IPL 10, Match 35, GL v MI - Mumbai Indians Player Ratings

Two-time IPL champions Mumbai Indians were on a merry run this season with 6 consecutive wins. They looked liked the team to beat in the competition and were only a couple of wins away from qualifying for the playoffs. It was just then when they suffered a shock defeat against the Rising Pune Supergiant. However, the kind of lineup they have this season, they could take the liberty of considering it to be a rare off day at work.

They were up against the Gujarat Lions in their backyard at Rajkot. Coming into the game, Mumbai Indians fancied their chances of winning the game against the inconsistent Gujarat Lions side. Suresh Raina won the toss for the Lions and opted to bat first. Barring Ishan Kishan, who scored 48, no other Lions top order batsman could get into the double digits. Some late cameos from Ravindra Jadeja, James Faulkner, and Andrew Tye helped Lions reach a decent total of 153/9 in their 20 overs.

In the run chase, the Mumbai Indians were firmly guided by opener Parthiv Patel. Patel continued to bat in fine form despite losing wickets at the other end. He perished after scoring 70 off 44 balls. Towards the end, Krunal Pandya was left with the job of finishing the task for the Mumbai camp with a wicket in hand. Irfan defended 11 successfully to ensure things ended in a tie.

In the Super Over, two shots from Kieron Pollard helped MI add 11 runs to defend. Jasprit Bumrah then bowled a phenomenal over to restrict Lions for just 6 in the Super Over.

Here are the Mumbai Indians Player Ratings from the GL v MI encounter:

Parthiv Patel – 9/10

Parthiv Patel was the star of the game for Mumbai with the bat. Patel had a perfect game and looked in sublime touch on the day. Chasing 154 for the win, MI needed a decent start to ensure that they cruise past this total. Patel lost his opening partner early on in the innings.

But, the wicket-keeper batsman played an exciting knock to show what he is capable of. He took the attack to the opposition right from the word go and hit a string of boundaries in the powerplay. He raced past his fifty and looked good for more. He finished with 70 runs to his name in just 44 balls with 9 fours and a six.

Jos Buttler – 2/10

Jos Buttler had a disappointment day with the bat. A lot was expected from him in the match and he was expected to give a flying start to the team. His opening partner Parthiv Patel hit the straps right but Buttler could not replicate the same.

He perished after scoring only 9 off 7 balls. The MI camp would want him to come up with better performances in the matches to follow. In the field, Buttler was right on the money.

Rohit Sharma – 2/10

Rohit Sharma’s topsy-turvy run in the tournament continued. Prior to this game, he had hit a brilliant fifty in the previous game. The match had pretty much created hopes for the fans that their skipper has got back to form. But, the inconsistency factor continued to plague him this season.

Rohit came in to bat at number 4 but ended up scoring just 5. He did not look comfortable at the crease. Yet again, it was a leg spinner in Ankit Soni who caused a lot of trouble for him at the crease. Sharma needs to rectify those struggles against the leggie.

Nitish Rana – 3/10

Nitish Rana has been the find of the season for Mumbai Indians. He has been amongst the runs on almost every occasion for the team. In the game against the Gujarat Lions, he got off to a start. He hit a four and a six first up to set things right for himself.

He looked good at the crease and was middling the ball with ease. A lapse of concentration saw him miss out on scoring big in this game though. He perished after scoring 19 off 16 balls.

Kieron Pollard – 5/10

Kieron Pollard came in to bat at number 5 after Mumbai skipper Rohit Sharma was dismissed cheaply. He was expected to shoulder the responsibility and take the team through along with Parthiv Patel. When Pollard hit two boundaries in his innings, it looked that he would do his duties too.

But, Pollard could only score 15 off 11 balls in the innings. With the ball, he had no major say in the match. However, his role arrived again when he was asked to bat in the Super Over. He hit a four and a six to set things straight for MI in the crucial over.

Krunal Pandya – 9/10

Krunal Pandya has been an impressive all-rounder for the Mumbai Indians this season. He started off on a good note with a brilliant spell of spin bowling. He bowled a supreme spell in which he gave runs at an economy of just 3.5. In the 4 overs that he bowled, he gave just 14 runs and bagged as many as 3 wickets.

In the batting, he got the team almost over the line with a handy cameo in the lower order. He scored 29 off 20 balls. Pandya showed that he could be the ideal finisher for the team in the matches to follow. It was his crucial six in the last over that helped MI level the scores.

Hardik Pandya – 2/10

Hardik Pandya did not have a major role to play in this particular match. He was not given the ball in this game and hence did not have too much to do in the Gujarat innings. However, he showed his presence in the field by taking a well-judged catch off the bowling of Krunal Pandya to see Irfan Pathan walk back to the pavilion.

With the bat, he missed out on the opportunity to bat through the innings. The platform was set for him to launch along with his brother Krunal, who was almost set at the crease. But, Hardik could only score 5 runs.

Jasprit Bumrah – 9/10

Jasprit Bumrah bowled the perfect Super Over. Not often do we see a Super Over having 6 deliveries but still the bowling side winning with a margin of 5 runs. Bumrah had to defend 11 in the Super Over against the likes of Aaron Finch and Brendon McCullum.

He bowled a no ball first up and then bowled a wide in the over as well. But he eventually ended up conceding only 6 runs in the over and that helped MI register one more win this season. Earlier in the game, he had bowled a very good spell as well. He conceded 32 runs in the 4 overs that he bowled. Bumrah even dismissed James Faulkner who was looking threatening with the bat. Earlier, he had bagged the prized scalp of Suresh Raina as well.

Harbhajan Singh – 7/10

Harbhajan Singh seems to have found a secret recipe to bowling economical spells. He has made it a habit of choking the run flow of the oppostion with precise and crisp bowling line and lengths. Harbhajan bowled his full quota of 4 overs. He conceded only 23 runs in his spell. With economy rate under 6, he surely has been a key player for the MI camp in the bowling department. He dismissed Ishan Kishan, the highest scorer in the opposition on the day.

Mitch McClenaghan – 1/10

It was a very bad day for New Zealand speedster Mitch McClenaghan at the office. He gave 50 runs in his spell after having been handed the responsibility of bowling with the new ball. Ishan Kishan took special liking to his bowling and plundered runs at will against him. McClenaghan posed no threat to the Gujarat Lions batsmen in the game. Having leaked runs at an economy of 12.50, McClenaghan went wicketless in the match.

Lasith Malinga – 5/10

Lasith Malinga was under tremendous pressure as he came into bowl on the day. He had missed the last couple of games for the Mumbai Indians and was under the radar of performing. He had conceded in excess of 50 runs in his last two spells for the Mumbai camp.

Coming into the game, Malinga came up with a much improved performance. He cleaned up Brendon McCullum first up to set things for his team. He then bowled the other big overseas of the opposition, Aaron Finch, to complete his double for the day. He returned with figures of 2/33 in the 4 overs that he bowled on the day.