Most importantly, he kept a tab on the scoring rate, conceding only 11 runs in his first 2 overs. He then came back for another spell and got rid off the dangerous Rana, helping Gujarat restrict Mumbai to an under-180 score, which looked a distant dream around the 15th over. Bravo was also well supported at the death by Praveen Kumar and Dhawal Kulkarni, who combined to take 3 of the 8 Mumbai wickets to fall in the death alone. Gujarat gave away only 27 runs in the last four overs, to take a psychological advantage into the second innings.
3. Raina and Baz take Gujarat off to a flier
After Gujarat lost Aaron Finch in the first over, things didn’t look too bright for the new franchise. Suresh Raina and Brendan McCullum looked to steady the ship, but that cautious batting only lasted 3 overs. Mitchell Mcclenaghan was the first to face the wrath of the duo, conceding 18 runs. Krunal Pandya was not spared either as Baz took him to the cleaners and Gujarat had 70 runs at the end of powerplay and looked to be heading to an easy win. After 96 runs in 9.2 overs, Harbhajan Singh provided the breakthrough castling Baz for 48. Raina went on to score 58 before falling to Jasprit Bumrah, but by then Gujarat were almost home and dry.
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