Krunal unleashes 'Pandya'monium on Lions batsmen

Gujarat Lions suffered a batting collapse before a rear-guard action saw them post a decent 153 for 9 with Mumbai Indians producing yet another inspired bowling performance in an IPL encounter, here on Saturday.

Save young Ishan Kishan (48 off 35 balls) and the seasoned Ravindra Jadeja (28), the other Gujarat Lions batsmen were guilty of playing loose shots with home team reeling at 101 for 7.

It was Andrew Tye's 12-ball-25 with two sixes and two fours and 42-run eighth wicket stand with James Faulkner (21 off 27 balls) that atleast provided Gujarat with a total to fight.

This was after the former India U-19 captain Kishan's attractive strokeplay provided a solid platform which they failed to capitalise.

Lasith Malinga (2/33 in 4 overs) made a successful comeback into the team removing the dangerous Brendon McCullum (6) and in-form Aaron Finch (1) to make it easier for the other bowlers.

Harbhajan Singh (1/23 in 4 overs) was once again at his parsimonious best. He found an able ally in left-arm spinner Krunal Pandya (3/14 in 4 overs) as the duo tightened the noose around the Lions batting line-up.

In fact, Krunal after fireworks with the bat was today lethal with the ball. Harbhajan-Krunal duo gave away only 37 runs between them in the eight overs bowled and also poached four wickets. More importantly, they bowled as many as 27 dot balls. Add Malinga's 10 to it, Mumbai Indians' three bowlers in all produced more than six maiden overs to make life miserable for the Lions batsmen.

Brief Scores:

Gujarat Lions vs Mumbai Indians:

Lions: 153/9 (Ishan Kishan 48, Ravindra Jadeja 28).

MI: Pandya (3/14). Agencies