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Mumbai Indians (Source: BCCI)
Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) managed to win their final league match of the IPL 2024 season. They beat Mumbai Indians (MI) by 18 runs at the Wankhede Stadium on Friday. But that win doesn't guarantee them a playoff spot, thanks to a poor net run rate of 0.667. Either CSK or RCB are now clear favourites to clinch the final berth.
Mumbai's hope of ending their campaign on a positive note was dashed by Nicholas Pooran. MI skipper Hardik Pandya won the toss and opted to field first as the venue historically favours the chasing team. LSG got off to a poor start as Devdutt Padikkal ended his horror season with a golden duck.
Marcus Stoinis looked good but the LSG all-rounder was dismissed by Piyush Chawla before inflicting serious injuries. KL Rahul, who was going like a snail at the other end, managed to score a half-century, but another debate about his batting approach will follow. It was Pooran who injected the right T20 mentality into the LSG innings.
The Caribbean big-hitter showcased his muscle power with eight monstrous sixes that helped him to score a 29-ball 75. He looked set to score his maiden IPL hundred but Nuwan Thushara took his wicket in the 17th over. Ayush Badoni then delivered a fiery finish to take the team to 214-6.
Rohit Sharma and Naman Dhir’s half-century go in vain
Mumbai fielded a couple of fresh faces like Arjun Tendulkar and Dewald Brevis for the final match. The latter opened the innings alongside Impact Player Rohit Sharma. Brevis failed to make a mark but he stitched an 88-run partnership for the first wicket in 8.4 overs. MI were going strong in the chase but quick dismissals of Suryakumar Yadav (0 off 3) and former skipper Rohit (68 off 38) put them on the back foot.
Their middle order suffered a mini-collapse and ended up with a score of 196/6 in 20 overs. It was Naman Dhir’s lone fight (62* of 28) that helped the five-time champions narrow down their margin of defeat. MI are currently at the bottom of the points table with 8 points.
Here's how fans reacted to LSG's 18-run win over MI:
Congratulations Hardik Pandya to Mumbai Indians for winning the trophy
— Vijay (@veejuparmar) May 17, 2024
Big achievement under Hardik Pandya's Captaincy. Well done MI 😎😎
— Manoj Kumar 🕉️🇮🇳 (@manoj_begu) May 17, 2024
Hoping for Rohit Sharma to play for some other franchise next year.
— Rachit (@gupt_rach) May 17, 2024
Form of Hardik Pandaya and Surya Kumar is the main reason
— Ranjeet Singh (@ranjeetsmile) May 17, 2024
A year to forget for Mumbai Indians come back strong in next season with better captain 💯🔥
— Ashraf. (@akhunzada74) May 17, 2024
Worst season for Hardik & MI
— Krazy_Khadija 2.0 (@krazykhadija_) May 17, 2024
MUMBAI INDIANS FINISHES AT NO.10 IN THE POINTS TABLE.
— Dard_e_Dil🕊 (@dard_aai_dil) May 17, 2024
- HARDIK PANDYA SUPREMACY 🙃
Rohit should get the captaincy back next season.
— Hammad Raza (@hammadraza1214) May 17, 2024