3 positives for GT from their loss against MI

The Gujarat Titans (GT) suffered a 27-run defeat against the Mumbai Indians (MI) at the Wankhede Stadium on Friday, May 12. As a result, MI moved up to third place in the IPL rankings, while GT retained first place.

MI batted first and finished their 20 overs with a commanding total of 218/5. Suryakumar Yadav, who scored a century, led the MI batting effort (103* runs off 49 balls). During his quick innings, Yadav hit 11 boundaries and 6 maximums and had a strike rate of 210.20.

The GT bowlers were hammered all over the pitch as Suryakumar Yadav unleashed his 360-degree variety of blows. SKY received strong support from people like Ishan Kishan, Rohit Sharma, Nehal Wadhera, and Vishnu Vinod, all of whom made brief cameo appearances.

With a superb bowling performance that saw him concede only 30 runs in four overs, along with picking up 4 wickets, Rashid Khan starred with the ball for the Titans. The Afghanistan player would do so with the bat as well later.

When GT responded, they were in serious difficulty at 103/8 in 13.2 overs. David Miller (41 runs off 26 balls) and Rashid Khan (79* runs off 32 balls) were the only GT batsmen to present some resistance to the hosts.

Rashid added respectability to the GT total with his knock. The spectacular knock from the all-rounder included three boundaries and 10 sixes. After 20 overs, GT ended up with a total of 191/8.

On that note, let us take a look at the three positives for GT from their loss against MI.

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#1 Rashid Khan's spectacular all-round show

Rashid Khan produced an impressive all-round show [Image: IPL on Twitter]

Rashid Khan was the only GT bowler who managed to keep the MI batters at bay. In his 4 overs, the leg-spinner conceded just 30 runs at an economy rate of 7.50. He also picked up the crucial wickets of Rohit Sharma, Ishan Kishan, Nehal Wadhera, and Tim David. If it was not for him, MI might have touched a total around 235-240 in their 20 overs.

In reply with the bat, GT collapsed to 103/8 in the 14th over. It seemed that the visitors would suffer a heavy loss of around 100 runs, which would adversely affect their net-run-rate.

However, Rashid Khan (79* runs off 32 balls) struck an unbeaten half-century that came at a strike-rate of 246.88. With the kind of form he was in, had he got another 10 balls, he might have not just completed his hundred but also taken his team to victory. Regardless, he brought the margin of defeat of his side down from a three-figure score to just 27 runs.

#2 Vijay Shankar's fine cameo

Vijay Shankar (29 runs off 14 balls) played an aggressive cameo for his side as wickets kept tumbling around him. The batting all-rounder struck 6 fours in an innings which came at a strike-rate of 207.14.

He would be furious at himself for misreading a googly by Piyush Chawla which got him out clean bowled. Had he kicked on to make a big score, the result of the match could have been different.

In 10 matches this year, Shankar has struck 234 runs at a phenomenal average of 39 and a fantastic strike-rate of 163.64. He will be looking to continue his rich vein of form, not just to help his side successfully defend the IPL title, but also to rekindle hopes of making a comeback to the Indian side.

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#3 David Miller plays a solid innings for GT

David Miller (41 runs off 26 balls) played a counter-attacking innings for his side as wickets kept tumbling around him. The South African struck 4 boundaries and 2 sixes in a knock that came at a high strike-rate of 157.69.

Just like Shankar, he would be disappointed at not converting his aggresive innings into a big score for his side.

In 11 matches this year, Miller has struck 242 runs at an impressive average of 48.40 and a brilliant strike-rate of 151.25. To add to that, he has remained unbeaten on five occasions this year, meaning that he often finishes games or innings for GT.

Miller will want to continue his tremendous run with the bat and help GT defend their IPL title.