MI beat Gujarat Lions by 6 wickets

With valuable contributions from most their batsmen, the Mumbai Indians beat the Gujarat Lions by 6 wickets. Rohit Sharma found some form while Pollard continued his exploits from the previous match.

Lions set it up at the Wankhede

After Dwayne Smith’s dismissal in the first over of the match, Suresh Raina and Brendon McCullum set up Guajarat Lions for a big total. McCullum went on to score 64 in 44 balls and in form keeper-batsman Dinesh Karthik once again proved what an asset he can be to any side’s middle order. 

The ex-New Zealand skipper had a slow start but caught up on the strike rate soon enough, while Karthik had only 28 balls to make his presence felt. He went on to get 48 with the help of 2 sixes and 3 fours and gave the Gujarat Lions a total of 176 to bowl to.

MI yet to get the perfect start

Praveen Kumar repeated the favor for the Lions by striking in the very first over only. Parthiv Patel who has been vital to Mumbai’s starts had to walk back early and was replaced by the young Nitish Rana. The Delhi batsman once again delivered for the Mumbai Indians with his 36 ball 53 which included 4 fours and 2 sixes. Jos Buttler got a start but like most of his innings this season, wasn’t able to convert it into a big score. 

A Pollard and Rohit finish

Rana and Buttler’s wickets in the 10th and 12th over respectively might have shaken up the Mumbai camp, but the experience of Rohit Sharma and Kieron Pollard didn’t fail them. Rohit who has been struggling since his comeback found the middle of his bat while Pollard dismissed off the Gujarat bowling to all parts of the Wankhede. Pollard(39 off 23) fell on the first ball of the penultimate over but his hard-hitting had left Mumbai with just 17 to get of the 11 balls. Rohit Sharma scored the winning runs and ended with 40 off 29 balls.

The Mumbai Indians have found themselves early this IPL and seem like the team to beat now. Their next fixture is an away game against the Kings XI Punjab.