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- Mumbai out, Lucknow too failed to qualify for the playoffs
MUMBAI: Nicholas Pooran starred in Lucknow Super Giants鈥� 18-run victory over pre-tournament favorites Mumbai Indians in the last game of a disappointing Indian Premier League season for both teams Friday.
The maverick West Indies鈥� wicketkeeper-batsman hit eight sixes in his 29-ball 75 to take Lucknow to 214-6 after Mumbai skipper Hardik Pandya won the toss and chose to field first.
Mumbai crashed to 196-6 despite an impressive start by openers Rohit Sharma and Dewald Brevis in their rain-interrupted chase.
Pandya said that it was 鈥渜uite difficult鈥� for five-time champions Mumbai, who finished the 10-team league in last spot.
鈥淭his season we didn鈥檛 play good quality cricket and it cost us the whole season,鈥� Pandya said.
Lucknow too failed to qualify for the playoffs and ended the tournament in sixth spot.
Captain KL Rahul said that it was 鈥渧ery disappointing.鈥�
He blamed mid-season injuries to key players and said that they 鈥渄idn鈥檛 play well enough collectively and couldn鈥檛 come together鈥� as a team.
Earlier, Nuwan Thushara got Mumbai off to a great start and removed opener Devdutt Padikkal for a first ball duck.
Padikkal鈥檚 partner Rahul stitched together a 48-run partnership with Australia鈥檚 Marcus Stoinis, who fell to Piyush Chawla鈥檚 leg-spin for a 22-ball 28 in the sixth over.
Chawla also removed Deepak Hooda (11) to reduce Lucknow to 69-3 by the 10th over.
Thushara finally removed Pooran in the 17th over to end his match-defining, 109-run partnership with Rahul.
He also removed rookie Arshad Khan (0) in the same over and finished with 3-28 in his four-over spell.
Chawla removed Rahul, who took 41 balls for his 55 runs, in the 18th over and finished with 3-29.
Key unbeaten cameos by Ayush Badoni (22) and Krunal Pandya (12) took Lucknow to 214-6.
Mumbai鈥檚 openers took their team to 88 before Brevis fell for 23 in the ninth over.
India skipper Sharma top-scored with a 38-ball 68 with 10 fours and three sixes before he fell in the 11th over.
In between, Mumbai also lost their best T20 batsman, Suryakumar Yadav, for 0 and were reduced to 97-3 while out-of-form skipper Pandya fell for 16.
Indian rookie Naman Dhir hit five sixes and four fours in his unbeaten 28-ball 62.
Leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi, who removed Sharma, and Afghanistan鈥檚 Naveen-ul-Haq, who removed Brevis, took four key Mumbai wickets between them.