Hello and welcome to the live commentary and match updates of the IPL match between Gujarat Lions and Mumbai Indians at Kanpur.
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What an uneven contest there. Gujarat Lions were on their own turf and on their own plane here. Nothing Mumbai Indians delivered their way ruffled them or affected their juggernaut. Brendon McCullum and Suresh Raina shared a dominating 96-run partnership for the second wicket and clinched the game right up front with some heady hitting.
Thanks 4 these type of drama and Pandya brother over action and >@ImRo45 's over confidence which kicked u out. >#GLvMI>pic.twitter.com/RCSLJMsfqm
— Virat Prem Kohli (@lmVK0hli) >May 21, 2016
Mumbai Indians would have spent the innings break agonising over how they were 15-20 runs short of what they ought to have achieved with Nitish Rana's strong half-century. Lions had really come back with the ball at the death thanks to the savvy of Dwayne Bravo, Praveen Kumar and Dhawal Kulkarni. Dwayne Smith had a spectacular day all round, finishing with 2 crucial Mumbai Indian wickets and then coming back on the other side and then ensuring the Lions' chased down the target of 173 with no more hiccups after Mumbai snuck in a couple of wickets. But the damage was done after Raina (58 from 36 balls) and McCullum (48 from 27 balls) stormed Kanpur stadium with a strike rate of 170.
And that takes Gujarat Lions to the top of the table and into the playoffs. Mumbai Indians are not out of it, but face a real challenge. They are now in sixth place and can yet rely on either of Royal Challengers Bangalore or Kolkata Knight Riders slipping below them with the Net Run-Rate. Kanpur's first night-cricket outing has been quite the well-scripted one.
Suresh Raina gets the MoM award. Felt it should have been Dr. Smith instead. Wkts, runs and a catch. >#GLvMI>#IPL2016
— Praveen Koppula (@impkoppula) >May 21, 2016
And Matthew Hayden hitting it out of the park from the studios...
If you aren't able to tell your mum what you have done, you shouldn't be doing it - absolute gold from >@HaydosTweets>#eit20>#GLvMI
— Amol Telang (@telangamol) >May 21, 2016
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GL 173/4 after 17.5 overs (R Jadeja 21 off 15 | D Smith 37 off 23 || win by 6 wickets)
And Jadeja cracks one on the off-side that was travelling all along the ground straight to Guptill at Deep Cover boundary, and it keeps going right through him for four . That's lethargy born of dejection, that. I know the feeling. And now, with just the one run needed to make the playoffs, Jadeja throws caution to the Kanpur winds, swings wildly, skies it over Cover where it drops out of a diving Guptill's hands, while the batsmen complete the solitary run.
GL 167/4 after 17 overs (R Jadeja 16 off 11 | D Smith 36 off 22 || need 6 from 18 balls)
Two run-out opportunities in the same ball. Jadeja stretches into the crease as the throw from Fine-leg crashes into his stumps and ambles away, then Smith crawls back in just in time as the ball comes hurtling into his stumps at the non-striker's end. Both safe. Jadeja tickles it into the Fine-leg boundary for four , and the batsmen run well to gather 10 more runs. Mumbai is about to be real real sad in a moment.
As a MI fan, all I can say is we don't deserve a spot in >#PlayOffs . >#ThankyouMI>#GLvMI
— bhushan kadam (@sachinislife) >May 21, 2016
GL 157/4 after 16 overs (R Jadeja 9 off 7 | D Smith 34 off 20 || need 16 from 24 balls)
Dwayne Smith is beating diving fielders even with mistimed shots tonight; goes for a cross-handed biff through the off-side, gets it thick on the bottom of the bat but carries to the fence for four , beating a desperate Rohit at Extra Cover. And Jadeja bashes it through Mid-on for four . 10 runs off it. Lions need just 4 runs off each of the remaining overs. What a walk in the park.
