Mumbai Indians maintained their winning momentum, and guarded their proud home base with a 4-wicket win over the Kings XI Punjab.
After playing tense encounters against KXIP over the last two years, Mumbai Indians had it easy against the visiting side.
Opting to field first, Mumbai Indians led by their strike pair of Lasith Malinga and Zaheer Khan, routed the Punjab side on the hallowed turf of Brabourne Stadium.
Malinga (4-22) and Zaheer (3-34) struck at regular intervals to leave the Kings XI Punjab's new look line-up wounded.
Kings XI Punjab ended at 163 off their quota of 20 overs and in reply, Mumbai Indians won in the 20th over off a wide ball leading to wild celebrations.
Mumbai Indians won by four wickets to post their fifth straight win and two more points to keep them on top of the table.
The IPL 2008 Orange Cap winner Shaun Marsh (57: 47b, 6x4, 1x6) returned to the tournament in fine style.
Shaun Marsh held the batting together, but suicidal run-outs, coupled with pin-point yorkers by Malinga, triggered off Kings XI Punjab's collapse.
The only partnership of note was a 49-run stand between stand-in-skipper Mahela Jayawardene and Marsh.
Mumbai Indians chase never really took off after opener Shikhar Dhawan (50: 40 b, 6x4) got off to a fine start.
But the regular fall of wickets ensured that the untested Mumbai Indians middle-order struggled to get going.
Kings XI Punjab's band of medium-paced bowlers, especially Ravi Bopara (3-31), bowled intelligently on the slowing track.
Dwayne Bravo, Kieron Pollard and Ambati Rayudu promised much but it was all down to rising star Saurabh Tiwary.
Tiwary brought the asking rate down with a couple of DLF Maximums.
Rajagopal Sathish and Tiwary delivered a knock-out punch in the 19th over.
From then on, Kings XI Punjab struggled to control the momentum gained by Mumbai Indians. They now languish at the bottom of the table with all but no hope of making the semis.
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Centurion Warner too good for Knight riders
Magic was in the air, as was the ball, with the ever threatening David Warner lighting up the Kotla skyline with some massive shots to score IPL 2010’s second century and help Delhi Daredevils defeat Kolkata Knight Riders by 40 runs.
When the game began it was the visiting Knight Riders who had the dream start. The Kolkata outfit saw off three Daredevils in the first three overs. Sourav Ganguly repeated a trick most captains seem to be employing in IPL: he opened his attack with spin. Chris Gayle’s off-spin completely stumped Sehwag. Interestingly, the wickets of the dangerous Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir and Dinesh Karthik fell on the last ball of the three overs.
But from then on it was a solo performance by Warner. The track was dry and slow and offering help to the spinner, but Warner seemed to be playing in a different realm tonight.
No KKR bowler was spared, with Warner being especially hard on Charl Langeveldt. The Aussie hit Langerveldt for 29 runs off 13 balls, which included two straight sixes. The southpaw played in his characteristic style, not making any exceptions either for the bowler or the difficult situation Delhi were in. He just stood still at the crease, cleared his front foot and swung hard.
At the other end, Paul Collingwood was playing the supporting role to perfection. The tenacious Collingwood scored a half-century (53) in his first match for Delhi this season. The duo were involved in a 128-run partnership that eventually took another piece of magic to break. David Hussey took probably the best catch of the tournament to dismiss Collingwood. Hussey was on the long-on boundary and caught Collingwood, threw the ball up in the air when he saw he was going over the rope and then jumped back to catch it again.
Warner, though, did have one scary moment when he was on 96. Murali Karthik took a return catch and Warner started walking, but the third umpire called him back after deciding that the catch wasn’t clean. He took full advantage to reach his century (107, 69b, 9x4, 5x6) and helped the Daredevils post 177.
The Knight Riders were never really in the hunt after losing Sourav Ganguly, Mandeep Singh and Manoj Tiwary in the space of ten balls with the score reading 21. And once they lost the dangerous Chris Gayle (30) they had lost all hope of chasing down the big total. The KKR innings showed it wasn’t an easy pitch to play on and Warner’s innings made all the difference.
