Bangalore: Shubman Gill (104 n o, 52b, 5×4, 8×6) dashed the hopes of Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) as his brilliant century helped Gujarat Titans (GT), beat the hosts here by wickets in the last league match of the IPL here Sunday.
To qualify for the play-offs RCB needed a point as Mumbai Indians (MI) had won their game against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) earlier Sunday to reach to 16 points. RCB needed to win against GT to also reach the same point tally as MI. Then a superior net run rate would have helped them to pip MI. However, in the end all those factors did not come into play as GT won the game and RCB remained stuck at 14 points and took fifth place in the points tally.
Virat Kohli’s (101 n o, 61b, 13×4, 1×6) did give RCB a semblance of a hope as they reached 197 for the loss of five wickets. However, in the end that did not prove enough as Gill and Vijay Shankar (53, 35b, 7×4, 2×6) took the RCB bowlers to the cleaners. The two added 123 runs for the second wicket putting the final nail in the RCB coffin. In the end, GT won with five deliveries to spare.
Earlier in the day Cameron Green’s (100 n o, 47b, 8×4, 8×6) magnificent maiden IPL century and Rohit Sharma’s (56, 37b, 8×4, 1×6) half century powered Mumbai Indians (MI) to a comprehensive eight-wicket win over Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in their last league match at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.
MI knocked off the target of 201 with 12 balls and eight wickets to spare to accumulate 16 points from 14 matches.
Green was at his belligerent best. He first added 128 runs for the second wicket with Rohit and then 53 runs with Suryakumar Yadav (25 n o) for the unbroken third wicket to take MI over the line.
Even though Bhuvneshwar Kumar (1/26) drew first blood when he dismissed Ishan Kishan (14) in the third over, Green and Rohit attacked the opposition and at the end of the powerplay MI were 60 for one. They continued in the same vein with both Green and Rohit taking the SRH bowlers to the cleaners.
Green brought up his fifty off only 20 balls, in the ninth over, Rohit was off to a modest start, hitting his first six only on the 22nd ball that he faced.
Earlier, unheralded Uttarakhand pacer Akash Madhwal (4/37) nailed his yorkers consistently at the death as MI restricted SRH to 200 for five. This was after a century opening stand between seasoned opener Mayank Agarwal (83, 46b, 8×4, 4×6) and rookie Vivrant Sharma (69, 47b, 9×4, 2×6) threatened to take the game away.
Courtesy Madhwal’s wickets, which included two lethal block-hole deliveries to clean up in-form Heinrich Klaasen (18) and Harry Brook (0), SRH managed only 26 in last three overs.
For a bowling unit that has allowed contests to drift away, here at the Wankhede Stadium on several occasions, MI made regular inroads to keep SRH within reach.
Brief scores
SRH 200 for 5 (Mayank Agarwal 83, Vivrant Sharma 69, Akash Madhwal 4/37) lost to MI 201 for 2 in 18 overs (Cameroon Green 100, Rohit Sharma 56) by 5 wickets.
RCB 197 for 5 (Virat Kohli 101 n o) lost to Gujarat Titans 198 for 4 (Shubman Gill 104 n o, Vijay Shankar 53) by five wickets.
PNN & Agencies