Rising Pune Supergiants recorded an incredible win over favourites Mumbai Indians to not only gain two vital points but also break MI’s six-match winning streak. Chasing 160 was thought to be an easy task for the Mumbai unit considering the fact that they had pulled off wins out of nowhere in the past few matches.
However, Ben Stokes’ economical bowling spell backed by a sensible last over from Jaydev Unadkat meant that MI was unable to cross the winning line this time around. The win completely belonged to Stokes but Unadkat also was praised for keeping his cool in the final over and completing the task.
“It was a much-needed win for us. We were on a winning streak as well, so this will boost our momentum. To beat MI at the Wankhede is a huge boost for the side. We did well as a unit and that was the most important factor. We bowled in partnerships and took wickets. I am really happy for my team and myself,” said Unadkat while speaking with the IPLT20 website after the victory.
Stokes was the architect of the win. It was due to his miserly penultimate over, in which he gave just seven runs bowling against Rohit Sharma and Hardik Pandya, which gave Unadkat the cushion of defending 17 in the final over. The English all-rounder ended with figures of 2/21 in his four-over spell, earning him the Man of the Match.
“Ben Stokes set the game up for me with a brilliant 19th over. The plans were simple and we had talked about them in the meeting. Smithy (Steve Smith) wanted us to bowl to our strengths. We stuck to our plans. When you back yourself to do well on a surface where the ball was gripping a bit and there was some help for the bowlers, you always end up on a winning note.”
Unadkat responded by effecting a run-out and taking two wickets while ensuring that MI fell short of the target by 3 runs. The Indian bowler was relieved after narrowly escaping with a win.
“Today was the day where I felt I could do something special. There are some days when players feel they will be the ones (to play a role in the team’s victory). I stuck to my strength, which was to ball cutters. We had the right field placements for the last over.”
“When I got Hardik’s wicket on the first ball, I felt this is the time when I could do something for my team and I am really happy I did that.It was an eventful over with one close call and a catch where you fell and landed on the back of your head.”