Gambhir’s return proved lucky for Delhi Daredevils. And their second win on the trot takes them to eight points from seven games and places them among the top four in the table.
When the game began it was the visiting Knight Riders who had the dream start. The Kolkata outfit saw off three Daredevils in the first three overs. Sourav Ganguly repeated a trick most captains seem to be employing in IPL: he opened his attack with spin. Chris Gayle’s off-spin completely stumped Sehwag. Interestingly, the wickets of the dangerous Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir and Dinesh Karthik fell on the last ball of the three overs.
But from then on it was a solo performance by Warner. The track was dry and slow and offering help to the spinner, but Warner seemed to be playing in a different realm tonight.
No KKR bowler was spared, with Warner being especially hard on Charl Langeveldt. The Aussie hit Langerveldt for 29 runs off 13 balls, which included two straight sixes. The southpaw played in his characteristic style, not making any exceptions either for the bowler or the difficult situation Delhi were in. He just stood still at the crease, cleared his front foot and swung hard.
At the other end, Paul Collingwood was playing the supporting role to perfection. The tenacious Collingwood scored a half-century (53) in his first match for Delhi this season. The duo were involved in a 128-run partnership that eventually took another piece of magic to break. David Hussey took probably the best catch of the tournament to dismiss Collingwood. Hussey was on the long-on boundary and caught Collingwood, threw the ball up in the air when he saw he was going over the rope and then jumped back to catch it again.
Warner, though, did have one scary moment when he was on 96. Murali Karthik took a return catch and Warner started walking, but the third umpire called him back after deciding that the catch wasn’t clean. He took full advantage to reach his century (107, 69b, 9x4, 5x6) and helped the Daredevils post 177.
The Knight Riders were never really in the hunt after losing Sourav Ganguly, Mandeep Singh and Manoj Tiwary in the space of ten balls with the score reading 21. And once they lost the dangerous Chris Gayle (30) they had lost all hope of chasing down the big total. The KKR innings showed it wasn’t an easy pitch to play on and Warner’s innings made all the difference.
Gambhir’s return proved lucky for Delhi Daredevils. And their second win on the trot takes them to eight points from seven games and places them among the top four in the table.
Monday, March 29, 2010
Bhajji inspired Mumbai Indians wins
An all-round performance from Harbhajan Singh turned the match around and helped Mumbai Indians coast to an incredibly easy victory over hosts Deccan Chargers by 41 runs at DY Patil tonight.
Harbhajan was first an unlikely hero with the bat for Mumbai Indians and then used his off-spin to turn the game in the Mumbai Indians’ favour. He took three wickets, namely Adam Gilchrist, T Suman and Jaskaran Singh. He was ably supported by pacemen Zaheer Khan (3 for 21) and Lasith Malinga (3 for 12).
Sachin Tendulkar very intelligently opened his bowling with the slow spin of Harbhajan and was immediately rewarded with his Deccan Chargers’ counterpart wicket in the very first over. After that it was a procession of Deccan batsmen coming in and then departing in a hurry. Only Herschelle Gibbs (27) and Rohit Sharma (45) offered any kind of resistance.
The mighty Sardar came out to bat with the Mumbai Indians in trouble at 119 for 7 in the 17th over. And the spinner who has a reputation of being a big-hitter came to the IPL party with some lusty and unorthodox hitting.
Bhajji used the long handle to good use scoring a whirlwind 49 off just 18 balls. He started the carnage by hitting Andrew Symonds for a huge six. West Indian pace spearhead Kemar Roach had had a great start to his IPL journey, but Bhajji spoiled his figures hammering 19 runs from his over, the 19th of the innings. The spinner then hit four boundaries in the last over to take MI to a respectable total of 172.
Earlier, Sachin Tendulkar continued from where he had left off against Chennai Super Kings. After a solid partnership with Dwayne Bravo (23) ended and wickets started tumbling around him, the master was composure personified. He set about resurrecting the innings, but the fall of wickets at the other end eventually got to him and he mistimed a pull and set the stage for a Harbhajan special.
