 | « Back to article | Print this article |
Tendulkar gets Mumbai going
Mumbai Indians stumper Chandan Madan (15), playing in his first game in the IPL, began proceedings against Delhi Daredevils with a couple of boundaries in the first over by Ashish Nehra.
Sachin Tendulkar (30) joined the party with a couple of boundaries, and, in the process, overtook Jacques Kallis in the race for the Orange Cap, given to the tournament's highest scorer.
Mumbai outclassed Delhi by 39 runs to maintain their supremacy in the tournament.
McDonald strikes for the Devils
The introduction of Andrew McDonald into the attack in the sixth over gave Daredevils a wicket off the third ball.
Madan edged the ball to Amit Mishra at short fine and was out after a smart knock of 15 from 19 balls.
Mumbai Indians were reduced to 41 for 1 after 5.3 overs.
Sangwan stops Sachin in his stride
Mumbai Indians were comfortably placed at 64 for one heading into the first strategic time-out, which was taken after nine overs.
But off the third ball after resumption, Pradeep Sangwan struck, having Tendulkar caught by AB de Villiers at extra cover.
The Mumbai skipper's 26-ball stay was a quiet one by his standards and it had just three hits to the fence.
Sangwan strikes again
After 10 overs, Mumbai Indians were 66 for two, their lowest score at that stage in the tournament. When Ambati Rayudu (24) smashed McDonald straight over long-on it was the first boundary in 28 balls -- a stark explanation of how the Delhi bowlers had tied down the Mumbai batsmen.
But the next didn't take long as Saurabh Tiwary (38) smashed Paul Collingwood over mid-wicket in the next over for the first maximum of the innings. The left-hander repeated the feat off Sangwan in the next over, again over midwicket and followed it up with a boundary over extra cover.
But the bowler had the last laugh, cutting down the pace considerably and reaping immediate benefits, as Tiwary witnessed his stumps rattled.
Duminy dazzles
Ambati Rayudu survived in Collingwood's next over, as Dinesh Karthik failed to latch on to a thick edge.
Mumbai had scored just 108 in 15 overs and looked in danger of ending up with a meagre total. But JP Duminy hit three boundaries off Mishra in the 16th over to ease the pressure.
The South African batsman finished with 21 off 14 ball, inclusive of three fours.
Pollard proves his worth
Kieron Pollard then propelled Mumbai Indians with a late blast.
Snapped up for a record price in the third auction earlier this year, the West Indies all-rounder proved his worth with some lusty hits towards the end.
His unbeaten 45 was not only the highest individual contrubution for Mumbai Indians, but also the most significant one. His 13-ball effort was inclusive off two hits to the fence and five huge ones over it.
He was involved in an unbroken 50-run fourth wicket partnership with Duminy that came off the final three overs.
Warner gives Delhi a flying start
David Warner started Delhi's chase in an emphatic manner smashing Zaheer Khan wide of mid-off for a boundary in the first over.
The Australian left-hander was severe in Zaheer's second over, smashing successive boundaries - the first a pull over short fine leg and the second past mid-on - before smashing the third one stright into the sightscreen for a maximum.
Warner continued his onslaught by smashing Dilhara Fernando for two boundaries in three balls before Ali Murtaza took a superb catch at mid-off to curtail his onslaught after a quick 31 from 15 balls and give the Sri Lankan his first wicket of the tournament.
Delhi captain Gambhir fails yet again
Harbhajan Singh was introduced early in the fifth over in a bid to cut pace off the ball but both Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir hit him for a boundary apiece in his first over.
At the halfway stage, Delhi Daredevils were comfortably-placed at 69 for one, but soon Mumbai staged a comeback with regular wickets.
Gambhir survived in the sixth over - by Dwayne Bravo - when Kieron Pollard failed to latch on to a difficult chance at mid-on.
But Delhi captain failed to make the most of the opportunity, hitting straight back to Harbhajan in the next over for 17.
Pollard stars in Mumbai's big win
After his heroics with the bat, Pollard made an important contribution in the field.
His flat throw caught Sehwag (20) short of his crease as he attempted an impossible second run to give Mumbai an important wicket.
The West Indian all-rounder then got Paul Collingwood run out for two as he showed great presence of mind to sprint down the wicket on his follow throw and hit the stumps direct.
Delhi's middle and lower order capitulated tamely before they finished on a paltry 144 for seven in their 20 overs to lose by 39 runs.