Aaron Finch’s unbeaten helped fifty Gujarat Lions make it three wins out of three as they edged out Mumbai Indians in a last-ball thriller in Mumbai. After winning the toss and electing to bowl first, Lions started out on top but a lower-order cameo from Krunal Pandya and Tim Southee helped Mumbai post 143/8.
In response, Gujarat Lions lost Brendon McCullum early and thanks to the composed knock by Finch, stayed in the game. Although Mitchell McClenaghan pulled things back towards the end, the Australian opener saw his side home as they continued their winning start to the season.
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Batting let us down: Rohit Sharma
Mumbai Indians captain Rohit Sharma admitted that the batting let his side down. “I think we didn’t put enough runs on the board,” was his verdict.
“I don’t think we can afford to do that. I think 144 was always going to be a difficult total to defend. Our bowlers did well. We though, have to accept (this defeat) and move forward. We just didn’t bat well and didn’t put enough runs on the board.
“The dew came much later and it stopped swinging. If we had got 160 runs, we could have been in the game. Mitchell McClenaghan bowled great. The crowd has always been great. We need to bat well. It has been twice that we have let ourselves down (in this year's IPL).
“We need to put runs on the board to defend. It starts from the top. If we lose 3-4 wickets up front, it becomes difficult. They have very good bowlers. Krunal and Southee though, kept us in the game."
Gujarat Lions captain Suresh Raina: “Good place to play cricket. Mumbai is a tough team to beat at Wankhede. I thought initially they would get about 130, but they batted well.”
The southpaw also admitted that it wasn’t as an easy total to chase. “Defintely when you chase 140, it is always difficult to chase down. the ball was doing a bit. We were very calm under pressure. He looked solid today. Mumbai though fought well.
“When you have Bravo, Tambe, Praveen and Co. you can do well. Finch looks good. It must be a cramp. We still have another 4-5 days now. He will defintely recover.”
Finch clears up injury concerns, praises Dhawal Kulkarni
For his unbeaten 67, Aaron Finch claimed his third consecutive Man of the Match award in this year’s competition.
"Started to cramp in my calf, Think it was just cramp. Feel good, feel like I'm batting nicely. Want to continue. It was nice to finally get us home over the line. Last three games I got us into a reasonably position to win the game.
“I try to take it upon myself to bat right through. Having batted for 20 overs and playing around the world, I can probably stay calmer than a No. 9 but Kulkarni hit that four through mid-off and took the pressure off me. With the ball too he was outstanding along with Praveen. They took us for a few runs in the end overs, but that would have always happened."
Here are the reactions from the cricket fraternity:
Scott Styris:
There was plenty of praise for the match-winner, Aaron Finch. Mark Butcher:
Isa Guha:
Dean Jones:
John Hastings:
Anjum Chopra:
Lisa Sthalekar:
Isa Guha:
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