For the Deccan Chargers, RP Singh and Pragyan Ojha were the main strikers claiming three and two scalps respectively. DC pacer Jaskaran Singh, who had bowled well throughout the match, had to be taken off the attack in the last over after bowling two beamers.
Mumbai Indians continue their stay on top of the points table with this win. Deccan Chargers, though, need some inspiration to rise up from the middle of the table.
Harbhajan was first an unlikely hero with the bat for Mumbai Indians and then used his off-spin to turn the game in the Mumbai Indians’ favour. He took three wickets, namely Adam Gilchrist, T Suman and Jaskaran Singh. He was ably supported by pacemen Zaheer Khan (3 for 21) and Lasith Malinga (3 for 12).
Sachin Tendulkar very intelligently opened his bowling with the slow spin of Harbhajan and was immediately rewarded with his Deccan Chargers’ counterpart wicket in the very first over. After that it was a procession of Deccan batsmen coming in and then departing in a hurry. Only Herschelle Gibbs (27) and Rohit Sharma (45) offered any kind of resistance.
The mighty Sardar came out to bat with the Mumbai Indians in trouble at 119 for 7 in the 17th over. And the spinner who has a reputation of being a big-hitter came to the IPL party with some lusty and unorthodox hitting.
Bhajji used the long handle to good use scoring a whirlwind 49 off just 18 balls. He started the carnage by hitting Andrew Symonds for a huge six. West Indian pace spearhead Kemar Roach had had a great start to his IPL journey, but Bhajji spoiled his figures hammering 19 runs from his over, the 19th of the innings. The spinner then hit four boundaries in the last over to take MI to a respectable total of 172.
Earlier, Sachin Tendulkar continued from where he had left off against Chennai Super Kings. After a solid partnership with Dwayne Bravo (23) ended and wickets started tumbling around him, the master was composure personified. He set about resurrecting the innings, but the fall of wickets at the other end eventually got to him and he mistimed a pull and set the stage for a Harbhajan special.
For the Deccan Chargers, RP Singh and Pragyan Ojha were the main strikers claiming three and two scalps respectively. DC pacer Jaskaran Singh, who had bowled well throughout the match, had to be taken off the attack in the last over after bowling two beamers.
Mumbai Indians continue their stay on top of the points table with this win. Deccan Chargers, though, need some inspiration to rise up from the middle of the table.
Rajasthan continues winning
Rajasthan Royals continued their winning streak securing a comprehensive win against the visiting Chennai Super Kings at Motera by 17 runs.
Two cricket truisms were proved by this victory: 1.The team that performs as a unit wins. 2. Fielding wins matches. In the process, the Rajasthan citadel in Ahmedabad remained safe against yet another visiting team.
The Chennai team was lacklustre in their performance and again failed to win a close contest.
Matthew Hayden came in and got started, but a Yusuf Pathan special sent the CSK opener back to the dug out pretty early. Hayden couldn’t connect with a low full toss and Pathan stretched his arm out to his right and plucked one of the best catches of IPL 2010. Pathan seems to be revelling in role of a frontline strike bowler.
Murali Vijay, though, didn’t let the loss of his opening partner affect him. In the very next over, Vijay hit Sumit Narwal out of the attack blasting 24 runs, with the scoreboard reading: 6, 0, 4, 4, 6, 4.
But Pathan was on fire today in the field and the Royals’ hero scored a direct hit to rid of Vijay (42). He was then involved in another run out, that of CSK skipper MS Dhoni. With Dhoni went any chance of the visitors winning the match. Dhoni was looking to build momentum to guide his team but committed hara-kiri by running for a non-existent single. Compounding the problem was S Badrinath who rammed into his skipper and a batless-Dhoni couldn’t cross the line before the ball.
Albie Morkel provided brief entertainment and hope to CSK supporters hitting Warne for three consecutive sixes, but he too fell before seeing the side through.