GL 147/4 after 15 overs ( R Jadeja 5 off 4 | D Smith 29 off 17 || need 26 from 30 balls)
Oh my word. This is mesmeric batting by Gujarat Lions. Smith has now clobbered a good-length ball for a four through Midwicket. There is literally nowhere the Mumbai Indians can bowl tonight. Ok, there is; Smith tries a lap-sweep to Mitch McClenaghan but... checks it in the end and gets one run... How do you even check a lap-sweep?! Jadeja ends the over by whipping it away through Midwicket for four .
GL 138/4 after 14 overs ( R Jadeja 1 off 3 | D Smith 24 off 12 || need 35 from 36 balls)
Smith pummels Harbhajan for a six over Midwicket. And then smokes it off the back-foot through the Covers. 12 runs off the over. Just too easy for the Lions. They have too many marauding batsmen, too much balance, therefore much confidence. And the RRR has come under 6 an over.
Dr Smith has treated MI....Well done Doctor >#GLvMI
— shubham sisodiya (@kunwar_sisodiya) >May 21, 2016
GL 126/4 after 13 overs ( R Jadeja 0 off 1 | D Smith 13 off 9 || need 47 from 42 balls)
Oh oh. That's the end of the captain here. Bumrah delivers a good length ball on leg-stump and Raina (58 from 36) is too early on the shot, skies it straight up for Jos Buttler to comes under and pouch. Great wicket but, well, the damage is done. The Required Run-Rate is a mere 6.70 per over. Besides. Smith is at the crease.
GL 121/3 after 12 overs (S Raina 58 off 35 | D Smith 9 off 5 || need 52 from 48 balls)
Ho Ho. So guess who is in. Dwayne Smith. The other half of the Shiny-Shoes Swashbucklers, in to make his fortune after partner-in-crime has departed after his own plunder. Yes. And it begins. Smith pulverises a short one from Harbhajan over Square-leg for six to open his account. Another 10 runs closer, are Gujarat Lions. What a champion side.
GL 111/3 after 11 overs (S Raina 56 off 33 | D Smith 0 off 0 || need 62 from 54 balls)
Vinay Kumar back on. Raina welcomes him with a glance and a pull through Fine-leg for two fours . But Vinay gets his own back by getting Dinesh Karthik adjudged caught-behind off the last ball. Replays show it flicked the third guard. Raina has fifty.
Seems like little lady luck is smiling on Raina, back 2 back 50s, and victories. Brilliant overall performance by >@TheGujaratLions . >#GLvMI
— amit rampal (@daAbomb5) >May 21, 2016
GL 100/2 after 10 overs (S Raina 47 off 29 | D Karthik 2 off 2 || need 73 from 60 balls)
How bizarre. Brendon McCullum (48 from 27) is gone. Harbhajan slows it down, McCullum misses the sweep, the stumps light up. Even as Baz walks, the umpires refer it upstairs. The third-umpire drones on about checking for the stumping, before we see that the ball has knocked the bails off on its own, bowled.
GL 96/1 after 9 overs (S Raina 45 off 27 | B McCullum 48 off 25 || need 78 from 66 balls)
McClenaghan persisting with the short deliveries. Is that all he can bowl or what is it? But he's effective this time. Gasp and stutter. No boundaries off the over. Just 6 runs.
GL 90/1 after 8 overs (S Raina 42 off 24 | B McCullum 46 off 22 || need 83 from 72 balls)
Harbhajan Singh brought on. McCullum says, “Welcome to the party, bro”. Quickly despatched to the Square-leg boundary for four and then smacked away on the off-side with a powerful cut for four . Another 10 runs knocked off the target. Pressure dumped right on the bowler's shoulders at the very outset with boundaries, these two batsmen are relishing this outing.
Good night. - A Mumbai supporter. >#GLvMI
— Siddharth Natarajan (@MadrasiVadaPav) >May 21, 2016
GL 80/1 after 7 overs (S Raina 41 off 21 | B McCullum 37 off 19 || need 93 from 78 balls)
Krunal back. What break? Raina chops it away through Gully for four and then delicately pushes it through Fine-leg for another four . 10 runs off that over. What end-of-Powerplay?
