Mullanpur (Punjab) [India], May 31 (ANI): Following his side’s progress to qualification two after the eliminator against Gujarat Titans (GT), Mumbai Indians (MI) skipper Hardik Pandya hailed Jasprit Bumrah for his performance, comparing his economy rate to “Mumbai housing prices” and added that having him is a luxury.
MI booked a ticket to Qualifier two against Punjab Kings (PBKS) for a shot at the Indian Premier League (IPL) final against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB). Inching past GT by 20 runs in a closely contested match at Mullanpur despite a fine knock by Sai Sudharsan, Bumrah played a big role with his spell of 1/27 in four overs, putting GT under pressure.
Speaking after the match, Pandya was appreciative of the opening partnership between Jonny Bairstow, Rohit Sharma, and his bowlers and admitted that the game looked “even Stevens” at one point.
“I thought the wicket got better in the second innings. It started to come on well, they got into rhythm and we realised we need to hold our nerves and back our boys. The way Jonny batted and started… for him to make his debut for us, it is a special franchise, coming in and playing the way he played. The way Ro batted. He took his time, and once he got into rhythm, it was beautiful. The way (Richard) Gleeson bowled. Jassi (Jasprit) being Jassi. Ashwani (Kumar).. everyone chipped in well and we held our nerves.”
“Whenever you think the game is going away, just bring him (Bumrah). When you have that, it is a luxury. It is like Mumbai housing prices – he is that expensive. I was just watching the scoreboard, and I thought if we could keep extra runs at the end, I had the bowlers to bowl it. It was important that Jassi come and bowl that over so that the margin becomes longer (the 18th over),” he concluded.
Coming to the match, MI won the toss and elected to bat first. They started off with a bang, with Jonny Bairstow (47 in 22 balls, with four boundaries and three sixes) and Rohit Sharma taking on pacers really well. Rohit went on to score his third fifty in IPL knockouts, making 81 in just 50 balls, with nine fours and four sixes. He also completed his 7,000 IPL runs, becoming the second batter to do so.
Fine cameos from Suryakumar Yadav (33 in 20 balls, with a four and three sixes), Tilak Varma (25 in 11 balls, with three sixes) and Hardik Pandya (22* in nine balls, with three sixes) took MI to 228/5.
Sai Kishore (2/42) and Prasidh Krishna (2/53) were the top bowlers for GT.
In the run chase, GT lost skipper Shubman Gill early. However, Sai Sudharsan (80 in 49 balls, with 10 fours and a six) stitched half-century partnerships with Kusal Mendis (20 in 10 balls, with a four and two sixes) and Washington Sundar (48 in 24 balls, with five fours and three sixes), keeping GT ahead of the required rate. However, some fine death bowling prevented them from winning as MI restricted GT to 208/6 in 20 overs.
Trent Boult (2/56) was the top bowler for MI. Jasprit Bumrah, Richard Gleeson, Ashwani Kumar and Mitchell Santner got one each.
Rohit got the ‘Player of the Match’ for his knock.
MI has booked a Qualifier two clash with Punjab Kings (PBKS) for a chance at the IPL final against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), while GT has been eliminated. (ANI)
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