The match was neatly poised in the chase with 71 needed off last seven overs. Mumbai had just recovered from a mini wobble where they had lost Nitish Rana and Jos Buttler (26) in quick succession. With concerns mounting over Rohit Sharma’s form, this was his chance to guide the team home. Rohit played a sensible innings of an unbeaten 29-ball 40 while Pollard smashed his way to 39 off 23 to create an easy passage to the win.

Lions had been put under pressure throughout the game but did well to absorb it and fight their way through. However, Mumbai Indians bossed the last seven overs to snatch the win.

Nitish Rana has been the find of the IPL 2017 so far. Two half-centuries in the tournament has helped him become the highest run-getter after 16 games this season. After the failure against Royal Challengers Bangalore, Rana gave Mumbai the perfect platform to launch an assault in the end.

Rana walked in in the very first over after Praveen Kumar dismissed Parthiv Patel for a duck. He was dropped by Jason Roy, when on 9, off the bowling of Basil Thampi. The score was 11 for 1 at that stage. By the time Rana was dismissed in the 10th over, the score had swelled to 85, with Rana contributing to 53 off those.

On a dry Wankhede surface, Lions had lost Dwayne Smith early after being asked to bat. Both Brendon McCullum and Suresh Raina found it hard to get going as Mumbai made a good start with the ball. That’s when McCullum’s resilience came to the fore. While Raina continued to chug along, McCullum collected the crucial boundaries to take the score to 46 for 1 at the end of the powerplay. It was then that the former New Zealand captain gave the inning the much-needed impetus even as he lost Raina from the other end.

He took on Harbhajan Singh and Lasith Malinga while Ishan Kishan, who walked in at No. 4, struggled against some quality bowling. McCullum stroked a 44-ball 64 before he was bowled by Lasith Malinga in the 14th over.

The scorecard at that stage read 99 for 3 and there was plenty of work left to be done considering the chasing capabilities of Mumbai. Dinesh Karthik has been exceptional for the franchise so far and carried on with his good form, smashing an unbeaten 26-ball 48. What stood out from Karthik was that he was able to take runs off the bowling of Jasprit Bumrah and Malinga, propelling the team to a very competitive total.

Malinga conceded 51 runs, the most he has given away in any IPL game, from his four overs for his one wicket while Bumrah leaked 45 runs from his four overs. That’s 96 runs from eight overs from bowlers who are accustomed to bowling at the death and have done it considerably well. This also highlights how crucial Karthik’s effort was as he helped the team collect 41 runs in the last three overs.

Lions will return to home comforts after the loss and will take on Royal Challengers Bangalore on April 18 in an evening clash. Mumbai, on the other hand, will travel to Indore to take on Kings XI Punjab on April 20. – TOI

It’s crunch time for Indian Premier League finals hopefuls on Sunday with just two games left and five teams still in the running for the playoffs.

The IPL’s playoffs format will see the top two teams face off in a qualifier for a spot in the final on Tuesday night (May 24). The teams that finished third and fourth meet in an elimination final the next night.

Gujarat Lions sealed their spot in the qualifier with their win over Mumbai on Saturday night, while David Warner’s Sunrisers are in the box seat to join them, needing to defeat Kolkata on Sunday.

The season is over for whichever team loses Wednesday night’s eliminator, while the winner will meet the loser of Tuesday’s qualifier in Delhi on May 27 to vie for the second spot in the final in Bangalore next Sunday night.

A number of Australia’s one-day squad members are likely to feature in the IPL finals – including Hyderabad captain David Warner, Royal Challengers Bangalore’s Travis Head and Gujarat Lions’ Aaron Finch and James Faulkner – with all to remain (barring injury) with their respective clubs until their campaigns are completed, before linking up with the ODI squad in Guyana ahead of their clash with the West Indies on June 5.

Here’s how the table shapes up for regular season conclusion:

1. Gujarat Lions (18 points)

A batting blitz from Brendon McCullum and Suresh Raina saw Gurajat seal a double chance on Saturday night. It’s an impressive result for Brad Hodge’s men in their debut season.

A new team from the western city of Pune paid 125 million rupees (US $ 1.8 million) for limited overs captain Dhoni for the next edition of the lucrative Twenty20 tournament.

Dhoni joins Australian captain Steven Smith who was sold for 55 million rupees ($820,000) and South African Twenty20 captain Faf du Plessis who went for 40 million rupees ($597,000) on the same team.

The other franchise from the western city of Rajkot chose McCullum for 75 million rupees ($1.1 million), James Faulkner for 55 million rupees ($820,000) and West Indian Dwayne Bravo for 40 million rupees ($597,000).

The franchises have replaced Chennai Super Kings and the Rajasthan Royals — teams banned from the glitzy tournament for two years on the recommendation of a Supreme Court-appointed panel, after a corruption scandal.

Brendon McCullum

They were allowed to choose five stars from each of the banned teams, while the rest were released into a pool for auction.

Australia’s Shane Watson and Mike Hussey, South Africa’s Chris Morris and the West Indies’ Dwayne Smith remain unsold and will now be auctioned in Bangalore in February.

The 2013 IPL season was mired in controversy after police launched legal proceedings against several officials from the teams and three Rajasthan Royals’ players for illegal betting and spot-fixing.

Suresh Raina, who played for the Chennai Super Kings alongside Dhoni, fetched 125 million rupees from Rajkot which also chose all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja.

“Excited to play for the beautiful vibrant city- Rajkot in @IPL. Looking forward to have new teammates and support from the people of Gujarat,” Raina tweeted.

Indian batsman Ajinkya Rahane and spinner R Ashwin were picked by Pune for 95 million and 75 million rupees.

Both Chennai and Rajasthan are expected to return to the IPL after their bans end following the 2017 edition.