Pooran's blazing 75 outshines Rohit and Naman's fifties as MI finish with wooden spoon after defeat against LSG

Nicholas Pooran’s blistering 75 overshadowed sparkling half-centuries from Rohit Sharma and Naman Dhir as Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) defeated Mumbai Indians (MI) by 18 runs on Friday in what was the final match of the 2024 Indian Premier League (IPL) for both teams.

MI, as a result, finished at the bottom of the table for the second time in three years, ending the 17th season with just eight points from 14 matches. LSG, meanwhile, climbed to the sixth spot past Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), but could finish the season seventh if RCB end up beating Chennai Super Kings (CSK) on Saturday.

Pooran smashed eight sixes and five fours during his 29-ball innings at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium, adding 109 for the fourth wicket with skipper KL Rahul (55 off 41 balls) as LSG recovered from a shaky start after being invited to bat by MI skipper Hardik Pandya. Ayush Badoni’s cameo (22 not out off 10 balls) late in the innings helped the Super Giants move past the 200-mark and post a challenging 214/6 on the board.

This was after MI’s Sri Lankan pacer Nuwan Thushara struck in the very first over of LSG’s innings, trapping Devdutt Padikkal — who was opening alongside skipper Rahul with Quinton de Kock rested for the game — LBW for a golden duck. Padikkal made it worse by burning a review on his way back to the dugout.

Left-arm pacer Arjun Tendulkar, replacing Jasprit Bumrah in the MI attack for their final game of the season, would then successfully appeal for leg-before against Marcus Stoinis in the following over. The Australian all-rounder however, would get to overturn the on-field umpire’s decision, and would end up getting Lucknow back on their feet with a 22-ball 28 that contained five fours, adding 48 for the second wicket.

Both Thushara and veteran leg-spinner Piyush Chawla finished with three wickets each, conceding 28 and 29 runs respectively from their full quota of four overs.

Rohit returns to form in final match of season

Former skipper Rohit then got Mumbai off to a promising start in their chase that had to be put on hold for 45 minutes due to rain, unleashing a flurry of boundaries to help the hosts race past fifty at the end of the powerplay and complete his half-century in 28 deliveries shortly after. He scored the lion’s share of runs in the 88-run opening partnership with Dewald Brevis that put Mumbai in a comfortable position chasing a challenging target.

As had been the case with their batting department throughout the season, MI allowed LSG to seize control of the match by losing wickets in a heap in the middle overs. The five-time champions would end up losing five wickets for just 32 runs to crumble to 120/5 in the 15th over, at which point the match appeared done and dusted.

Rohit became the first of Ravi Bishnoi’s two wickets on Friday evening, getting a thick leading edge while attempting an expansive sweep that resulted in a simple catch for Mohsin Khan at short third man. Rohit received a standing ovation from the Wankhede crowd on his way back to the dugout, with many believing this match to be his final appearance in MI’s iconic blue-and-gold kit. His return to form, however, comes as great news for Indian cricket fans with the ‘Hitman’ set to lead the Men in Blue in the T20 World Cup that gets underway in a couple of weeks’ time.

Dhir’s fireworks in the second half of Mumbai’s chase helped bring a smile to the faces of glum-looking Mumbai fans at the Wankhede, who had become used to their team churning out one disappointing performance after another in what was a season to forget. The Punjab batter struck five sixes and four fours in his unbeaten knock of 62 off just 28 deliveries — bringing up his half-century in 25 balls — and briefly revived MI’s hopes with a 68-run partnership for the seventh wicket.

Had wicketkeeper-batter Ishan Kishan not struggled to time the ball during his patchy knock of 14 off just 15 balls, he and Dhir could’ve taken Mumbai closer to Lucknow’s total and might have even got them over the line in a dramatic finish. Dhir was left waging a lone battle in the end and managed to get Mumbai close to the 200-mark, signing off with a majestic six over deep extra cover in the final delivery of the innings.

Bishnoi finihsed the pick of the LSG bowlers with figures of 2/37 from four overs while Hardik’s brother Krunal Pandya was the most economical with 1/29 from his full quota of overs.