GL 70/1 after 6 overs (S Raina 32 off 17 | B McCullum 36 off 17 || need 103 from 84 balls)
Bumrah gets the yorker wrong, and Raina has thick-edged it over Third-man for four . Wow wow wow. Raina clears his front leg just a tad and eases into a powerfully-timed slog-loft over Deep Midwicket for six . Now, he's hopped up on adrenalin and is hopping at address. Full-toss to McCullum, swiped down to Deep Backward Square-leg for four . Back of length and wide, Brendon flat-bats Bumrah over the off-side cordon for a blazing four . 19 runs off that over to end the Powerplay.
Strategic Time-out. I think we all collectively need to catch our breaths here.
Meanwhile, some people are appreciative of Navjyot Sidhu's sparkling Hindu commentary:
Can someone put the glue on Navjot Singh Sidhu mouth . He is so irritating . Even he don't know what he is speaking . >#GLvMI
— आदर्श~The Lost Man ~ (@IamAdaa10) >May 21, 2016
GL 51/1 after 5 overs (S Raina 21 off 13 | B McCullum 28 off 15)
McCullum, what was that?! Krunal Pandya delivers it wide, and Baz stands square, stretches for it like a savage and power-slices him for a lofted four over Extra Cover. And now, some brilliant work by Hardik Pandya to stop a steaming pull-shot at the Square-leg boundary. But now, McCullum advances and biffs it for four past Mid-on, and then just stands and delivers a horizontal-bat sixer over Long-on. 18-run over, that.
GL 33/1 after 4 overs (S Raina 20 off 12 | B McCullum 11 off 10)
Ouch! McCullum has struck this straight and it knocks into Vinay Kumar's toes on his follow-through. That's going to leave a bruise. Looks like Baz doesn't need to be a bowler to deliver toe-crushers. Padampabish.
And now McCullum flicks a full-toss off his pads into Square-leg for four . Too good pieces of fielding from Mumbai Indians here, two big men throwing themselves to stop the ball; Kieron Pollard gets down and dirty at Cover and then McClenaghan drops to the ground at Short Midwicket to interecept a McCullum on-drive.
GL 26/1 after 3 overs (S Raina 19 off 11 | B McCullum 5 off 5)
Mitch McClenaghan replaces Vinay Kumar. Odd decision to take Vinay off after his brilliant first over.
Woof. What timing on that one! Raina merely pats McClenaghan towards Cover, but it screams off the bat and Krunal Pandya is stunned into misfielding it, and it races away for four . Raina now turns himself square and blasts a short delivery for four through Midwicket. And then, makes a bit of room and leaps off the ground to flash another short one up and over Point for four . And then a sixer , lifting himself clean off the ground to slash it high into the air over Third-man, to end the 18-run over. McClenaghan has worked really hard that over, kept banging it in short again and again and again. And there was a touch of despondency in the way McClenaghan put his cap back on at the end of the over there.
GL 8/1 after 2 overs (S Raina 1 off 5 | B McCullum 5 off 5)
Jasprit Bumrah is into the attack. Starts with a wide down leg-side. So that doesn't count. And now two beaaauuuutiful yorkers. First one is jammed into the blockhole. The next dips and swings away from McCullum's wafting bat. But the next one crosses the line into a full-toss, which Baz drives through between Extra Cover and Cover for four . Bumrah is rattled into bowling way down leg-side again. Again, wafting down legside for a leg-bye that Buttler does really well to collect with a dive.
GL 0/1 after 1 over (S Raina 0 off 4 | B McCullum 0 off 0)
Oh, it won't be the Shiny-Shoes Swashbucklers to open together today. Aaron Finch walks out with Brendon McCullum. Is Smith ok?
And Finch is going back after just two balls. Vinay Kumar bowls an skiddy off-cutter short of good length and thuds into Finch's (0 from 2) pads. Suresh Raina is in. But Vinay has bowled a canny first over — a wicket-maiden. And Gujarat Lions are 0/1 chasing 173.
