Picture Credit: BCCI/IPL
KL Rahul's unbeaten century knock followed by a disciplined bowling attack, handed Mumbai Indians their sixth successive defeat by 18 runs in the 26th game of the ongoing IPL 2022 at Brabourne Stadium, Mumbai. For Mumbai Indians, Dewald Brevis and Suryakumar Yadav showed glimpses of their brilliance with the bat. At the same time, Kieron Pollard tried his best to close the gap, but Lucknow bowlers pulled off a stunning victory in the high-scoring game.
Earlier, KL Rahul stamped his authority in the shortest format by scoring an unbeaten 103 in 60 balls in his 100th appearance in IPL. Rahul reached the milestone in the 19th over of the innings and remained unbeaten until the end. His 72-run stand with Manish Pandey was a crucial partnership in Lucknow's innings, but Murugan Ashwin hunted down Pandey in the 14th over. Lucknow Super Giants batters made a valuable contribution and capitalized from the solid start of 52 runs provided by KL Rahul and Quinton de Kock.
Let's take a look at some of the highlights from the game.
1. The opening partnership between KL Rahul and Quinton de Kock
The game was a must-win contest for Mumbai Indians and it was important for Rohit Sharma & Co. to get early wickets, but Lucknow openers had some different plans. Rahul and De Kock have been hitting the ball well, and similar display was available on Saturday. They added 52 runs on board and provided another blistering start to their innings.
2. KL Rahul's 103 knock
Lucknow skipper was playing his 100th game and must have wished to make it a memorable one. After getting out on duck in a previous game against Rajasthan Royals, Rahul turned things around in his favour as he went on to hit his second century against Mumbai Indians in the tournament's history. Rahul's match-winning knock was studded with five maximums and nine boundaries. Interestingly, Rahul remained unbeaten in the game and helped his side to post a massive total.
3. Dewald Brevis' 31 off 13
After Rohit Sharma got dismissed in the third over of the second innings, the onus was again on Ishan Kishan and Dewald Brevis to steady the innings. While Ishan Kishan struggled to score, Brevis was also in the middle on the same surface. The South Africa batter unleashed his lethal mode from the word go and went for a boundary on the very first ball he faced. His swashbuckling batting style was again on display in the fifth over of the game, when he scored 20 runs off Dushmantha Chameera's over. 0 1 0 6 Wd5 4 4 were the readings from the over as Brevis' innings brought back some hope to MI fans. But, Brevis' blistering knock was just a few ball wonders as Avesh Khan packed his bags in the sixth over of the second innings.
4. Disciplined bowling from Lucknow
After KL Rahul smashed a century, responsibility was on the bowlers to restrict Mumbai's batting before the target. Avesh Khan was the first to join the party by dismissing skipper Rohit Sharma in the 3rd over of the second innings. Khan finished the game with three wickets, while every other bowler except Krunal Pandya (2 overs) had one wicket in their kit. Lucknow's bowling was so apt that Chameera's 12.00 economy was the most in the second innings, whereas none of the other bowlers had an economy of more than 8.50.