Live Blog - Lucknow Super Giants vs Mumbai Indians - Stoinis stars as LSG thump MI

Having lost more wickets (4) than they hit boundaries (3) in the powerplay, Mumbai Indians were always going to struggle. Four of the first six overs cost less than a run a ball. Two of the last four suffered the same fate. A total of 144 did not look like it would be enough and so it proved as Lucknow Super Giants secured victory with four wickets to spare and moved into third place on the points table. Really, the only thing that didn't go according to plan for KL Rahul - well two things - was Mayank Yadav leaving the field early on the very night he returned from injury. Marcus Stoinis produced a fine all-round performance, dismissing Suryakumar Yadav early, and then scoring a half-century in the chase.

There's two new batters at the crease. One of them is Nic Pooran, but even his smooth ball-striking skills aren't quite working on this slow Lucknow pitch. He's 4 off 5. Is there a chance for MI to squeeze this game? Hardik thinks so. He's gone for a big gamble, bowling out Bumrah in the 17th over.

The last three will be bowled by people who do not have his immense skill at the death. Perhaps that's what LSG are waiting for. They need 22 off 18 now.

He's averaging above 40. His strike rate is above 150. He's bowling regularly. LSG have a cheat code and his name is Marcus Stoinis.

This chase really got in gear when he pulled Gerald Coetzee for back-to-back boundaries. Until then the new ball was doing a fair bit and LSG's focus was seeing that spell of play out. KL had dropped anchor. He was looking to his partner to make the play and he did. Big time.

Stoinis came into this game with an average of 19 and strike rate of 128 against spin in IPL 2024. But he's found Piyush Chawla and Mohammad Nabi just to his liking, taking them for a combined 29 off just 16 balls with four fours and a six.

LSG have lost KL Rahul to a wonderful catch. It was a skier. It had travelled a mile up in the air. Mohammed Nabi had a very long time to look at it as it came down. Almost too long. Catches like these are the ones that are most often spilled because fielders have too much time on their hands; too much time to listen to the doubts in their heads. Nabi though kept cool, collected it with both hands and has kept MI in the game. The equation is 74 off 66.

The thing with small chases is that it doesn't matter if you're good for an over or three. You have to keep it up all through. Nuwan Thushara and Gerald Coetzee had given KL Rahul two freebies down leg side and he was unable to connect with either of them. On the third time of asking, he reached way out with his flick and got enough bat on it to send it away. That got him going and its a whole different ball game now. That last boundary in that sequence was a helicopter shot to an attmpted yorker from Thushara.

These are the first three overs bowled by Nuwan Thushara and Jasprit Bumrah. LSG are 11 for 1.

Both fast bowlers have been getting swing with the new ball. And they seem up for the fight as well, which is what Nehal Wadhera said at the innings break, that they need to pump themselves up, because according to him this is a good total. He spent a lot of time out there, seeing how much spin there was, how the ball wasn't coming into the bat.

KL Rahul has dropped anchor. He's 5 off 13. He has already set up to stay there till the end, giving up the responsibility of making a play to the other batters.

More wickets (4) than boundaries (3) in the powerplay. Four of those six overs going for a run a ball or less. Two of the last four suffering the same fate. MI's top-scorer having to play an innings where he had to be 9 off 15, then 13 off 20 and finally 46 off 41. This is the kind of batting effort no team wants. But they've got 144 on the board and they have Jasprit Bumrah. All season he's been their shining light. Tonight though he's gonna need some support. This is a slow pitch with a huge outfield. Batting hasn't been easy.

The only thing that hasn't gone LSG's way today is Mayank Yadav, on his return from injury, leaving the field after bowling 3.1 overs. He was bowling in the mid 140 kph today. Earlier he was regularly hitting early 150kph.

