Aina rues batsmen ot cashing in after defeat in Super Over
RAJKOT: When Ravindra Jadeja uprooted the stumps at the striker’s end to deny Mumbai Indians the winning run off the last ball, the SCA Stadium erupted in joy as Gujarat Lions had forced a tie, taking the game into the Super Over.
James Faulkner gave away 11 off the Super Over but Aaron Finch and Brendon McCullum managed to score just six in reply; Jasprit Bumrah bowled a gem of an over to keep the explosive batsmen in check.
Gujarat Lions captain Suresh Raina bemoaned the inability of Finch and McCullum to hit a single boundary. “Honestly, we didn’t put an even score on the board, were 30-40 runs short, but we bowled really well,” he said at the post-match ceremony. “Credit goes to our bowlers as well, but it’s that one hit away and we didn’t have that in the Super Over and ended on the losing side.”
Raina praised Bumrah, who justified his credentials as a death-overs specialist, although he overstepped and bowled a wide as well. “It has been a very entertaining game for the crowd, for each and every player and shows the quality of the IPL. Bumrah bowled a really good over. I mean with just 12 to get, he bowled yorkers and reverse swingers and you can’t do much about it.”
Rajkot has been a good venue for batting with an average score of 188 in four matches by teams batting first before Saturday. While the first two matches were won by teams batting second, RCB and Kings XI Punjab reversed that trend in the last two matches. Raina justified his decision to bat first.
“The wicket was slow. We tried pretty hard, which is the reason why we lost a few wickets up front, but I still feel we bowled pretty well,” he said. “We didn’t have AJ (Andrew Tye) after the 10th over, but still Jimmy (James Faulkner), Basil (Thampi), (Ravindra) Jadeja, myself and especially (Ankit) Soni, we came back pretty strongly, but credit goes to Mumbai Indians.”