Marcus Stoinis sends World Cup selectors timely reminder with another match winning performance

Marcus Stoinis and Tim David have taken the opportunity of the last Indian Premier League match before Australia name their squad for the T20 World Cup to remind the selectors of their value.

After David clubbed an unbeaten 18-ball 35 to give Mumbai Indians a total approaching respectability Stoinis made a well-crafted half-century. That laid the platform for Lucknow Super Giants to win by four wickets in the last over.

Batting again at No.3 the allrounder also took a sharp catch and bowled a tidy spell.

“He has been a real matchwinner,” LSG’s Australian coach Justin Langer said of Stoinis. “In T20, in big tournaments, matchwinners are are crucial if you are going to keep progressing. He’s showing that presence at the top of the order. He took a good catch too. He’s playing well.”

Opening up and bowling three overs in the power play to maximise his chances of swing, Stoinis conceded just 19 runs and dismissed Suryakumar Yadav caught behind gloving down the legside.

“It is nice to bowl with the new ball,” Stoinis said. “For someone who is not as quick I can try and shift the ball in the air and have another dimension to my bowling. It is a nice role.”

He also caught Rohit Sharma for four at short cover as Mumbai Indians ended the six-over powerplay 4-28 and up against it.

Nehal Wadhera steadied the innings with 46 in 41 balls before David at least gave Indians’ bowlers something to defend, lifting the visitors to 7-144.

It never looked enough, even after Nuwan Thushara had Arshin Kulkarni leg before in the opening over. That brought in Stoinis and he was fortunate to inside-edge to the boundary as he jabbed down on a Jasprit Bumrah opener.

But Hardik Pandya surprisingly took Bumrah off and Stoinis climbed into a pair of short balls from Gerald Coetzee. KL Rahul, channelling his anger at being omitted from India’s IPL squad, took 20 off the next over, from Thushara.

Then when Bumrah came back to bowl the sixth Stoinis lifted him back over his head into the crowd.

Rahul (28 off 22) was brilliantly caught by Mohammad Nabi but by then Super Giants needed 86 from 76 balls, a routine chase. Stoinis settled down to manage the innings, picking off the occasional four but mainly pushing ones and twos.

He reached his 50 off 39 balls and was on 62 when he was caught on the ropes of his 45th ball aiming for his third six.

By then the job was almost done, and Stoinis’ dismissal gave Ashton Turner the chance of his first innings since making 19 not out for Scorchers against the Stars in Melbourne on December 13.

Inevitably rusty the West Australian eased to five off eight but was then bowled, edging onto his own stumps as he attempted an ambitious lap off Coetzee, but Nicolas Pooran rode his luck to take LSG home.

Lucknow moved into third with 12 points, well placed to be one of the four play-off teams, but with six points Mumbai are struggling to qualify.