Earlier, Naman Ojha was the star of the Royals’ innings scoring 80 off 49 balls. He was the rock of the Rajasthan team, scoring freely even as the wickets kept tumbling around him. Michael Lumb was his usual aggressive self getting the team off to a flier and the score read 47 in the fourth over. But Morkel, who had been battered by the Englishman, got his revenge taking Lumb’s wicket in the fourth over.
Yusuf Pathan couldn’t get going today with the bat and left after being outfoxed by off-spinner Shadab Jakati. Pathan’s wicket slowed things down and CSK managed to concede only 81 runs from the last ten overs.
The Royals’ innings ended with a manic last over that saw them lose three wickets with only six runs being added
The fourth straight win for the Royals sees them garner two more points to climb to eight points. CSK, on the other hand, sink to the second-last position on the points table.
Two cricket truisms were proved by this victory: 1.The team that performs as a unit wins. 2. Fielding wins matches. In the process, the Rajasthan citadel in Ahmedabad remained safe against yet another visiting team.
The Chennai team was lacklustre in their performance and again failed to win a close contest.
Matthew Hayden came in and got started, but a Yusuf Pathan special sent the CSK opener back to the dug out pretty early. Hayden couldn’t connect with a low full toss and Pathan stretched his arm out to his right and plucked one of the best catches of IPL 2010. Pathan seems to be revelling in role of a frontline strike bowler.
Murali Vijay, though, didn’t let the loss of his opening partner affect him. In the very next over, Vijay hit Sumit Narwal out of the attack blasting 24 runs, with the scoreboard reading: 6, 0, 4, 4, 6, 4.
But Pathan was on fire today in the field and the Royals’ hero scored a direct hit to rid of Vijay (42). He was then involved in another run out, that of CSK skipper MS Dhoni. With Dhoni went any chance of the visitors winning the match. Dhoni was looking to build momentum to guide his team but committed hara-kiri by running for a non-existent single. Compounding the problem was S Badrinath who rammed into his skipper and a batless-Dhoni couldn’t cross the line before the ball.
Albie Morkel provided brief entertainment and hope to CSK supporters hitting Warne for three consecutive sixes, but he too fell before seeing the side through.
Earlier, Naman Ojha was the star of the Royals’ innings scoring 80 off 49 balls. He was the rock of the Rajasthan team, scoring freely even as the wickets kept tumbling around him. Michael Lumb was his usual aggressive self getting the team off to a flier and the score read 47 in the fourth over. But Morkel, who had been battered by the Englishman, got his revenge taking Lumb’s wicket in the fourth over.
Yusuf Pathan couldn’t get going today with the bat and left after being outfoxed by off-spinner Shadab Jakati. Pathan’s wicket slowed things down and CSK managed to concede only 81 runs from the last ten overs.
The Royals’ innings ended with a manic last over that saw them lose three wickets with only six runs being added
The fourth straight win for the Royals sees them garner two more points to climb to eight points. CSK, on the other hand, sink to the second-last position on the points table.
Sunday, March 28, 2010
For a change Knight Riders played well
Kolkata Knight Riders snapped out of their three-match losing streak on Saturday night in fine style.
Led from the front by skipper Sourav Ganguly and Manoj Tiwary, Knight Riders made the most of the decision to bat first.
For the hosts Kings XI Punjab, their fifth loss dented their campaign in IPL 2010. But it was all Knight Riders at the Punjab Cricket Association Stadium on Saturday night as they pocketed two points.
Tiwary’s late charge and Ganguly’s experience ensured that Knight Riders ended at 183-5 in their 20 overs.
The Kings XI Punjab chase never really took off as they lost by 39 runs. This was the second biggest loss for any side in IPL 2010.
When the chase began, Ravi Bopara was trapped in front off the second ball by Shane Bond. Then the experienced Ajit Agarkar struck crucial blows in his first game.
Agarkar first claimed opener Yuvraj Singh, who seemed to be in a hurry and then also got rid of the threatening Manvinder Bisla.
With the asking rate going up all the time skipper, Kumar Sangakkara and senior pro Mahela Jayawardene tried to press their case, but it was too little too late.
