IPL 2022: Mumbai Indians lose eighth straight match as KL Rahul’s superb century gives LSG big win

Mumbai Indians were blown away by KL Rahul on Sunday on their return to the Wankhede Stadium as they slumped to their eighth straight defeat of the 2022 edition of the Indian Premier League.

The IPL’s most successful side is yet to win a match in the 2022 edition of the tournament. MI were already the first team in the history of the tournament to lose seven matches at the start of the season, and that run now extended to eight.

Skipper Rahul smashed his second hundred in just over a week against Mumbai, as he guided Lucknow Super Giants to 168/6. In the end, it was a total that MI fell short of by some distance, with the match effectively ending in the 19th over of the chase. LSG won by 36 runs.

Rahul hit his second hundred against the same opposition as his 103 not out off 62 balls was laced with 12 fours and four sixes. The second highest scorer was Manish Pandey with 22 as other batters failed to make significant contribution.

As KL Rahul scores back-to-back centuries against MI, a look at some key stats

For MI, Jasprit Bumrah registered figures of 1/31 in 4 overs while Kieron Pollard had the best figures with 2/8 in his two overs.

In response, Rohit Sharma found some form at the top of the order while young Tilak Varma gave some hope at the end but otherwise it was once again a limp batting effort by the Mumbai lineup.

Jason Holder and Dushmantha Chameera bowled two terrific overs at the death to snuff out any hopes of a late miracle, and with the match theoretically over Krunal Pandya rubbed salt into the wounds’ of his former employers. Three wickets in the final over and he finished with 3/19.

“I thought that score should have been chased down, but we didn’t bat well enough,” MI captain Rohit Sharma said after the match. When you have a target like that, it is important to string partnerships. But some irresponsible shots in the middle, including mine. We didn’t get the momentum. They bowled really well. We haven’t batted well enough in this tournament.”

Player of the match for his century, Rahul said: “Enjoying batting, enjoying the responsibility. Fingers crossed I can keep doing the right things.”

Watch the match highlights here

Brief scores:

LSG: 168/6 (KL Rahul 103 not out off 62 balls, Kieron Pollard 2/8, Jasprit Bumrah 1/31)

MI: 132/8 (Rohit Sharma 39, Krunal Pandya 3/19, Dushmantha Chameera 0/14).