Gujarat end Mumbai Indians’ win run in rain-marred thriller

In a match in which fortunes swung like a pendulum in between two rain breaks, Mumbai Indians fought back brilliantly to take the upper hand but Gujarat Titans hammered 15 runs in a one over to chase the re-adjusted target of 147 in 19 overs to win the match by three wickets via DLS method at the Wankhede Stadium on Tuesday.

With the match ending past midnight, the players returned to the middle after 12:25 AM following the second rain break for one over, with the target for Gujarat Titans set at 147. With Titans needing 15 runs off six balls to win, Rahul Tewatia struck Deepak Chahar for four, and Gerald Coetzee hammered a six. Chahar bowled a no-ball off which they picked up a double, and Tewatia scored a single off the fourth ball. To add another twist to the tale, with scores levelled, Chahar had Coetzee out and with one needed, he failed to run out at the non-striker’s end. Gujarat Titans won the match and surged to the top of the points table and ending Mumbai Indians’ run of six wins in a row.

Former champions Gujarat Titans capped off a superb bowling effort with a clinical batting performance midway through the match and looked on course for victory. But in a dramatic turn of events, Jasprit Bumrah hauled Mumbai Indians back into the game with a brilliant hostile spell, claiming the crucial wickets of Shubman Gill and Shahrukh Khan.

Trent Bout and Ashwani Kumar also struck vital blows, and Mumbai Indians were cruising and bruising.

Despite striking a couple of early blows after opting to bowl first, the Gujarat Titans allowed the Mumbai Indians to race to 56/2 in the mandatory power-play with Will Jacks (53 - 35b, 4x5, 6x3) and Suryakumar Yadav (35 - 24b, 4x5) adding 71 runs for the third wicket.

With spinners Sai Kishore (2-34) and Rashid Khan (1-21) leading the way by bowling in the right areas with superb lengths and varying pace, the Gujarat Titans came roaring back and grabbed five wickets in the space of 26 runs to eventually restrict the Mumbai Indians to 155/8 in 20 overs.

GT managed to restrict Mumbai Indians to a small total despite dropping three catches in the first six overs.

Chasing the small target of 156, the GT struggled initially and reached 29/1 at the end of the power-play after losing opener Sai Sudharsan for 5. Trent Boult made the breakthrough for the Mumbai Indians, getting Sudharsan to edge behind to Ryan Rickelton.

But with skipper Gill dropping anchor and Jos Buttler (30) playing cautiously, GT were under pressure with a slight drizzle keeping the groundmen on their toes. But Ashwani Kumar’s entry into the match as a concussion substitute for Corbin Bosch, helped Mumbai Indians break the 77-run partnership the young pacers got him to edge behind.

Things turned in Gujarat Titans’ way in two crucial overs -- the one bowled by Hardik Pandya in which he bowled two no-balls and three wides, and then the other bowled by Will Jacks (15th of the innings) in which Sherfane Rutherford hammered 15 runs thanks to two fours after three dot balls.

That turned the tide in favour of the Gujarat Titans, as a 15-minute short break due to rain halted the Mumbai Indians’ progress. GT was ahead on DLS at this juncture, thanks to Rutherford’s lusty blows.

But Bumrah brought Mumbai back into the game as the pace spearhead breached Gill’s defence with a brilliant back-of-the-length delivery that nipped back in sharply and clipped the top of the front pad and crashed into the off-stump. Gill, who was dropped by Tilak Varma off Ashwani Kumar, scored a cautious 43 off 46 balls, hitting three fours and one six, to leave Gujarat 113/3 in the 15th over.

With 43 needed off 30 balls, Boult struck another blow for MI, sending back Rutherford in the next over, trapping him lbw with a back-of-the-length delivery slanting into the middle-stump. The batsman reviewed, but UltraEdge showed no bat was involved, and Ball Tracking shows three reds.

With 38 required off 24 balls, Shahrukh Khan struck Bumrah for four and survived a LBW shout and a run out attempt on the next delivery. But there was no respite for Shahrukh as Bumrah knocked the stumps down with another brilliant delivery that deflected off the back leg. Gujarat Titans fell to 123/5 in the 17th over.

With 31 needed in 18 balls, Ashwani Kumar got into the act and trapped Rashid Khan lbw with a brilliant seaming yorker, which was too good for the batter. The umpire did not budge, and MI opted for the DRS and got the decision. GT down to 126/6.

Gujarat needed 24 off 12 deliveries when rain intervened once again, forcing the players off the field. With Gujarat Titans at 132/6. At this juncture, things were in favour of the Mumbai Indians as the DLS par score for the Gujarat Titans was 137, and they were four runs behind. But in one final twist in the tale, GT won it on the final delivery.

Agencies

Brief scores:

Mumbai Indians 155/8 in 20 overs (Will Jacks 53, Suryakumar Yadav 35; Corbin Bosch 27; Sai Kishore 2-34, Rashid Khan 1-21) lost to Gujarat Titans 147/7 in 19 overs (Shubman Gill 43, Jos Buttler 30, Jasprit Bumrah 2-19, Trent Boult 2-22, Ashwani Kumar 2-28) by three wickets via DLS method.