Sangakkara (30) and Jayawardene (16) added 38 runs for the fourth wicket. But the Knight Riders bowled intelligently and the home team struggled to force the pace. The pace attack was in top form and the spinners controlled the middle overs.
The effort on the field backed up Knight Riders’ batting show. After Chris Gayle fell early, Ganguly joined forces with Tiwary.
Together the Bengal duo added 79 runs for the third wicket. Ganguly (50: 40b, 6x4, 1x6) fell trying to increase the scoring, but Tiwary carried on.
Tiwary’s late charge, including 21 runs off the last over by Irfan Pathan, pulled the Knight Riders away from a par score. Tiwary’s unbeaten 75 included eight boundaries and two sixes.
Tiwary successfully negotiated comeback man Brett Lee to take the sting out of the Kings XI Punjab attack.
Tiwary played a part on the field as well picking up a Karbonn Kamaal catch and coming up with some useful saves. In the end it was a Tiwary show which ensured the Knight Riders move to Delhi with smiles and a win.
Led from the front by skipper Sourav Ganguly and Manoj Tiwary, Knight Riders made the most of the decision to bat first.
For the hosts Kings XI Punjab, their fifth loss dented their campaign in IPL 2010. But it was all Knight Riders at the Punjab Cricket Association Stadium on Saturday night as they pocketed two points.
Tiwary’s late charge and Ganguly’s experience ensured that Knight Riders ended at 183-5 in their 20 overs.
The Kings XI Punjab chase never really took off as they lost by 39 runs. This was the second biggest loss for any side in IPL 2010.
When the chase began, Ravi Bopara was trapped in front off the second ball by Shane Bond. Then the experienced Ajit Agarkar struck crucial blows in his first game.
Agarkar first claimed opener Yuvraj Singh, who seemed to be in a hurry and then also got rid of the threatening Manvinder Bisla.
With the asking rate going up all the time skipper, Kumar Sangakkara and senior pro Mahela Jayawardene tried to press their case, but it was too little too late.
Sangakkara (30) and Jayawardene (16) added 38 runs for the fourth wicket. But the Knight Riders bowled intelligently and the home team struggled to force the pace. The pace attack was in top form and the spinners controlled the middle overs.
The effort on the field backed up Knight Riders’ batting show. After Chris Gayle fell early, Ganguly joined forces with Tiwary.
Together the Bengal duo added 79 runs for the third wicket. Ganguly (50: 40b, 6x4, 1x6) fell trying to increase the scoring, but Tiwary carried on.
Tiwary’s late charge, including 21 runs off the last over by Irfan Pathan, pulled the Knight Riders away from a par score. Tiwary’s unbeaten 75 included eight boundaries and two sixes.
Tiwary successfully negotiated comeback man Brett Lee to take the sting out of the Kings XI Punjab attack.
Tiwary played a part on the field as well picking up a Karbonn Kamaal catch and coming up with some useful saves. In the end it was a Tiwary show which ensured the Knight Riders move to Delhi with smiles and a win.
Saturday, March 27, 2010
Rajasthan Royals back @ the scheme of things
hane Warne’s boys were imperious tonight with a Yusuf Pathan blitz crushing Deccan Chargers in the Rajasthan Royals' fortress in Ahmedabad by eight wickets.
Pathan celebrated his inclusion in the Indian squad for the ICC World T20 Championship by decimating the Chargers. Pathan Sr. hit eight humongous sixes in his explosive stay at the crease. After having failed to truly justify the tag of being a match-winner in the previous four innings, he flexed his muscles tonight to great effect.
Unlike his innings against Mumbai Indians, when Pathan couldn’t see his team through, he stuck around till his team crossed the line. Pathan quite appropriately hit a huge six to carry Rajasthan Royals home with 4.2 overs to spare. Pathan’s whirlwind knock of 73* came off just 34 balls, clearly showing how domineering the blitz was. For lovers of statistics, the big-hitter reached his 50 off 23 balls.
There was, however, a minor hurdle in the plot. A bad call from Yusuf saw opener Michael Lumb get run-out. Lumb (45) was looking great. He had got the chase off to a great start with four boundaries off RP Singh.