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What impeccable death bowling by Gujarat Lions there. DJ Bravo, Praveen Kumar — and Dhawal Kulkarni to a degree — utterly stifled the Mumbai Indians towards the end after Nitish Rana had set the game up for the final overs with his 36-ball 70. A deserving mention for Dwayne Smith too who, before he lost his lines a bit, snapped up two key top-order wickets. Rohit Sharma once more flattered to deceive, Kieron Pollard never got going. And what could have been 190, should have been at least 180, ends up at least 10-15 runs short, at 172/8.
The bowlers have done the job. Now, it's time to get the pop-corn for a possible Baz-Smith blitzkrieg up front across the innings break?
MI 172/8 after 20 overs
Now, Praveen too takes a cue from Bravo's manual and delivers the toe-squishers from around the wicket. Harbhajan (3 from 5) keeps the first one out with sheer determination, but the next one he skews straight up to be caught at Deep Midwicket. Hardik has got one away for four through Long-off as Kumar bowls his yorker slightly wide across of off. But the last laugh is Praveen's as he bereaves Hardik (8 from 8) of width and forces him to play a cramped slog up into Mid-on's hands.
MI 166/6 after 19 overs (H Pandya 3 off 5 | H Singh 3 off 3)
Bravo sees Harbhajan on strike, and starts with a short riser that rises too much and becomes a wide. Bravo switches his approach to around the wicket, and Bhajji is not comfortable with the ball into his blind-spot. Hardik too is cramped as heck. When the ball is delivered with negative width straight into your blockhole, what can you do but excavate it tamely? Brilliant bowling from Bravo. Just literally unplayable stuff. Just 6 from it. And Bravo finishes with figures of 2/22.
Match winning over from Kulkarni there. >#GLvMI
— Harsh Shah (@harsh_shah811) >May 21, 2016
Mumbai Indians have been truly straitjacketed over the last two overs. 180 looks a far cry now.
MI 160/6 after 18 overs (H Pandya 1 off 1 | H Singh 0 off 0)
Kulkarni is despatched. Well, it was a miscue from Pollard, but it sailed over Square-leg for six nonetheless. Kulkarni comes right back with an unhittable full delivery, and then an even more unhittable yorker, and now Pollard (9 from 11) has been fatigued into slicing a full-toss straight into Long-off's hands.
Super flop Pollard departed... >#GLvMI
— UrsUmesh (@ParseUmesh) >May 21, 2016
MI 153/5 after 17 overs (H Pandya 0 off 0 | K Pollard 3 off 7)
Bravo deceives Rana with a slow dipping full-toss and the basher runs down the wicket only to swish a horizontal bat all over it as it passes him. But Rana now gets low and wallops it to Midwicket for four . Pollard is unable to get his Windie teammate away, bamboozled by the lack of pace. And now Bravo has struck after much hard work. Rana (70 from 36) is gone.
MI 145/4 after 16 overs (N Rana 65 off 32 | K Pollard 4 off 5)
Dhawal Kulkarni is back on. And Rana is upping the ante now. Quickly latches on to the short one and pummels it over Midwicket for six . 11 runs in the over. Much-needed Strategic Time-out for Gujarat Lions. They need to work out how to keep MI down hereon out.
MI 134/4 after 15 overs (N Rana 56 off 29 | K Pollard 1 off 2)
14 runs come off Jakati's over. Rana gets two powerfully-struck fours through Midwicket, and then slashes it over Short Third-man for another four . Just what Mumbai Indians will have wanted, making headway to a big score. And Rana is playing a gem here, having come in at one-down, gets his fifty
Rana is playing a blinder tonight. >#MI need all the runs they can get, the Kanpur stadium is one of the smallest in India >#GLvMI>#IPL2016
— Cricbuzz (@cricbuzz) >May 21, 2016
MI 120/4 after 14 overs (N Rana 43 off 24 | K Pollard 0 off 0)
Bravo is now lofted over Extra Cover for a four by Rana. Persisting with his slower ones must give Bravo a lot of inner space as he has pulled off a piece of fielding with zen-like reflexes to dismiss Buttler (33 from 31) caught-and-bowled. That should have screamed to the straight boundary if Bravo's palms hadn't intercepted it. Pats him on the back in commiseration.
