Mumbai: Lucknow Super Giants rode on a whirlwind 20-ball 63 from Nicholas Pooran to survive a mid-inning slowdown and post a par 228 for five against Mumbai Indians in their must-win Indian Premier League match here Monday.
Pooran cashed in on poor line and lengths from MI bowlers to pepper the on-side with eight sixes and a four in his minute-a-mile knock, which gave LSG the impetus along with Mitchell Marsh’s 44 (25 balls; 4x4s, 3x6s) at the top.
While Jasprit Bumrah (0/45) remained wicketless and overstepped thrice, Corbin Bosch (2/20) applied the brakes on LSG’s charge in the middle-overs as they looked set for a total in excess of 240 at one stage.
The early initiative was taken by Marsh, who hammered a six and a four off Deepak Chahar’s opening over.
AM Ghazanfar (1/50) provided the only success in the powerplay for MI when he had Josh Inglis caught by stand-in skipper Suryakumar Yadav. But the breakthrough had no impact as the hosts bowled poorly in the first six overs.
Perhaps, jaded after months of T20 cricket, an off-colour Bumrah not only missed nailing his yorkers twice but also overstepped on one, and Marsh smacked fours on both occasions.
While one of those fours came in the fourth over, Marsh hammered a gigantic six off Bumrah between midwicket and long-on which was even admired by Suryakumar.
As many as 21 runs came off the fourth over from Bumrah, and there was further misery in store for MI in the powerplay.
They brought on Will Jacks, who fed Pooran with deliveries in his zone, and the former West Indies skipper obliged with three massive sixes to race to 22 off eight from 3 off three.
Pooran then tore into Ghazanfar, clobbering two sixes and a four off the sixth over to fire LSG to 90 for one in the powerplay, which is now the joint second-highest score in that phase for any visiting side against Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede Stadium.
Pooran had gone without a half-century for 17 innings but he was certainly aided by MI’s poor execution. Pooran completed his 16-ball fifty with a six off Chahar in the eighth over and hit one more.
Pooran and Marsh put on 94 for the second wicket off only 35 balls and at 123 for one after eight overs, LSG had the game firmly in their control.
But Bosch derailed LSG’s charge with a double-wicket over in which he dismissed both Pooran and Marsh. The pacer nearly had a third when he squared up Rishabh Pant off one that went between his bat and pads and kissed the edge along the way to the stumper, but it fell short of Ryan Rickelton.
The LSG skipper fell for a 10-ball 15, edging one behind to the ‘keeper off Jacks.
From 123/1, LSG slipped to 160/4 after 12 overs and it might have been 160/5 had Bumrah not overstepped when he had Himmat Singh (40 not out) caught behind. Himmat did well to put on 68 runs unbeaten with Aiden Markram (31 not out).
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