Mumbai Indians 218 for five (Suryakumar 103*, Rashid 4-30) beat Gujarat Titans 191 for 8 (Rashid 79*, Madhwal 3-31) by 27 runs

You understand how Kane Williamson dabs to 3rd man to get singles? Well, Suryakumar accessed the identical space, besides he cleared the boundary. He noticed a ball on off stump. He knew he might get beneath it. At the purpose the place he made contact, he opened the face, simply as Williamson does, after which the energy in his forearms and his wrists did the remainder.

This is Suryakumar. He sees T20 cricket the way in which no person else sees it.

Rashid finally ends up a footnote

Titans got here into this recreation understanding a win wouldn't solely safe a spot within the playoffs however give them two photographs at making the ultimate.

But Rashid would not purchase that. He had Rohit Sharma caught at slip with a beautiful legbreak. He upended Ishan Kishan by a easy change in size, the premeditated sweep shot failing in opposition to a ball that was too full for it. Titans saved the final six balls they'd from Rashid for the match up in opposition to Tim David. Those are excessive stakes. It was the seventeenth over. This is the time David involves life. Except he could not as a result of Rashid took him out for five off 3.

Very few are able to producing wickets on demand like this. Even fewer are ready to take action when the opposition comes onerous at them.

Hardik Pandya gave Suryakumar Yadav a hug after he introduced up his hundred off the ultimate ball•AFP/Getty Images

Suryakumar turns it on

When Mumbai misplaced their third wicket within the ninth over, they spent a short while scoring only a run a ball. 15 off 15. And then impulsively, they crashed 32 in 10.

That would have been shot of the sport if not for SKY doing SKY issues.

He wanted 32 balls to get to his fifty. That's sluggish by his requirements, and he was constructing his innings with orthodox photographs. The solely luxurious he afforded himself had been these straight sixes, the place his weight is normally on the again foot, proper as much as the purpose the place he meets the ball, after which he hops, lifting each himself and the ball up off the bottom. That's how he creates leverage. It's his personal distinctive factor.

Then Rashid took David out and one thing snapped. Suryakumar was 53 off 34 firstly of the 18th over. He hit Mohit Sharma for 3 fours and a six to maneuver to 73 off 40. Then he met Shami within the nineteenth over and performed a front-foot drive for six over third man, simply by opening the face of the bat. Finally, on 97, with just one ball left within the innings, he did what he has performed to quick bowlers everywhere in the world, sweeping Alzarri Joseph from means outdoors off into the group previous the sq. leg boundary.

Rashid Khan smashed 10 sixes in his innings of 79 off 32 balls•BCCI

Rashid or bust for Titans

As good as Titans are in a chase, they had been up in opposition to it in a short time when all of their prime three batters fell for single digits. Shubman Gill, Hardik Pandya and Wriddhiman Saha totalled 12 runs between them.

Madhwal has a stunning yorker. And now, it seems his different balls are simply as lethal, as a result of when he hits a tough size, they maintain skidding by way of. He bowled Gill with one which stayed decrease than the batter anticipated. And he had David Miller lbw in simply the identical means.

Rashid carried the Titans with the bat as effectively, making his highest rating in T20s, 79 off 32 with 10 sixes. A complete of 103 for 8 in 14 overs rose to 191 for 8 in 20. But it was not sufficient. Imagine going three-fourth of the way in which to a century after choosing up one in need of 5 wickets and nonetheless shedding the sport.

Alagappan Muthu is a sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo