IPL: Marcus Stoinis, Yash Thakur script LSG’s narrow win over MI

On Tuesday, Mumbai Indians (MI) fell narrowly short of victory against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in Match 63 of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 at the Ekana Cricket Stadium. Looking to chase down a target of 178, MI fell just five runs short, thanks to some fine bowling from Mohsin Khan in the final over, where he  defended 11 runs.

The win helped LSG go level on points with Chennai Super Kings (CSK) on 15 points, and also retake third place, while MI slipped to fourth.

So how did LSG pull it off against MI?

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Marcus Stoinis-Krunal Pandya stand

Mumbai Indians (MI) enjoyed a dream start after winning the toss against Lucknow Super Giants, with Jason Behrendorff removing Deepak Hooda and Prerak Mankad in the third over.

But, then came Krunal Pandya and Marcus Stoinis, the two game-changers for LSG.

Krunal and Marcus forged 82 runs for the all-important third wicket, and while Stoinis (89*) stayed there till the end, Krunal, though got “retired hurt” in the 16^th over, while batting on 49. That move from Krunal led to Twitterati, including Ravichandran Ashwin, into wondering if it was a tactical change in order to bring Nicholas Pooran as a much more attacking option in the death overs.

The suspicion even rose when Krunal came back to complete his quota of four overs, where he registered figures of 0/27.

However, the LSG skipper later revealed that he had cramps and had pulled a muscle. “I was having cramps, I pulled a muscle. I have always been a team player, anything for the team, so happy with the result,” said Krunal after the match.

Pooran then went for run-a-ball eight, including a boundary that he collected by beating the fielder at deep backward square leg.

MI squander strong start

Openers Rohit Sharma (37) and Ishan Kishan (59) had got Mumbai Indians to an aggressive start in the run-chase.

The two got to the 50-run stand in 32 deliveries, and helped MI reach 90 in the 10^th over before Rohit was dismissed by Ravi Bishnoi.

Once Rohit was dismissed, MI’s troubles began. Kishan followed suit in less than two overs, and Suryakumar Yadav (7) and Nehal Wadhera (16), who have been imnpressive recently, failed to make much of an impact.

The one player who made impact was for LSG, their Impact Player Yash Thakur. Yash is a newbie in his IPL career, but his performance on Tuesday showed that he is getting the hang of match situations.

His biggest moment came when he cleaned up SKY in the 15^th over. Suryakumar had looked to play the scoop over short fine leg, and he plays it early, eventually getting a thick outside edge to the stumps.

Yash’s next wicket came in the form of Vishnu Vinod, who was caught at deep square leg by Nicholas Pooran. From 90/1, they were restricted to 145/5 by the 18^th over.

Tim David’s resistance, and Mohsin Khan’s final over

Tim David had come in at five, with MI in a spot of bother. He made 32 runs off 19 balls, but towards the end, it seemed as though he was the lone fighter with almost no support from his partners. Nehal Wadhera did manage a couple of boundaries but was dismissed before he could change gears.

Cam Green came in at number seven, and in that partnership, it was about the two rotating strikes, and taking the game deep. Tim David forged a 27-run stand with Cam Green, but most of the runs were scored by David himself, with Green playing a supporting role.

MI needed 11 runs off the final over, and Mohsin Khan, who had been plagued by injury in the last year, was given the responsibility to bowl the final over.

After a couple of length balls to Green in the first two balls, and in the fourth ball, Mohsin nailed the yorker, with Green failing to connect the shot well. MI needed nine runs from two balls now, but Mohsin unleashed the yorker again, a bit outside off. This time, Green played towards cover but managed just a single. MI needed eight runs from the last ball, and Mohsin came up with a slower full ball this time to David. David collected a couple of runs that ball, eventually making back in at the strikers’ end despite a throw from Pooran. Yet, those two runs were just not enough, as Mohsin Khan showed what LSG had missed in the last few matches, a quality death bowler.

“My aim was to execute what I used to practice and back my strength. I told Krunal I will bowl what I was always trying. My run-up wasn’t short, even though I felt so. I was trying to keep myself calm and not look at the scorecard. My aim was to bowl six balls and not look at how much was required,” said Mohsin after the match.

The win gives LSG a huge boost in their bid for playoffs and all they need to hope is do is get the exact same result against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) when the two teams face off at the Eden Gardens.

MI, too, will face a similar situation. For them, it’s more like do-or-die when they meet Sunrisers Hyderabad on 21 May, the last day of the league stage.