KL Rahul proved once again to be the nemesis of Mumbai Indians, as his magnificent second hundred delivered a comfortable 36-run victory for Lucknow Super Giants’, in turn beating the five-time champions from this edition of IPL. Rahul continued his fairytale run against MI, hitting an unbeaten 103 from 62 balls using 12 fours and four maximums, while LSG scored 168 for 6 after being invited to bat at Wankhede Stadium.
In response, Rohit Sharma looked good on his 31-ball 39, but MI suffered another collapse, dropping back to 67 for four.
Tilak Varma hit a gritty 27-ball 38 to give MI some hope before Lucknow narrowed them down to 132 for 8 for their fifth win in 8 games to take fourth overall point total.
It was another collective failure for MI as they dropped to their eighth consecutive loss at the trot, the only team in tournament history to hold the dubious record while remaining at the bottom.
For LSG, all bowlers competed with Krunal Pandya taking 3 for 19 and Dushmantha Chameera gave up just 14 runs in 4 overs.
Rahul, who had scored a century against MI a few days ago, looked imperious, but he didn’t get enough help from the other batters.
Manish Pandey had a 58-run stand with Rahul, but he missed a set-up on his run-a-ball 22 as Marcus Stoinis (0), Krunal Pandya (1) and Deepak Hooda (10) paraded back to the hut in quick succession .
Later, Rahul added another 47 out of 25 balls with the young Ayush Badoni (14) to take LSG to a competitive score.
For MI, Australian Daniel Sams had an unforgettable evening as he conceded 40 runs in his four overs.
Kieron Pollard pulled things back a bit when he broke two wickets into two overs, while Riley Meredith took two but allowed 40, with Jasprit Bumrah once again showing his brilliance as a great all-formats.
Chasing 169, Ishan Kishan seemed low on confidence, but with Rohit in full swing, MI reached 43 without a loss in the first six overs.
The MI skipper broke five boundaries and a six during the power play to raise hopes for a successful chase.
However, Ravi Bishnoi put Kishan out of his misery in the 8th over, while Mohsin Khan, who replaced an injured Avesh Khan in the XI, got rid of Dewald Brevis (3) for his first IPL wicket.
Rohit then finished over the line as Krunal bred his former MI skipper, leaving Mumbai at 58 for 3.
Suryakumar Yadav (7) then backtracked after playing a bad shot to give Ayush Badoni his first IPL wicket.
Tilak hit two fours and as many sixes, but once he was sent back by Jason Holder, it was all over for MI.
Previously, the MI bowlers were on the money at the start, with Bumrah striking the first blow and Quinton de Kock (10) removing while Rohit Sharma made a low catch.
MI used four bowlers in the power play and LSG only managed 32 for one in the first six overs.
Rahul and Pandey struggled to up the ante as there was pressure from both sides.
Rahul then got into action with a max over deep mid-wicket by Unadkat, while Pandey put Meredith in front of sight.
The LSG skipper then pulled one over the deep mid-wicket, before slashing the next ball over the point for successive boundaries, as the Lucknow team amassed 17 runs to reach 72 for one mid-leg.
Bumrah was brought back on offense, but Rahul sent him over the deep square leg, then picked up a single to complete another fifty.
Pandey’s (22) battle ended with a top edge of a short ball from Pollard to Meredith.
Rahul long skipped Sams to leave the bowler shocked, who ended up bowling three consecutive wide balls.
The next legitimate delivery was sent over a deep back point by Rahul, but the bowler somewhat redeemed himself in the fifth ball with Marcus Stoinis hollowing out to Tilak varma at a deep mid-wicket.
After Pollard and Meredith quickly removed Pandya and Hooda, Ayush Badoni joined Rahul, who continued to push the boundaries for LSG.
promoted
Rahul beat Bumrah for a couple of fours, before crushing Unadkat for three more in the next over.
He reached three figures with a six from Meredith. PTI ATK KHS ATK KHS KHS
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