IPL 2017: Mumbai Indians vs Gujarat Lions, 5 Talking Points

#2 Under-utilised Jason Roy wasted at No.6

The move to hold back Roy was a puzzling one

Much to the amusement of everyone, Raina declared at the toss that Aaron Finch wouldn’t take part in the match since he had lost his kit-bag. Jason Roy was named his replacement. Yet, when Gujarat Lions came out to bat, there was no sign of Roy anywhere.

After a slow start and the departure of Raina, it would have been prudent to send in the free-stroking Jason Roy or in-form Dinesh Karthik to up the scoring rate. However, it was the young and in-experienced Ishan Kishan who walked out to bat.

The youngster then struggled to put bat to ball, compounding Lions’ run rate worries before he departed for 11(14). Even after McCullum’s departure, Roy was preceded by Karthik. Eventually, the England batsman came in only in the 18^th over and faced 7 balls, making 14 runs.

The move to hold back Roy was a puzzling one and may have cost the Lions’ crucial few more runs.