Ben Stokes starred with the ball, taking two for 21 in his four overs while Jaydev Unadkat held his nerves in the final over, as Rising Pune Supergiant defeated Mumbai Indians by three runs to register their fourth win of the tournament.
Chasing 160, Mumbai went off to a decent star with Jos Buttler and Parthiv Patel adding 35 runs in 26 balls. The partnership was broken when Ben Stokes sent back Buttler for 17.
Washington Sundar then accounted for Parthiv before Dan Christian dismissed the in-form Nitish Rana to reduce the home team to 60 for three.
Karn Sharma, who was promoted ahead of Kieron Pollard, could not do much either and returned to the hut after scoring 10 to leave his team reeling at 86 for four in the 13th over.
However, captain Rohit Sharma held firm from one end and kept his team in the chase with a fighting fifty despite the falling of wickets at regular intervals from the opposite end.
With 24 runs needed from the final two overs, Ben Stokes bowled a brilliant over, conceding just seven runs in the penultimate over. The England all-rounder then took a stunning catch on the very first ball of the final over, which was bowled by Jaydev Unadkat, to send back the dangerous Hardik Pandya.
A six on the second ball by Rohit Sharma brought the batting side back into the game but a dot ball followed by Rohit Sharma’s dismissal all but sealed the game for the Supergiant. The two-time IPL champions eventually managed to score 157 for eight.
Earlier, the Supergiant failed to capitalise on a good start provided by their openers, as Mumbai Indians bowlers managed to pull back things in the later part of the innings and restricted the visitors to 160 for six.
Ajinkya Rahane and Rahul Tripathi gave their team a solid start by adding 76 runs in 57 balls before Rahane was dismissed by Karn Sharma for 38. A few moments later, Karn Sharma removed Tripathi too for 45 to reduce the batting side to 93 for two.
Steve Smith’s men never recovered from those setbacks and kept on losing wickets at regular intervals which never allowed them to hit the top gears in the later part of the innings. The team would have scored much less but were rescued by Manoj Tiwary’s 13-ball 22 run knock.
Here is how Twitter reacted to the match:
Making easy match tough by batting till end and then losing it, is Rohit Sharma next Dhoni?
— EngiNerd. (@mainbhiengineer) April 24, 2017
Stokes reaches sensational form with ball and in the field. Mumbai under the pump. 17 from 5 not impossible, but will take some doing
— Cricketwallah (@cricketwallah) April 24, 2017
https://twitter.com/AllTimeBakchod/status/856569936189194240
Stokes showed why a few rate him highly. If not with the bat, he can propel you to a win in other 2 disciplines.
— Bharath Ramaraj (@Fancricket12) April 24, 2017
Really enjoying this innings from @ImRo45. Always plays the shots you remember.
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) April 24, 2017
Just when you lose all your faith in Rohit Sharma, he gets back into his form. That has been the story with Rohit Sharma.
— Shubh Aggarwal (@shubh_chintak) April 24, 2017
Rohit could have made this match look difficult like Dhoni does, but he chose to play aggressive from the start. #Respect #MIvRPS
— mthn (@Being_Humor) April 24, 2017
Form is temporary. Class is permanent. #RohitSharma is such a delight to watch.
— The Legend AKSHAY (@akshay14793) April 24, 2017
Splendid bowling by Mumbai in the last 6-7 overs. Pune choked and are probably 20 runs short. But in T20, who knows, this may 20 too many!
— Cricketwallah (@cricketwallah) April 24, 2017
Brilliant innings by underrated Tiwary. He seems like that guy, even his father undermines him. "Papa kehte hain, maybe naam karega" #IPL
— cricBC (@cricBC) April 24, 2017
Manoj Tiwary has once again done what RPS expect Stokes to do for them with that price tag. Could be differential. 22 in 13.
— Nikhil 🏏 (@CricCrazyNIKS) April 24, 2017
https://twitter.com/hvgoenka/status/856528455894261764
Celebrating @sachin_rt 's birthday at the wankhede via #MIvRPS game. I remember his birthday usually fell during the Sharjah tournament.
— Ashwin ?? (@ashwinravi99) April 24, 2017
Dhoni scored 7(11). Waiting for Harsh Goenka's tweet 🙅 #MIvRPS
— Siju Moothedath (@SijuMoothedath) April 24, 2017