Here's Why Ishan Kishan Didn't Come To Bat Against Gujarat
What Mumbai dearly missed on Friday was the perfect start in the powerplay, primarily provided by Ishan Kishan.
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After their thumping victory against Lucknow Super Giants in the Eliminator at Chepauk on Wednesday, Mumbai Indians became an instant favorite for the IPL 2023 trophy, let alone the Qualifier 2 match. Also, why not? Since 2017, Rohit Sharma's squad has never been defeated in the semifinals. Consequently, they have won five IPL titles.
On Friday, however, the reigning champions Gujarat Titans broke the streak. GT relied on home conditions and a sensational batting performance from Shubman Gill, followed by Mohit Sharma's five-wicket haul, to triumph by 62 runs and advance to their second consecutive IPL final.
MI were not excluded from the contest. Suryakumar Yadav and Cameron Green steadied the ship after the early strikes to bring Mumbai to 123 for three in the eleventh over against a formidable target of 234, a score never before attempted in IPL history. And after the latter's departure, Suryakumar carried the initiative on his own, scoring fifty runs along the way.
With his dismissal in the 15th over, the rest of MI's batting line-up disintegrated quickly, and the match ended in 18.2 overs.
On Friday, Mumbai sorely lacked the flawless start in the powerplay, primarily provided by Ishan Kishan, who has had an outstanding season. However, he did not bat during the game against GT. Nehal Wadhera was asked to open the batting after being brought in as an Impact Player, but he only managed three out of four, while Vishnu Vinod replaced Ishan as a concussion replacement.
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After bowling the sixteenth over of Gujarat's innings, Chris Jordan was putting on his cap when he collided with Ishan, who was exchanging sides. During the collision, Jordan's elbow struck Ishan's left eye directly. The match was stopped after the physiotherapist was summoned and the wicketkeeper left the field.
The freak injury prevented Rohit Sharma from opening with Ishan, and subsequently MI were compelled to replace him with Vishnu."We did not expect that, he had a bit of a concussion, and I don't know how it happened," Rohit said following MI's heartbreaking loss in Ahmedabad.
