MI VS LSG MATCH 67

Right then, that's it from the coverage of this game. The Indian T20 League will continue on 19th May, 2024 when Bengaluru will be locking horns against Chennai in match number 68 of this season. This game holds significant importance in the league as it will confirm one team's place in the playoffs. The first ball will be at 7.30 pm IST (2 pm GMT), but you can join us early for the build-up. Until then, take care and goodbye.

Nicholas Pooran is the Player of the Match for his knock of 75 runs off just 29 balls. He says he had to do his job and it was good. He says that he likes batting in powerplay as well but he likes to bat in any order and that's his strength. He adds that he is blessed with batting and he enjoys batting. Mentions that the World Cup is near and they will be looking forward to that and playing together.

KL Rahul, the skipper of Lucknow, says that they are very disappointed, as at the beginning of the season, it felt like they had all bases covered and a few injuries happened to such guys that it really hurt the team and the batters couldn't come together often. He mentions that he is happy for the Indian pacers, that the franchise has invested a lot of time and energy, and that the likes of Mayank Yadav and Yudhvir Singh were sent to South Africa for training as well. He recognizes that he isn't sure about opening in T20 cricket and it is a season where he has learned a lot about his batting and what the team wants. On Nicholas Pooran, he says that ideally they would want him to bat higher but given the set-up of the team, Pooran needed to be slightly down the order as Marcus Stoinis was batting at number 3.

Krunal Pandya is in for a chat. He says that it was a tough season but it feels good to end with a win. Adds that fielding is more related to fitness and the boundary save felt good. Ends by saying that it would have been great to get a shot in the playoffs but he is happy to finish on a high.

Hardik Pandya, the captain of Mumbai, says that the season has been quite difficult as they didn't play quality cricket. Adds that it is a professional world and as professionals, you need to come out and give it your best but as a group, they weren't able to play their best cricket. Mentions that it is difficult to make out what went wrong in this game as it has been a similar story throughout the season and will now look forward to the next season.

Presentations coming up...

Earlier in the game, Lucknow set a challenging target of 214 runs, propelled by impressive batting displays from Nicholas Pooran, who scored 75 runs off just 29 deliveries, as well as notable contributions from KL Rahul, Krunal Pandya, and Ayush Badoni. Mumbai began their innings with the ball strongly but encountered difficulties in the later stages, as Arjun Tendulkar was dealing with an injury and had to walk off the pitch. Some effective bowling performances from Nuwan Thushara and Piyush Chawla helped them, as both picked three wickets each. The rest of the bowlers remained wicketless.

Lucknow displayed a commendable performance with the ball in hand. Despite a shaky start, they managed to maintain their composure and continuously build on their momentum throughout the game. Their bowlers got the breakthrough late in the game but once they did, they kept on building on it. Ravi Bishnoi stood out with two crucial wickets, while Naveen-ul-Haq, Mohsin Khan, and Krunal Pandya also made significant contributions by picking up one wicket each.

A tough season for Mumbai as they end at the bottom of the points table! They were off to a promising start as their openers, Rohit Sharma and Dewald Brevis, forged a solid partnership. However, the momentum shifted when Brevis departed after contributing 23 runs. Despite this setback, Rohit Sharma continued to display exceptional form, anchoring the innings with aggressive strokeplay. Mumbai faced another blow as Suryakumar Yadav was dismissed without scoring. Rohit Sharma's departure in the 11th over marked a turning point, leading to wickets falling in quick succession. Naman Dhir and Ishan Kishan tried their bit in the end but the required rate was way too high and yet, Dhir got them a lot closer than expected.

SIX! Naman Dhir finishes off in style but it is Lucknow who sign off with a win. Overpitched from Naveen-ul-Haq and bowled quite outside off, Dhir uses quick hands and gets under the ball before stylishly lifting it away over deep extra cover for a maximum. Lucknow win the game by 18 runs!

No run there! Full and wide outside the off stump, right in the blockhole, Naman Dhir gets across the off stump to lap it away but misses and gets hit on the boot.

Back of a length and outside off, dabbed away past point for a single.

WIDE! A quick bumper just angled down the leg side for a wide.

Romario Shepherd walks in.

OUT! CHOPPED ON! Slower delivery, on a hard length and angled across the left-hander. Ishan Kishan doesn't move his fee and just looks to hit through the line and ends up getting an inside edge that goes back onto the stumps and Kishan's struggle at the crease comes to an end.

That is an extraordinary effort from Krunal Pandya on the fence. Pitched up full and in the slot around off, Naman Dhir stays deep in the crease and lofts it down to long off where Krunal leaps up over his shoulder and grabs the ball with his left hand and manages to throw it back in time. The hang time on that was pretty ridiculous and Krunal even managed to throw the ball back to Naveen-ul-Haq who took off the bails and almost got a run out. The replqys show that Dhir just grounded his bat in time.

SIX! Smashed away Tennis-style and Naman Dhir brings up his maiden Indian T20 League FIFTY! Banged in short and outside off, Dhir flat-bats the pull and the ball pings off the blade, going well over deep mid-wicket for a biggie. This has been some knock from Dhir.