Quantcast

Smith stars in Supergiant victory

Steve Smith’s stellar run in India continues with a match-winning knock in tandem with Ajinkya Rahane to secure seven-wicket win

The match in a tweet: Give him the captaincy and he’ll give you the win. Steve Smith leads from the front to give the Supergiant their first ever win in Pune.

The superstar: Steve Smith’s love affair with India continued with a stunning innings that saw his side register their first ever victory at the Maharashtra Stadium. Smith entered at 1-35 and didn’t leave until the Supergiant had secured the win, smashing seven boundaries and three sixes in his 54-ball stay. Having not played a T20 fixture of any kind since May 2016, Smith settled right back into things with a match-winning 84 not out, his first knock since taking over as skipper from MS Dhoni.

Smith's super knock guides RPS to victory

The dynamic duo: Chasing 185 for victory, the Supergiant needed somebody to stand tall at the top, and Ajinkya Rahane was that man. After edging his first ball through the slips, Rahane then came to the party with six boundaries and three sixes. Rahane’s 60 from 34 balls saw him hit to all parts of the vast Pune expanses, only lifting his aggression when Smith strode to the crease. Just nine days after captaining their countries against each other in a Test match, Rahane and Smith combined in a 58-run stand that would eventually see the Supergiant home.

The game turner: After being sent in by Smith, Parthiv Patel (19) and Jos Buttler (38) had the Aussie searching for answers, reaching 40 in just four overs. Buttler looked in ominous touch and targeted the boundary when his international teammate Ben Stokes was called on to bowl. Smith then turned to South Africa's Imran Tahir (3-28) much earlier than he would’ve preferred, with the wrist-spinner employing a leg-stump line that Patel picked off. But it seemed all part of a plan, Tahir executing a beautifully drifted leg-break that glided onto leg stump, halting the scoring before picking up the dangerous Rohit Sharma (3) and Buttler within three balls. The South African was unlucky not to have Kieron Pollard too, an LBW appeal turned down despite replays showing the ball was headed for middle stump.

The final over: The recently retired David Hussey might be breathing a sigh of relief after Ashok Dinda took the unwanted mantle of the most expensive final over in IPL history from him. Dinda had a day to forget, leaking 57 runs from his four overs and feeling the wrath of a rampaging Hardik Pandya (35no). After going at nine runs an over – and having two catches put down - in his first three, Smith called upon the quick to close out the innings. But Pandya had other ideas, hitting four sixes and a boundary, taking 30 runs from Dinda's last six balls to boost the Mumbai score to 8-184 and hand his side the momentum heading into the break.

The dropped catch: The adage goes 'catches win matches' and this rings truest for Mumbai. With the game in the balance and Smith on 36, Mitchell McClenaghan thought he’d struck when the Supergiant skipper sent one straight to Nitish Rana on the deep square fence, but the fielder misjudged the trajectory and eventually grassed the chance. From there, Smith would go on to hit 47 from the next 22 balls, including the winning runs.

Huge job to captain four teams: Ponting

The Money Man: All eyes were on Ben Stokes as he strode out for his first game as the highest paid overseas player in IPL history. Pune had invested AUD$2.8m in the allrounder and things got off to a shaky start as compatriot Buttler sent him for consecutive sixes in his first over. Rana (34) then got a hold of the England international before he picked up Pollard (27) thanks to a brilliant diving catch from Mayank Agarwal. He showed enough with the bat, scoring 21 and reaching the fence three times in an important stand with Smith, but the Supergiant fans will hope to see more in the next few games.

The Aussie Pack: Smith – as always – led from the front with a match-winning 84 not out that earned him player of the match. He was brilliant in his field placements and his decision to replace Stokes with Tahir proved a masterstroke. He also had Adam Zampa (1-26) at his disposal, who bowled three overs and had Rana caught on the deep mid-wicket boundary just as the away side were scoring freely. A last-minute decision saw Rohit Sharma’s men opt for McClenaghan over Mitchell Johnson, with the Mumbai captain saying it was a toss of the coin for the final spot.

The fallout: The Supergiant will need to regroup immediately, with Smith’s men to take on Glenn Maxwell’s Kings XI Punjab on Sunday before Mumbai return to the Wankhede Stadium on Monday to take on the Kolkata Knight Riders in a clash that may see a fully fit Chris Lynn back in action.