Shubman Gill made a spectacular six-run triumph in his illustrious debut as captain of the Gujarat Titans thanks to an odd batting strategy employed by the Mumbai Indians in the closing stages.
Shubman Gill made an ideal debut as Gujarat Titans captain with a dramatic six-run victory in their opening IPL game in Ahmedabad on Sunday, thanks to an incomprehensible batting strategy employed by Mumbai Indians at the death. In his first IPL match in two years, Jasprit Bumrah (3/14) was at the top of his game, unleashing his fast yorkers at will to help Mumbai Indians limit Gujarat Titans to 168/6. However, Bumrah’s heroics were insufficient because Tilak Varma and captain Hardik Pandya could not match his brilliance at the bat. Things went wrong for MI, who needed 43 runs off their final five overs with seven wickets remaining, and they finished at 162/9.
Consequently, MI was unable to break the jinx they set up in their opening game. They last prevailed in their IPL debut match against the Chennai Super Kings back in 2012.
With the dew starting to set in, spinners Rashid Khan (0/23 in 4 overs) and R Sai Kishore (1/24), however, gave very little away with the ball. Veteran Mohit Sharma (2/32) changed the game with a variety of slower deliveries.
Hardik Pandya’s move to No. 7 in the batting order begs for an explanation, but Spencer Joshnson (2/25) and Umesh Yadav (2/32) bowled brilliantly in the 19th and 20th overs. Though he did manage a four and a six in the final over, Umesh emerged victorious.
Even Tilak Varma’s refusal to give Tim David a single is incomprehensible.
Ishan Kishan failed to open his account when he nicked a delivery from Azmatullah Omarzai (2/27) to Wriddhiman Saha, setting him up with some superb swing bowling, and MI lost their opening wicket without scoring any runs. Once Omarzai tested Kishan with inswingers, the batter could only manage to edge one to the keeper after Omarzai got one to go away.
fresh countenance As the experts debated the ideal lineup for India in the forthcoming T20 World Cup, Naman Dhir started off with a barrage of boundaries, thrilling fans like Ravi Shastri in the commentary box.
Omarzai had the last laugh after Dhir struck him for three fours and a six. The Afghan chose to have the call reviewed after the on-field umpire disagreed, and Omarzai was declared leg before wicket.
At the end of the powerplay, MI was at 52/2 thanks to a brilliant shot from Rohit Sharma (43 off 29 balls), who found one on the slot and flicked Umesh Yadav over mid-wicket for a maximum.
MI edged closer to the target of 169 thanks to sixes from Dewald Brevis (46 off 38 balls) against Spencer Johnson, Sai Kishore, and Rashid Khan.
But Sai Kishore trapped Rohit, and Impact Sub Mohit bowled and got Brevis caught to get GT back into the game.
While trying to push the pace, Tilak Varma (25 off 19) lost his life, while MI captain Hardik Pandya also fell short of finishing the chase despite getting near.
Rahul Tewatia hit 22 off of 15 balls down the order, while youthful left-hander B Sai Sudharsan top-scored for GT with 45 off 39 balls earlier in the game.
But without a question, Bumrah, who was sidelined for the entirety of the last edition because of a stress fracture in his lower back, owned the evening.
In the span of three deliveries in the 17th over, he dismissed Sudharsan and David Miller, although it had no bearing on the result.
Pandya opened the bowling in an attempt to make an impression against his old team, and Wriddhiman Saha (19) hit a wide ball through the off-side to give GT a lead.
Pandya made an error in line against Gill, and the crafty batsman utilized his wrists to whip him off his pads for a four. The MI captain then gave up 11 runs following his unexpected move to start the match at the expense of one of the top bowlers in the world, Jasprit Bumrah.
Gill found the barrier with perfect ease as GT got off to a flying start, while Saha managed to get some vital boundaries.
But MI were immediately successful after Bumrah was introduced in the fourth over, as the lead bowler dismissed Saha with an express yorker that struck the middle stump’s base. The former stumper for India failed to get his bat down quickly enough.
Gill rocked back to cut the left-arm spinner between covers for a four as Shams Mulani brought on the spin. After that, the GT skipper went down on one knee to slog-sweep Mulani over deep square-leg for a massive six.
Even though GT scored 47 runs in the powerplay for just one wicket lost, Piyush Chawla delivered a cost-effective opening over.
Gill attempted to break Chawla’s rhythm, but was unable to do so. Though he danced down the ground to hoick him, he failed to gain the necessary elevation, as Rohit Sharma—who isn’t often seen fielding in such positions—judged the situation effectively to execute a clean catch in the deep.
To the relief of the throngs of Mumbai spectators gathered at the Narendra Modi Stadium, the seasoned Chawla snared the big fish with a googly as Gill (31 off 22 balls) stepped back after getting his eye in.
But MI knew they had their work cut out for them since Sai Sudharsan was determined to pick up where he left off in the final match against CSK last season with an incredible 96.
