It was a night that the Mumbai Indians batting finally came to the party. But then so did the rain to wash out the entire innings of the Cape Cobras, who had been set a stiff 177 to get.
With five points from three games, MI have one foot in the semis, while the Cobras with three from three will have to win their final game and then look at the net run rate where they are ahead of MI at the moment. Of course, should MI win their final encounter, they will not have to worry about their run rate.
On the evidence of Friday night’s showing, their batting worries too seem to be a thing of the past. Put into bat by Cobras skipper Justin Kemp, MI, spurred on by a stirring debut by 23-year-old opener Sarul Kanwar, got their batting together.
That they did so against the Cobras, one of the better bowling sides in the tournament, made it even sweeter.
Powered by a 21-ball 45 from Kanwar (3×4, 5×6) and a belligerent 58 (37b, 6×4, 3×6) from Kieron Pollard, MI ended with 176-5, a total that may that would have taken some chasing even on as good a track as the one provided.