IPL 9, Match 9: MI v GL - 5 Talking Points

The Gujarat Lions (GL) secured a win from the jaws of death as they clinched a 3-wicket win over the Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede Stadium. Aaron Finch was the star of the show with a wonderfully compiled 67 despite a dodgy hamstring. Class and character combined at its very best. However, while Suresh Raina and co. have indeed made it three out of three, the Mumbai Indians have slumped to their second consecutive defeat at the Wankhede Stadium, something that seldom happens in the context of the IPL. Rohit Sharma and the Mumbai Indians will certainly feel hard done by as they didn’t do much wrong except for their hard work be undone by a virtuoso batting performance by Aussie star Aaron Finch.

1. Lions on the prowl:

While Rohit Sharma had played a wonderful knock at the Eden Gardens, it seemed as though the magic had worn off. However, despite some irresponsible shot making from the Mumbai Indians’ batsmen, credit must certainly be given to the bowlers of the Gujarat Lions. Dhawal Kulkarni played the role of wrecker-in-chief as the Mumbai top-order fell away with little or no resistance. Leg-spinner Pravin Tambe too chimed in with a virtuoso performance, as he usually does. Kulkarni and Tambe picked up two wickets apiece as the top 4 was dismissed in a matter of minutes with the score at 59 off 10 overs. While the likes of Faulkner and Bravo chipped in with a wicket apiece, the fielding from the Lions was nothing short of exemplary. Dinesh Karthik was a revelation behind the stumps with a catch, a runout and a stumping.

2. Parthiv Patel keeps Gujarat in check:

While wickets tumbled down the other end, there was one thing constant for the Mumbai Indians in the opening few overs. Parthiv Patel isn’t exactly the biggest man in their batting lineup. However, his budgie forearms and willpower seem to be enough to quench his predicament. His predicament is usually the itch to smash each and every ball to the boundary or perhaps even further. The Mumbai Indians wicket-keeper batsman weathered the storm from Dhawal Kulkarni and remained unbeaten right through the opening 10 overs. When he was eventually dismissed by Pravin Tambe in the 12th over, Patel had amassed 34 runs from 29 deliveries including two boundaries and two sixes.

3. The ‘other’ Pandya to the rescue:

Everyone is familiar with Hardik Pandya. It is certainly difficult to forget someone who won the match for India against Bangladesh in rather impossible circumstances. However, this time around, it wasn’t the bat of Hardik Pandya that saved the Mumbai Indians from posting a low score. Krunal Pandya, the older of the Pandya brothers chimed in with a blistering innings of 20 from just 11 deliveries. To many fans’ astonishment, these were good cricketing shots and Krunal exhibited amazing athleticism courtesy of his running between the wickets. He also assisted Tim Southee as the latter clobbered the Lions’ death bowlers to all parts of the Wankhede with 25 off just 11 balls including 2 sixes. The duo were instrumental in posting a decent total, in excess of 140, thereby giving the MI something to defend.

4. Suresh Raina’s captaincy:

It is no secret that GL skipper Suresh Raina is out of form with the bat. His performances in the recently concluded World T20 attest to that fact. It was always a major question mark hanging over his head about how he would perform for the Lions, especially with the added burden of captaincy. Well, as far as I am concerned, Raina has been a breath of fresh air. He joined Aaron Finch and fought off the Mumbai bowling attack valiantly. Despite consuming 22 deliveries for his 27, it seems as though the old Suresh Raina is well and truly back. Three boundaries and a six may well be the tonic he needs to get him going in the future matches. He was proactive with his captaincy, placed the right fielders for the right batsmen and hardly let the opposition dominate the proceedings while he was in the field.

5. Injured Aaron Finch sees it through:

Aaron Finch is one of the most destructive batsmen in the world at the moment by a country mile. While he has the ability to decimate bowling attacks at will, this was a different innings from the Aussie. Playing on a wicket that assists bowlers as well as it did was hard yards. However, the way Finch batted during the bowling onslaught, showed one and all something about his deep character. His character ensured that the recurring hamstring injury played little or no part in the quest to achieve the win for the Lions. He scored a fine 67 and remained unbeaten right through the innings. He also fittingly smashed a four of the final ball of the match, a stroke that happened to score the winning runs for the Gujarat Lions.

How did the match pan out? – IPL 9 Match 9 Review: Gujarat Lions sneak past MI in a galvanizing contest