With the help of a brutal death-over assault by Abhinav Manohar and David Miller and a spin-demolition of the Mumbai Indians batting lineup, which was captained by the great Noor Ahmed and Rashid Khan, Gujarat Titans handed five-time champions Mumbai Indians a crushing defeat.
Despite the failure of the upper order, Gill sets the stage
Arjun Tendulkar made a good comeback after struggling to finish his stint in the previous game by taking out Wriddhiman Saha and allowing only nine runs during the powerplay. Following the powerplay, Hardik Pandya also lost the opening pitch. However, it was Shubman Gill who maintained the momentum when he faced Cameron Green in the final powerplay over and crushed two fours and a six on the way to a quick and lovely fifty.
The Miller-Manohar surge then follows a lengthy calm
There was a brief calm before a 35-ball attack by David Miller and Abhinav Manohar after Shubman Gill was removed by Kumar Kartikeya and Piyush Chawla shortly after. Every bowler was attacked after the first over, which was bowled by Piyush Chawla who took 17 runs (his previous three overs have gone for a total of 17). No one was spared as the two battered the Mumbai bowling unit for 71 runs in 35 balls, with Rohit Sharma, the captain, looking completely out of his element.
After Manohar was fired, Tewatia joined the team and immediately started smashing three of his first four balls out of the park, further compounding their problems. Mumbai’s assault was deflated as they left the pitch as Gujarat scored 94 runs in the final six overs to initiate their own version of the powerplay.
Slow beginning to a tall chase
The chase got off to a slow start, much like the Mumbai Indians’ season, which hasn’t begun with a victory in almost a decade. Rohit Sharma and Ishan Kishan had trouble finding their timing against the pacers Mohammed Shami and Hardik Pandya. Cameron Green was sent to the crease after Hardik Pandya was softly dismissed after Rohit Sharma handed him a return catch. Undoubtedly, a surge was coming.
Mumbai’s impetus was never realized
At the conclusion of the powerplay, the Mumbai Indians were down 29-1. Cam Green and Ishan Kishan were both having trouble timing the ball and as the pressure mounted, they were forced to face the virtually untouchable Rashid Khan and Noor Ahmad. The middle-order collapse that followed was unavoidable, and Rashid Khan (Ishan Kishan and Tilak Varma) and Noor Ahmad (Cam Green and Tim David) each took two wickets in a single over. The collapse read 4-16 from 43-1 to 59-5, but it was far worse because the Mumbai Indians were not even close to achieving the necessary rate. From here, it was all downhill.
The reassurance and the letdown
It appeared that Mumbai was doomed once Suryakumar Yadav was ousted by Noor Ahmad, who claimed his third victim. Make no mistake, it was. Nehal Wadhera and Piyush Chawla did, however, score 45 runs in 25 balls to add some cheer to an otherwise depressing dressing room. Even Arjun Tendulkar got a chance to play today and even smacked a six off Mohit Sharma, but only with 63 runs left to win, and Mumbai staring defeat in the face. The Gujarat Titans have moved up to second place on the points standings after this largely one-sided match, while the Mumbai Indians are still in seventh place.
Next, what?
The Mumbai Indians return at the Wankhede on Sunday (April 30) to play the Rajasthan Royals in an effort to retake their fortress following a loss to Punjab after two demoralizing defeats. In order to compete for the top slot, the Gujarat Titans will now travel to Kolkata to play the Kolkata Knight Riders on Saturday, April 29.
