Mumbai Indians keep campaign alive with massive 81-run win over Lucknow Super Giants

The Mumbai Indians kept their Indian Premier League (IPL) campaign alive with an 81-run win over the Lucknow Super Giants in Eliminator 1 at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai today. 

Mumbai will next face defending champions Gujarat Titans on Friday in Qualifier 2, with a place in the final against Chennai Super Kings on the line.  

Cameron Green (41) and Suryakumar Yadav (33) gave Mumbai a platform for the second half of their innings, and even though the Indians didn't maximise it, they ended on a competitive 182 for 8 in their 20 overs. 

Tilak Varma contributed 26 and Nehal Wadhera 23, the best of the small contributions made by the Mumbai batsman. 

In response, Lucknow found themselves in all sorts of trouble early in their innings, on 23 for 2 in the fourth over, with Marcus Stonis and Krunal Pandya attempting to fashion a fightback. 

That lasted just under five overs, with Pandya caught at long on in the ninth over, before situation became even more dire when Ayush Badoni and Nicholas Pooran fell in quick succession and Lucknow slumped to 74 for 5 in the next over. 

They felt further behind the chase, losing two more wickets in the space of three overs, and despite the best efforts of Deepak Hooda, the target proved in surmountable.