Gujarat Titans needed nine runs to win in the final over with six wickets in hand but Mumbai Indians all-rounder Daniel Sams scripted a thrilling five-run win for his side.
Follow Us
Mumbai Indians can take a lot of heart from their performance against Gujarat Titans in the IPL 2022 match at the Brabourne Stadium, Mumbai on Friday. It was their only second win from 10 matches in an otherwise poor season but the franchise displayed their grit and strength to overcome a strong challenge. The win will act as a morale-booster for the five-time champions who are sitting with a wooden spoon with four points in the table.Â
Ishan Kishan (45), Rohit Sharma (43), Tilak Varma (21) and Tim David (44 not out) made valuable contributions after being asked to bat to help their side reach a challenging total of 177/6 in 20 overs. Gujarat Titans made headway in the chase with Wriddhiman Saha (55) and Shubman Gill (52) forging a 106 runs stand for the opening wicket with Hardik Pandya (24) and David Miller (19 not out) chipping in with important cameos. But the match was well and truly lost by Gujarat Titans in the final over.Â
READ MORE: Tim David: Mumbai Indians maverick from Singapore aspires to play for Australia
Mumbai Indians captain showed his faith in Daniel Sams to ball the final over and he delivered. He made the uphill task to defend nine runs off six balls look easy with Gujarat Titans cruising in cruise control. The Australian all-rounder started the over by giving away one run and following it up with a dot ball. He then conceded one run but Rahul Tewatia was ran out.Â
The final three deliveries required seven runs for Gujarat Titans. Sams bowled a slower one as Rashid Khan picked up a single with the in-form Miller missing out on the last two deliveries as he sealed the deal for Mumbai Indians in thrilling fashion. It was least anticipated as the Ahmedabad franchise could only manage to score three runs off the final over.Â
“What a crazy game! Awesome to get over the line. It was one of those games which just kept going backwards and forwards. It was good viewing out in the field and I am sure it was good on TV. 9 off 6 is one of those ones.. I just kind of look at it as I have nothing to lose here, probably the odds are in the batters favour, so I thought I will stick to my best ball and lucky enough I was able to keep it inside the wide line. Viewing it from the outside it will probably look like that (gutsy), but for me I was just trying to stick to my best ball, the slower ball is something I go to and happy it paid off. We didn’t have the start that we wanted (to the tournament) but after those 8 losses we thought we have a mini IPL and we have nothing to lose,” Sams said after the match.Â
