Mumbai Indians produced a brilliant all-round display as they romped to a crushing 58-run win over table-toppers Royal Challengers Bangalore in the Indian Premier League (IPL) in Mumbai on Saturday.
After setting a formidable target of 195, Mumbai Indians restricted Bangalore to 136 for seven in 20 overs in front of a packed crowd at the Wankhede Stadium.
Opting to bat first, Mumbai rode on the West Indies duo of Dwayne Smith (50) and Kieron Pollard (34), with Dinesh Karthik (43)complementing them to help the side close in on the 200-run mark. Seamer Dhawal Kulkarni then rattled the RCB top-order with three wickets.
Chasing a challenging target, Bangalore got off to a disastrous start as they lost their top four batsmen within the eighth over. After being ignored for the first seven matches, Kulkarni justified his selection as he ripped through the Royal Bangalore batting order.
Kulkarni scalped three for 19 and provided the first breakthrough as he got rid off Tillakaratne Dilshan in his first over. The visitors lost dangerman Chris Gayle in the next over as the Jamaican, who holds the world record for the highest individual score of 175 not out in a T20 game, holed out in the deep where Ambati Rayudu pulled off a brilliant catch.
He scored 18 off 20 balls while striking two fours and a six, before Rayudu held one near the ropes off Harbhajan Singh. Kulkarni struck again in his second over as he packed off Bangalore skipper Virat Kohli (1) and South African AB de Villiers (2) in two balls.
Reeling at 43 for four, the hard-hitting Saurabh Tiwary and wicketkeeper-batsman Arun Karthik (12) tried to do a repair job, but their 24-run partnership came to a halt when the stumper was run out in the 11th over.
Tiwary (21) perished in the 14th over. It was a double blow for the Bangalore side as Syed Mohammad too was dismissed in the same over and the visitors were left stuttering at 85 for seven.
After that Ravi Rampaul and Vinay Kumar added 51 runs for the eighth wicket. Earlier, Dwayne Smith led the way with a stroke-filled half-century as Mumbai batting fired in unison.
With his team opting to bat, Smith blazed his way to a quickfire 36-ball 50. Karthik scored 43 off 33 balls while Pollard smashed 34 off just 16 deliveries to propel the hosts.
After being reduced to 29 for one, opener Smith stitched a 39-ball 68—run partnership with wicketkeeper-batsman Dinesh Karthik. Smith, the aggressor of the two, continued his rich vein of form, scoring his second successive half century. The West Indian's knock comprised four fours and three sixes, before he was castled by left-arm spinner Syed Mohammad.
Mumbai suffered their first setback, when senior batsman Sachin Tendulkar, playing his first home match after his 40th birthday, was trapped leg before by R P Singh in the fourth over.
In the previous over, Tendulkar had taken a fancy to Ravi Rampaul's bowling, hitting the West Indian all over the park - over point, mid-off, mid-wicket and fine leg. Tendulkar had struck four out of his five fours in the over and scored 23 off just 13 balls.
Rohit Sharma, leading the Mumbai Indians outfit, came into bat after Smith's departure, but was run out following a mix-up with his partner. Sharma was livid after his dismissal as Karthik, who had called for the second run, took a few paces and returned to his crease.
Mumbai, after consolidating with a 51-run partnership between Pollard and Karthik, lost wickets in a heap. The hosts lost three wickets in three balls, including those of Pollard, Karthik and a bizarre run out of Ambati Rayudu.
Pollard struck two fours and three sixes while Karthik's innings comprised of three fours and a six.
Photograph: BCCI
