Marcus Stoinis leads Lucknow Super Giants to victory, dealing a big blow to Mumbai Indians’ IPL Playoff dreams.
Marcus Stoinis scored a disciplined fifty to match the bowlers’ outstanding performance as the Lucknow Super Giants improved their prospects of a play-off spot with a nail-biting four-wicket win over the Mumbai Indians in the IPL on Tuesday. The Mumbai Indians’ top order faltered, scoring 144 for seven, despite efforts from Nehal Wadhera (46), Ishan Kishan (32) and Tim David (35 not out). Stoinis responded with a 45-ball 62, including seven hits to the fence and two maximums, but after he left, LSG survived some difficult moments before finishing with four balls to spare.LSG moved up to third place in the IPL standings after their sixth win in ten games. Michigan, on the other side, suffered its seventh loss in ten games. LSG made a cautious start to their chase as Nuwan Thushara struck with his fourth ball to dismiss impact sub Arshin Kulkarni for a duck on IPL debut.
Stoinis hit two back-to-back boundaries off Gerald Coetzee, who conceded 15 in his opening over. K L Rahul (28 off 22) joined the party, hitting three fours and a six to collect 20 runs off Thushara.
Stoinis then smacked Bumrah over longoff as LSG reached 52 on the powerplay.
Mohammed Nabi held on to a skier at the boundary line as Hardik Pandya made a breakthrough, eliminating Rahul.
Stoinis, on the other hand, persisted as he and Deepak Hooda (18) added another 40 runs off 35 balls to bring LSG near to 100.
Hardik then removed Hooda, but Stoinis hit 50 from 39 balls in the 14th over before dispatching Mohammed Nabi for four and six. Coetzee bowled Ashton Turner, while Ayush Badoni was run out to offer MI hope, until Nicholas Pooran (14 not out) finished off the remaining runs.
Earlier, MI dug themselves a deep hole by losing four wickets in the powerplay. Despite a 53-run fifth-wicket stand between Wadhera and Kishan, the visitors were unable to recover from their setback.
Tim David hammered a few strokes in the dying moments, including a 17-run last over, to bring the total up to a respectable level.
The visitors scored the second-lowest powerplay score of this IPL, 28 for 4, in the first six overs due to MI’s misfiring top-order.
Left-arm bowler Mohin Khan sent Rohit Sharma (4) back, while Stoinis used a slow ball to induce a nice edge and remove Suryakumar Yadav (10).
When Tilak Varma, in form, was caught short of the crease by Ravi Bishnoi’s direct toss, MI found themselves in even more trouble.
MI collapsed to 27 for four in 5.2 overs as skipper Hardik was removed for a golden duck after prodding at an away going delivery from Naveen Ul Haq.
Stoinis was a useful tool for LSG during the powerplay, as his three overs with the new ball resulted in a wicket for 19.
After recovering from an injury, Mayank Yadav, known for his pace, had a chance to take a wicket, but Turner dropped Ishan Kishan (32) at deep square leg.
MI reached 68 for four in 12 overs despite Kishan and Nehal Wadhera’s fifth wicket stand, which attempted to steady the ship. However, LSG bowlers gave little away.
In the final seven overs, Kishan attempted to raise the stakes but was caught off guard by a Bishnoi googly. But Wadhera hit Mayank for two sixes and a four, bringing the total off the 15th over to 16 runs.
Then Mohammed Nabi hauled one off Mayank’s stumps, sending him off the field with apparent injuries.
