Extending their winning streak to four matches, Mumbai Indians defeated Gujarat Lions by six wickets in an Indian Premier League (IPL) match here yesterday.
Nitish Rana (53), Rohit Sharma (40 not out) and Kieron Pollard (39) were the major contributors to Mumbai’s cause.
Chasing a challenging total of 177, Mumbai started off on a bad note as the home side lost opener Parthiv Patel (0) on the second ball of the first over.
Parthiv, who got a leading edge, was caught by Jason Roy at backward point off Praveen Kumar while trying to flick the ball on the leg side.
Opener Jos Buttler (26) and incoming batsman Rana then played sensible innings as both batsmen forged an 85-run partnership for the second wicket before the latter was sent packing in the 10th over with the scoreboard reading 85 for 2. In the 12th over, Buttler was also dismissed by medium pacer Munaf Patel.
Middle-order batsmen Sharma and Pollard then thrashed Gujarat’s bowlers all around the park and added 68 runs to give a crucial advantage to their side.
With 17 runs required in the last two overs, Pollard was dismissed by pacer Andrew Tye.
Hardik Pandya (6) and Rohit then completed the proceeding to give the hosts a fourth straight victory.
For Gujarat, Tye took two wickets while Praveen and Munaf chipped in with one wicket each.
Earlier, put in to bat, Brendon McCullum and Dinesh Karthik’s crafty knocks helped Gujarat Lions post 176 for 4.
McCullum played 44 balls and slammed six boundaries and three sixes to get his 64 runs while Karthik slammed 48 runs off 26 balls that helped Gujarat post a decent score.
Opener Dwayne Smith (0) was caught by Rana at backward point off pacer Mitchell McClenaghan with just one run on the board.
Incoming batsman Suresh Raina (28) along with McCullum then stabilised the innings, forging an 80-run partnership for the second wicket. For Mumbai, McClenaghan scalped two wickets while Malinga and Harbhajan chipped in with a wicket apiece.
BRIEF SCORES: Gujarat Lions 176 for 4 (McCullum 64, Karthik 48 not out; McClenaghan 2-24) lose to Mumbai Indians 177 for 4 (Rana 53, Rohit 40 not out; Tye 2-34) by six wickets
