New Delhi: As Mumbai Indians' batting line-up was stumbling down from one end, all eyes were on skipper Rohit Sharma to lead from the front in guiding the side through a difficult start to the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2017 final against Rising Pune Supergiant. (IPL 2017 Final, RPS vs MI - Live Blog | Full Coverage)
Mumbai found themselves 2 down at the score of just 8 runs when Rohit came out to bat and before he and Ambati Rayudu could put any substantiate score on board, the latter was dismissed run-out following a stunning direct hit from mid-off by RPS skipper Steve Smith.
With the score progressing at a snail's speed amidst the havoc that Pune bowlers had caused, the Mumbai skipper decided to start increase the run rate with a few boundaries, but tough luck, as Shardul Thakur completed a dangerously close catch at deep mid-wicket boundary off Adam Zampa's delivery.
Here's how Shardul completed the catch, inches away from the boundary rope:-
https://t.co/slURDG5kUU #VIVOIPL via @ipl
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The two-time champions were completely off-colour with the willow as they played an astounding 54 dot balls (9 maiden overs) in 20 overs, a testimony to their plight.
Krunal Pandya (47 off 38 balls), was watching helplessly from the other end as none of the MI batsmen showed judiciousness expected on the grand stage. It was because of his late hitting (three fours and two sixes) that MI managed to reach close to 130 after being reduced to 79 for 7.