And hark who approaches. The burly Kieron Pollard. And a bit of West Indian cheekiness at play now. Pollard stops Bravo's run-up only to stroll down the wicket and move a ball of lint with his bat. And then Bravo bounces a short one at Pollard and runs all the way up to the big man and bumps lightly into him with a stare full of mock intimidation. What a lark these Trinidadians are.
MI 114/3 after 13 overs (N Rana 38 off 22 | J Buttler 32 off 28)
And Jakati delivers one of the quickest overs this season. Up and down in a jiffy. But Rana gets another of his hyperbolic high sixer s off the final delivery. Rana had little strike in the initial segment of his innings, but now he is making it count with a strike-rate of over 170.
Around 9000 people enjoying the >#IPLFanPark in Guntur >#GLvMI>pic.twitter.com/Xf8OHj2Pib
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) >May 21, 2016
MI 103/3 after 12 overs (N Rana 30 off 19 | J Buttler 29 off 25)
Mumbai Indians getting some momentum going now. Rana smashes Smith's short-wide ball for a four over Point. And then, as Smith deepens his length, he tonks it for a six over Mid-wicket. Smith is losing his radar a bit here, bowls a wide way down leg-side. Then, as if tired of walking back to his mark, Smith just delivers one from 4 paces, short and rising, which Rana can't believe rose so high that he misses out on it. 16 runs off that over. Mumbai Indians have a great launching pad from here on out to get to around 190, or even more.
MI 87/3 after 11 overs (N Rana 18 off 14 | J Buttler 27 off 23)
Ravindra Jadeja now. Raina is totally taking all the pace off the ball now, isn't he? Rana has gotten down on one knee and launched a nine-iron over Long-on for a useful six . And then Buttler flashes it through Point for four to end the over. 15 runs off it.
MI 72/3 after 10 overs (N Rana 10 off 11 | J Buttler 20 off 20)
Now, the other Dwayne. Of course he is going to begin with his slower ones. He doesn't need to warm up for these floaters. Oh, look. There's Arun Jaitley taking a break from the governmental work, chilling out in the stands watching the game with Rajiv Shukla beside him. Bravo's slow riser to beat Rana's bat must remind him of the pace of work done in Parliament.
MI 67/3 after 9 overs (N Rana 8 off 8 | J Buttler 17 off 17)
Buttler finds some width on offer from Smith, and slashes it away to the Point boundary for four . Smith is really putting his back into his bowling nowadays; this one has risen from the middle of the pitch over Buttler's shoulders.
MI 59/3 after 8 overs (N Rana 6 off 4 | J Buttler 6 off 9)
Shadab Jakati now. Bowls out his usual fare of flat skidders with tight lines. Spills a tough chance off the last ball; Buttler smacked it back at Jakati, but he couldn't get down in time to latch on. Just 5 runs.
MI 54/3 after 7 overs (N Rana 6 off 4 | J Buttler 6 off 9)
Smith to continue. Is drifting towards leg-side here. Looking to cramp the batsmen or losing his line? Losing his line, looks like, as he has overcompensated by thumping this ball down the middle of the pitch way outside off. Buttler thought it juicy but left it alone, knowing he couldn't reach that one. But Smith bowls out a couple great slower deliveries, and damage to the over: just 5 runs.
MI 49/3 after 6 overs (N Rana 4 off 1 | J Buttler 4 off 6)
Praveen Kumar is back, and finding no Rohit to bludgeon him, bowls a trying over to Jos Buttler, who is beaten a couple times amid five dot balls before he glances the final delivery for four through Fine-leg.
