(ESPNCRICINFO) – TILAK Varma retired out, and Hardik Pandya farmed strike. But the last-ditch effort wasn’t enough for Mumbai Indians (MI) to register a come-from-behind win against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG). LSG have now won six of their seven games against the five-time champions, and the one in Lucknow on Friday was on the back of half-centuries from openers Mitchell Marsh and Aiden Markram, and a miserly spell of 4-0-21-1 from Digvesh Rathi.

For MI, Naman Dhir made an explosive 46, and Suryakumar Yadav continued his return to form with a 43-ball 67. But LSG’s death bowlers stood tall against an experienced MI batting line-up in the end.

With 52 runs needed off the last four overs, ESPNcricinfo’s forecaster gave MI a 36.9 per cent chance of winning. With Suryakumar and Tilak at the crease, and Hardik to follow, the equation rather seemed closer to fifty-fifty.

Avesh, Thakur turn it around

Avesh Khan changed that equation by dismissing Suryakumar to start the 17th over. The batter pre-meditated a sweep, and he went through with it despite the ball being well outside the off-side tramline. The catch was taken at deep-backward square leg.

Hardik, the next batter in, and Tilak, got a boundary each in the over, but couldn’t get Rathi away in the next one. Shardul Thakur bowled yorkers in the 19th – at the stumps as well as wide ones – and with another 24 runs needed off the remaining seven balls, MI decided to retire Tilak out and bring in Mitchell Santner.

Two runs by Santner off the last ball of that over from Thakur, who gave away just seven runs at a crucial stage, left MI an improbable 22 runs to get in the final over. Hardik was on strike, and although he launched Avesh over cover to start with a six, Avesh continued aiming for yorkers, and conceded just three runs off the five deliveries of the over. LSG won by 12 runs.

Suryakumar, Dhir accelerate but can’t cross the line

MI had gotten themselves into a good position despite stumbling early in the chase. Dhir and Suryakumar took charge after MI lost Will Jacks and Ryan Rickelton, their openers, in near-identical fashion: both flicked hard-length balls to deep-backward square leg.

Dhir was remarkably still at the crease, and hit boundaries down the ground and through the leg side to get to 30 off his first nine balls. Suryakumar, meanwhile, swatted Avesh over the leg side as MI brought up their fifty in five overs. Akash Deep and Ravi Bishnoi were hit for two boundaries each right after the powerplay.

But Rathi broke the duo’s flow with a legspinner’s carrom ball that angled in off a shortish length, beat Dhir’s flick, and hit the stumps. Suryakumar, though, continued to find the boundary without taking many risks. His ability to manipulate the field was on display in the 11th over when he first played the square drive and then the cover drive to pick up two fours. Tilak, too, picked up an early boundary but couldn’t get going.

MI got 88 for 1 in the middle overs despite not hitting a single six. They had set batters at the crease for the big finish, but were denied by LSG’s death bowling.