GT, a team that has chased down miraculous targets in the tournament, failed to chase nine runs off the last over as Daniel Sams held his nerves to bowl MI to their second consecutive victory in this year’s IPL. Both teams had a great first half while batting, but a lack of good finishing in the second half from both teams saw an almost below-par score turn out to be match-winning. Let’s look at some key moments from match 51 of the 2022 IPL.
Rashid Khan in Powerplay
In his 87 innings in the IPL, Rashid Khan has bowled 346 overs. Only 29 of these 346 overs have come in the Powerplay. But against MI, Rashid Khan came on to bowl the fifth over of the innings to counter the aggressive Rohit Sharma.
There could have been two reasons behind introducing Khan early in the innings. The first could be to curb the MI run rate at that stage, which was 10 RPO after four overs. The second could be to target Rohit Sharma and his slight weakness against right-arm leg-spin.
As opposed to his career IPL strike rate of 130.2, Sharma strikes at 117 against leg-spin. In Powerplay, the strike rate goes down a bit further to 113.2. Since Sharma has also been dismissed seven times in 53 balls against this particular bowling type in Powerplay, it was a good move from GT to introduce Khan early to Sharma. Rashid Khan eventually dismissed Rohit Sharma in the eighth over.
Daniel Sams’ last over
Before the game against GT, Daniel Sams had an economy rate of 10.48 in this year’s IPL. In the death overs, he’s had a forgettable experience, with an economy rate of 21.67 in the three overs that he had bowled. Sams was tasked to defend nine runs off the over and with experienced finishers in David Miller and Rahul Tewatia, things looked gloomy.
Both Miller and Tewatia favour either going straight or on the leg side, especially off the fuller balls. Despite the pressure, Sams held his nerves and kept bowling wide of the off stump on a good length. Taking pace off the ball also helped as it didn’t let the batters time their shots. Sams just conceded three runs in the final over and pulled off a miraculous victory for MI when GT were looking favourites to chase down the target.
Wriddhiman Saha’s Powerplay game
Wriddhiman Saha has been the right opening batter for GT. His power game might not be as good as some other batters, but his ability to find gaps and use the bowler’s pace to his advantage makes him stand out.
This year, Saha has scored at a strike rate of 143.3 in the Powerplay. He has scored 149 of 209 runs in this year’s IPL have come in the Powerplay, getting dismissed just once. His high strike rate has been much-needed for GT as Shubman Gil, his opening partner, has been having a poor Powerplay record, striking at just 115.8. 73.83% of Saha’s Powerplay runs have come through boundaries, which have helped GT maintain a good tempo in the Powerplay.
GT will be disappointed after failing to chase a below-par score on a batting paradise but Saha’s form is a positive for them and will be crucial going into the final stages of the tournament.