MI 45/3 after 5 overs (N Rana 4 off 1 | J Buttler 0 off 0)
Guptill raises his head quietly out from his shell and tastes the air. Imagine Guptill being reduced to being the silent partner in a partnership. That's how exciting Rohit's brief innings was. And Guptill has helped Dwayne Smith along to the Fine-leg boundary for four . Oh, oh. Guptill (7 from 9) has toed one feebly into Mid-on's hands.
Krunal Pandya announces himself with a crunchy square-cut four through Point. And now, Krunal (4 from 1) too is gone, top-edging a pull to be caught at Square-leg. What's happening here?
Oh, wait. I forgot it was Dwayne Smith bowling. The man with the fluorescent shoes and golden arm. Remember his match-winning 4/18 to win the Lions their previous game against Kolkata Knight Riders?
. >@TheGujaratLions all-rounder D. Smith's spell has left >#MI bamboozled! Watch >#GLvMI : >https://t.co/z9iVeSVj5O>pic.twitter.com/o6aM8a4Veg
— hotstar (@hotstartweets) >May 21, 2016
MI 37/1 after 4 overs (N Rana 4 off 1 | M Guptill 3 off 6)
Rohit has a tendency to let the blood rush to his head. He's got to watch out for that, the way he is hitting the ball tonight. And another one is sent packing to the boundary now, as he steps out and smacks Kulkarni over his head for a straight four . Aha! That's what I was afraid of; there he goes, pulling one straight into Square-leg's throat after showing such promise and raising my hopes. Rohit (30 from 17) Rohit Rohit.
Rana ends the over on a positive note with a ferocious pull shot for four through Square-leg.
MI 25/0 after 3 overs (R Sharma 23 off 13 | M Guptill 2 off 5)
Kumar is bowling a few more slower deliveries this over than might have had there been swing to exploit. Nonetheless, Rohit has punished one of these through to the Midwicket boundary for four .
MI 19/0 after 2 overs (R Sharma 18 off 9 | M Guptill 1 off 3)
Rohit is definitely a man with a plan tonight. Flays Dhawal Kulkarni through Point for four . Kulkarni comes back with a straight and full one that raps Rohit on the pads, but the umpire thinks there was bat. And Rohit capitalises on the decision to knock Kulkarni out of the park over Long-off for six . The Mumbai Indians captain has certainly begun his winning plan with a bang.
MI 8/0 after 1 over (R Sharma 8 off 6 | M Guptill 0 off 1)
Rohit Sharma plays an exquisite square-cut for for through Point as Praveen Kumar opens with some width. Kumar comes back, though, with a snorter of a delivery that whizzes past the outside edge and over the off-stump. Rohit is looking to be on the attack. And he finishes off with a glorious flick off the pads for four through Midwicket to end the over.
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In case you haven't heard, Rising Pune Supergiants complete their run for the season with a win in Vizag courtesy 23 runs knocked off the in the last over by — wait for it — MS Dhoni. Some chanceless hitting on display by the Pune captain, including a last-ball sixer with 6 to get from 1, although it was odd that Kings XI Punjab captain brought on Axar Patel in the last over for Dhoni to lift out of the park. So happy for Dhoni.
Gujarat Lions have won the toss and will bowl first. Suresh Raina thinks the wicket will be good for chasing. Rohit Sharma sounds very positive, saying Mumbai Indians will be playing every game to win from now on. Good plan, Rohit.
Gujarat Lions are unchanged today...
DR Smith, BB McCullum, SK Raina*, KD Karthik†, AJ Finch, RA Jadeja, DJ Bravo, ER Dwivedi, SB Jakati, P Kumar, DS Kulkarni
Mumbai Indians don't have Ambati Rayudu today, so they will include Hardik Pandya...
RG Sharma*, MJ Guptill, KH Pandya, KA Pollard, JC Buttler†, HH Pandya, N Rana, Harbhajan Singh, R Vinay Kumar, MJ McClenaghan, JJ Bumrah
