Sams defends nine in final over as MI stun GT

Death bowling master Daniel Sams threw a variety of wide yorkers, sluggish balls and hard length balls into the mix. bcci

Five-run victory over Gujarat Titans kept Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League for another year.

Sams defends nine in final over as MI stun GT

Thrilling death bowling.

Daniel Sams produced a masterclass of death bowling, mixing it up wide yorkers, slower balls, and hard length balls to keep David Miller and Rahul Tewatia at bay in the final over. After the first two balls failed to produce a boundary, he was run out trying for a second. Miller had two chances to win with a six-point shot, but he missed both because Sams missed his arc. Surely, it wasn’t always this difficult.

Gujarat, on the other hand, had the lead for the first three-quarters of the race. Despite being caught short without diving, Hardik Pandya’s run out in the 18th over gave MI a foot in the door and enabling them to execute an incredible comeback following Gujarat’s blistering start.

What was the initial event?

After a brilliant opening stand of 106 between Wriddhiman Saha and Shubman Gill in 12.1 overs, there weren’t many bumps in the road. The opening six overs of the powerplay were dominated by the former, who scored 37 of the 54 they put on and reached his half-century in 34 balls. When he raced away from Jasprit Bumrah, Saha personified Gujarat by striking above his weight. At one point during the second over of Bumrah, he drove the ball around the ground while flicking it back and forth with his bat. He also drew and lofted the pacer.

How was MI able to get it back to where it was?

When Murugan Ashwin caught Gill and Saha in the deep in the 13th over, the tide had changed. It was only when Sai Sudharsan smashed his stumps with the bat, putting Gujarat in danger, that the last choke occurred. Everything about it reminded me of what MI had been through earlier that day.

Why was that so reminiscent of MI’s innings?

Only 80 runs came off the final ten overs of Mumbai’s innings, as the visitors were all out for 177. Due to the poor scoring rate and dew settling in on an otherwise flat surface, they concluded with a score that looked far below-par, even with Tim David’s best efforts.

What was it that Tim David was doing?

After Kieron Pollard’s dismissal, he came in and smashed four sixes in a 21-ball 44, lifting the batting to a higher level. At the end of 12 overs, Mumbai had 111 on the board, but Lockie Ferguson’s speed kept Pollard at bay until Rashid Khan struck with a leg break. A 2 for 24 in 4 overs performance against Tilak Varma (21 off 16) was a major accomplishment for Rashid as well. David was tasked with keeping the innings alive at the other end, and he did it with a series of crisp lofts against the pacers.

Let’s get this party started, shall we?

After being put into bat, Mumbai got off to the best possible start. On a good batting pitch, Rohit Sharma recovered his form and set the tone early for MI, scoring 42 of the team’s 63 runs in the power play. Rohit smashed four fours and a six in a handful of overs against Alzarri Joseph, who he drove, flicked, and lofted.

While racing away, he also hit Mohammed Shami for a six. After a slow start, his partner, Ishan Kishan, had the good fortune of seeing two inside edges that went over the line. That’s why he was able to maintain a high rate of success. A reverse sweep attempt by Rohit fell short, and the duo tallied 74 before Rohit was knocked out. Ishan, Suryakumar Yadav, and Suryakumar Yadav were all out in the first few overs, but MI’s collapse in the middle overs pegged them back. However, their bowlers were able to rescue them from that predicament and keep them in the game.

Short scores: Gujarat Titans 172/5 (Wriddhiman Saha 55) beat Mumbai Indians 177/6 (Ishan Kishan 45, Tim David 44*, Rohit Sharma 43; Rashid Khan 2-24) by 5 runs.

What’s going to happen after that?

In Mumbai on Monday (May 9), MI will take on KKR at the DY Patil Stadium, while in Pune on Tuesday (May 10), GT will go up against LSG (May 10).