Before the start of the innings, Warne had stated that Motera was Rajasthan Royals’ fortress. Tonight the Deccan Chargers failed to break into the Royals’ stronghold. The battle between the two old Australian colleagues was a one-sided affair with Warne outfoxing Adam Gilchrist in every department.
It was a complete team effort from a side that doesn’t believe in stars. The first stroke of Warne’s genius was opening the bowling with medium-pacer Sumit Narwal. Narwal induced Adam Gilchrist to mis-hit the third ball of the innings and scoop an easy catch to mid-on. The Royals could have lost the plot at this point with Herschelle Gibbs going great guns, but Warne came on and the South African couldn’t read one of his beauties and left after being stumped. Warne was at his best in this match, both as a bowler and captain.
The Chargers’ cause wasn’t helped by the three silly run-outs that saw Andrew Symonds, Chaminda Vaas and Venugopal Rao return to the pavilion. The DC innings never took off with the score at one point reading 103 for six. It was only a late flourish by Rohit Sharma that saw the team get close to 150. Sharma, though, should be thankful that he was dropped on 31 by Adam Voges.
The Royals seem to be back at their best and this win takes them to third position on the points table.
Pathan celebrated his inclusion in the Indian squad for the ICC World T20 Championship by decimating the Chargers. Pathan Sr. hit eight humongous sixes in his explosive stay at the crease. After having failed to truly justify the tag of being a match-winner in the previous four innings, he flexed his muscles tonight to great effect.
Unlike his innings against Mumbai Indians, when Pathan couldn’t see his team through, he stuck around till his team crossed the line. Pathan quite appropriately hit a huge six to carry Rajasthan Royals home with 4.2 overs to spare. Pathan’s whirlwind knock of 73* came off just 34 balls, clearly showing how domineering the blitz was. For lovers of statistics, the big-hitter reached his 50 off 23 balls.
There was, however, a minor hurdle in the plot. A bad call from Yusuf saw opener Michael Lumb get run-out. Lumb (45) was looking great. He had got the chase off to a great start with four boundaries off RP Singh.
Before the start of the innings, Warne had stated that Motera was Rajasthan Royals’ fortress. Tonight the Deccan Chargers failed to break into the Royals’ stronghold. The battle between the two old Australian colleagues was a one-sided affair with Warne outfoxing Adam Gilchrist in every department.
It was a complete team effort from a side that doesn’t believe in stars. The first stroke of Warne’s genius was opening the bowling with medium-pacer Sumit Narwal. Narwal induced Adam Gilchrist to mis-hit the third ball of the innings and scoop an easy catch to mid-on. The Royals could have lost the plot at this point with Herschelle Gibbs going great guns, but Warne came on and the South African couldn’t read one of his beauties and left after being stumped. Warne was at his best in this match, both as a bowler and captain.
The Chargers’ cause wasn’t helped by the three silly run-outs that saw Andrew Symonds, Chaminda Vaas and Venugopal Rao return to the pavilion. The DC innings never took off with the score at one point reading 103 for six. It was only a late flourish by Rohit Sharma that saw the team get close to 150. Sharma, though, should be thankful that he was dropped on 31 by Adam Voges.
The Royals seem to be back at their best and this win takes them to third position on the points table.
Thursday, March 25, 2010
CSK losing its way
Sachin Tendulkar. The night belonged to the little genius as he guided the Mumbai Indians to victory over the visiting Chennai Super Kings at the Brabourne here today.
After Sachin’s master class against the Kolkata Knight Riders, it was the turn of the Super Kings to have the privilege of seeing another great knock from the Master. Sachin played around his partners and his chanceless innings of 72 had eight boundaries and a solitary six. A lot has been written about Sachin’s batting over time and journalists all over the world would repeat all the superlatives and adjectives to describe his innings tonight.
Ironically, Sachin couldn’t see the team home. A tired Sachin played an uncharacteristic pull to get out with Mumbai Indians needing a mere nine to win. Dwayne Bravo then completed the formalities hitting a six off Lakshmipathy Balaji to reach the target of 181 with one over to spare.