In the midst of a difficult time for Mumbai, Nehal Wadhera was leading them forward. He finishes on 46 off 40. Yorked by Mohsin Khan. Once again he gives no clue of what's coming. Basically walks up to the bowling crease, takes full advantage of his height, that release point is miles above ground, and lets rip stump seeking missiles. It's incredible.

Wadhera's 46 has been the kind of innings no batter wants to play in T20s. He was 9 off 15. Then 13 off 20. Now back in the pavilion. Much of his acceleration is the result of his taking on Mayank Yadav. Their head to head was 21 off 12 with two fours and two sixes.

And once the field spread and LSG went to their spinners, its been even harder to get the ball away. Five boundaries in eight overs and Kishan trying to go for more has been out caught for 32 off 36. Ravi Bishnoi, nominally a legspinner, has taken out another left-hander with his googly.

Ishan Kishan had a few fans in the nets yesterday at practice and he let it rip for them. Right now, though, the situation isn't allowing him too many liberties. He's on a run-a-ball 27 in the 11th over with Mumbai 66 for 4. His partner Nehal Wadhera is on 12 off 19. They're losing ground but they have to stomach it right now. Get closer to the end overs when a risk taken, which results in the loss of a wicket, won't mean too much

Mayank Yadav, on return from injury, is bowling like he is returning from injury. There was a fairly long first over.

And his slower balls aren't quite landing like he wants them to, which has resulted in some runs. He has also been denied a wicket (Ishan Kishan on 8) by poor catching from Ashton Turner

In the course of 5.2 overs today, LSG have climbed up to second place for wickets in the powerplay with 18 strikes. They came into this game at joint-fifth.

Tilak Varma gets run out because in the chaos of an lbw appeal he forgets about where the ball is. Ravi Bishnoi doesn't and by the time he realises what's happened, he's run-out.

Then in walks Hardik Pandya, who had said Tilak's slow start against spin in the last game was the cause of their defeat, then gets out for a first-ball duck.

Naveen-ul-Haq has broken Mumbai with his very first over of the night. The Hardik wicket was a Test match special too. Bowled from wide of the crease. Getting the batter to drive hard and away from his body. The ball nipping away off the seam and against the angle to take the edge through to the keeper

These are the second and third overs of this innings

LSG lost a review chasing a caught behind down the leg side to start this innings. That time, KL Rahul thought he heard a noise and he turned around asking everyone he could for confirmation before he finally used DRS. That looked to be in hope.

Then the same thing happens. A ball down leg. A batter swinging at it. Keeping taking it with no trouble. Umpire stretching his limbs. But this time the challenge was immediate. KL knew there was a nick. He didn't need confirmation. SKY gone. That's like 20-30 runs off any total MI get from here. That's huge.

Guess who the wicket-taker is? Marcus Stoinis. He has a hundred in this tournament, batting up the order. He opened the bowling today. Imagine what India would do to have a player like that in their T20 squad? Someone who can bat at Nos 1-3 and give them two or three overs every game. Stoinis knows his limitations. He knows he doesn't have a lot of pace - but that actually works in his favour when bowling to SKY. Good on LSG for picking that up and going through with it. Like Hardik said at the toss, this looks a slow pitch.

There seems to be no relation between Mohsin Khan's amble up to the crease and the ball that he sends down.

At times, he gets big on the batter. Other times he gets swing that they aren't expecting. This time he has Rohit spooning a ball that he saw as hittable straight into the hands of short cover.

The MI batter throws his head back in utter disappointment. He still thinks that should have gone for four. But instead he's the one that's gone for 4.

Also there was this.

It is VERY loud out there. Hardik, standing about two feet away from KL, has to scream to make himself heard.

Rahul lays out the team changes: Quinton misses out. Arshin Kulkarni is in the team. Ashton Turner is in the mix and yes, Mayank Yadav is in. He adds that he's been pushing the physios and the doctors to get him better quicker so that he can come back on the field.

Hardik would have wanted to bowl as well. He says the pitch might be on the slower side. One change, Gerald Coetzee is back for Luke Wood.