Mumbai Indians register fourth consecutive win

Sport360 staff 19:24 16/04/2017

Mumbai Indians posted their fourth consecutive win in the Indian Premier League [IPL] with a six-wicket victory over the Gujarat Lions at the Wankhede Stadium on Sunday.

Chasing 177 to win, the Mumbai-based franchise got off to the worst possible start, losing Parthiv Patel without troubling the scorers.

The early wicket brought in young Nitish Rana to the crease and the left-handed batsman, who has showcased good form in this edition’s IPL, raced to a quick-fire half-century to put Mumbai in control of the match.

Rana and Jos Buttler’s wickets put some pressure on Mumbai, but captain Rohit Sharma and Kieron Pollard put on a 68-run partnership for the fourth wicket to take the hosts to the cusp of victory.

While Pollard got out after scoring 39 from just 23 deliveries, Sharma was there at the end to complete the formalities. The Indian batsman’s return to form will be a welcome sight for Mumbai as he scored an unbeaten 40.

Earlier in the day, the Gujarat Lions managed 176-4 in their 20 overs with former New Zealand skipper Brendon McCullum top scoring with a 44-ball 64. His knock included six fours and three sixes.

Suresh Raina got off to a start but wasn’t able to capitalise as he was dismissed after scoring 28 from 29 balls.

It was Dinesh Karthik who provided some fireworks at the backend of the innings to take the Gujarat Lions to a challenging score. The Lions’ wicket-keeper’s unbeaten 48 came from just 26 deliveries.

Mitchell McClenaghan was, once again, very impressive with the ball – picking up two wickets and conceding just 24 runs from his four overs.

With this win, Mumbai move back to the top of the table as they have eight points, with four wins from five matches. On the other hand, Gujarat are struggling in the bottom half of the table with just one win in four games.

BRIEF SCORES

Gujarat Lions 176/4, 20 overs [McCullum 64, Karthik 48*, McClenaghan 2-24] lost to Mumbai Indians 177/4, 19.3 overs [Rana 53, Sharma 40*, Tye 2-34] by six wickets.

Player of the Match – Nitish Rana

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