Shikhar Dhawan came out with Sachin Tendulkar as if he wanted to end the match within 15 overs. But after scoring a quick-fire 50, which included two towering sixes off Balaji, Dhawan (56) departed looking to repeat his lofty hitting once too often.
Thissara Perrera’s debut IPL match for CSK was one he would wish to forget soon. The match, which could have gone either way till then, turned on its head in the 16th over, with Kieron Pollard and Sachin Tendulkar milking Perrera for 19 runs.
Pollard also got the opportunity to show Mumbai why so much was spent to buy him, when he casually flicked a Muralidaran ball for six over long-on. But next ball he also showed his inexperience getting out by chopping the doosra onto his stumps.
Earlier, Chennai Super Kings who had their talismanic captain, MS Dhoni, back at the helm got off to a good start. The innings truly took off in the second over when Matthew Hayden hit Zaheer Khan for four boundaries, setting the stage for a huge score. But Haydos didn’t stay long enough, getting trapped leg before to Harbhajan in the fourth over. Sadly, the Mumbai crowd got to see the Mongoose bat only for two deliveries. Parthiv followed his opening partner soon and it looked as if the Mumbai Indians were getting the better off the visiting Super Kings.
But Suresh Raina, relieved of the pressures of captaincy, went after the bowling from the start, pulling and cutting with ease. He was particularly hard on Bravo whom he hit for two huge sixes. S Badrinath, at the other end, was also gathering runs and together the duo shared a 142-run partnership, the second highest stand in IPL. Raina reached his fifty of 32 balls, while Badri got to his half-century off 41 balls.
With this win, Mumbai Indians will go to the top of the points table, and CSK will continue to languish in the middle.
After Sachin’s master class against the Kolkata Knight Riders, it was the turn of the Super Kings to have the privilege of seeing another great knock from the Master. Sachin played around his partners and his chanceless innings of 72 had eight boundaries and a solitary six. A lot has been written about Sachin’s batting over time and journalists all over the world would repeat all the superlatives and adjectives to describe his innings tonight.
Ironically, Sachin couldn’t see the team home. A tired Sachin played an uncharacteristic pull to get out with Mumbai Indians needing a mere nine to win. Dwayne Bravo then completed the formalities hitting a six off Lakshmipathy Balaji to reach the target of 181 with one over to spare.
Shikhar Dhawan came out with Sachin Tendulkar as if he wanted to end the match within 15 overs. But after scoring a quick-fire 50, which included two towering sixes off Balaji, Dhawan (56) departed looking to repeat his lofty hitting once too often.
Thissara Perrera’s debut IPL match for CSK was one he would wish to forget soon. The match, which could have gone either way till then, turned on its head in the 16th over, with Kieron Pollard and Sachin Tendulkar milking Perrera for 19 runs.
Pollard also got the opportunity to show Mumbai why so much was spent to buy him, when he casually flicked a Muralidaran ball for six over long-on. But next ball he also showed his inexperience getting out by chopping the doosra onto his stumps.
Earlier, Chennai Super Kings who had their talismanic captain, MS Dhoni, back at the helm got off to a good start. The innings truly took off in the second over when Matthew Hayden hit Zaheer Khan for four boundaries, setting the stage for a huge score. But Haydos didn’t stay long enough, getting trapped leg before to Harbhajan in the fourth over. Sadly, the Mumbai crowd got to see the Mongoose bat only for two deliveries. Parthiv followed his opening partner soon and it looked as if the Mumbai Indians were getting the better off the visiting Super Kings.
But Suresh Raina, relieved of the pressures of captaincy, went after the bowling from the start, pulling and cutting with ease. He was particularly hard on Bravo whom he hit for two huge sixes. S Badrinath, at the other end, was also gathering runs and together the duo shared a 142-run partnership, the second highest stand in IPL. Raina reached his fifty of 32 balls, while Badri got to his half-century off 41 balls.
With this win, Mumbai Indians will go to the top of the points table, and CSK will continue to languish in the middle.
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