Rohit, Rana hit Gujarat for a sixer

Mumbai, Skipper Rohit Sharma anchored Mumbai Indians to a six-wicket victory over Gujarat Lions in an IPL encounter here today.
Chasing a tricky target of 177, Sharma remained unbeaten on 40 off 29 balls with Mumbai Indians knocking off the target with three balls to spare. Nitish Rana, 53 off 36 balls, set the platform with another mature effort. Kieron Pollard (39 of 23 balls) also did his bit with some lusty blows to make it easier for the skipper to add the finishing touches.
Needing eight runs off the last over, Sharma guided a yorker past the keeper to take the pressure off. A couple of twos sealed it as the skipper looked relieved having gone through a bad patch since the start of the event. The turning point of the Mumbai Indians innings’ was the 14th over when Sharma hit Munaf Patel for a boundary and Pollard pulled him for a six. The skipper also lofted Ravindra Jadeja for an inside-out six over extra cover.
It was young Rana, whose half-century and the 85-run stand with Jos Buttler helped Pollard accelerate in the last 10 overs in the company of Sharma. Rana’s innings had four boundaries and two sixes.
For Gujarat, Andrew Tye took two wickets while Praveen Kumar and Patel chipped in with one wicket each.
Earlier, Brendon McCullum raced his way to a quickfire 64 while Dinesh Karthik’s cameo provided the late flourish as Gujarat Lions scored a competitive 176/4. The former New Zealand captain laid the foundation while Karthik smashed 48 off 26 balls which was largely responsible in Lions crossing the 175-run mark.
It was an off day for Sri Lankan pacer Lasith Malinga, who went for 51 in his four overs — his most expensive spell in the tournament. Bumrah, who was hit for three fours, gave away 19 runs in the 17th over. For Mumbai, Mitchell McClenaghan scalped two wickets while Malinga and Harbhajan Singh chipped in with a wicket apiece.