Mumbai crushed Haryana by eight wickets in their second Group B match, in the All India Inter-State Twenty20 tournament at the Sardar Patel stadium in Motera, Ahmedabad, on Tuesday.
Sachin Tendulkar played yet another explosive innings, and this time his teammates ensured his effort did not go waste as was the case in the shocking defeat to Tamil Nadu on Monday.
Mumbai required only 126 runs to win the match, which they scored in only 14.4 overs for the loss of two wickets.
Tendulkar scored 69 off 40 balls, inclusive of nine fours and two sixes, before he was bowled by leg spinner Amit Mishra.
Tendulkar and Ajinkya Rahane, who remained not out on 50, put on 100 for the first wicket and laid a solid foundation for Mumbai's convincing triumph. The youngster, too, seemed to derive inspiration from his legendary partner and played a fine innings.
Like Tendulkar, Rahane also executed brilliant shots while parading his talents. His fifty came off 43 balls and was studded with six fours.
Earlier, Haryana could muster only 125 for 9 in 20 overs after electing to bat. They came a cropper against left-arm spinner Iqbal Abdulla, who had an outstanding day, claiming five wickets for ten runs in the four overs he sent down. Rohit Sharma also bowled very well and finished with figures of 3-0-18-1.
For Haryana, Amit Mishra scored 31 (19 balls, 5x4), Sunny Singh 27 (25 balls, 3x4) and Mahesh Rawat 22 (22 balls, 1x6).
Madhya Pradesh beat Bengal for first victory
Later, under floodlights, Madhya Pradesh defeated Bengal by three wickets to register their first victory in the tournament.
It was Bengal's first defeat after success against Tamil Nadu and Haryana on Sunday and Monday respectively.
Batting first in hot and humid conditions, Bengal were sent packing for a paltry 97 in 18.3 overs by what looked a more determined Madhya Pradesh, which is being coached by former India player Balwinder Singh Sandhu.
Sourav Ganguly, who scored 26 against Haryana on Monday, did not trouble the Madhya Pradesh bowlers much. He began more aggressively than he did against Haryana, but scored only 10 off 12 balls, inclusive of two elegant fours, before returning to the pavilion.
Ganguly's dismissal was a solid blow from which Bengal never recovered. Had in-form captain Manoj Tewary not scored 39 (36 balls, 3x4), Bengal would probably have been dismissed for less than 75.
Off-spinner Syed Abbas Ali and medium pacer Ashutosh Jadav ripped through the Bengal batting line-up. The former claimed two wickets for 5 runs, while the latter two for 13.
To their credit, Bengal made Madhya Pradesh's chase of a seemingly small total difficult. As many as four batsmen were run out as Madhya Pradesh lost seven wickets before finishing on 98 in 19.1 overs.
Abbas Ali shone with the bat, too, scoring 20 off 29 balls, inclusive of a six and four. Devendra Bundela and N Ojha scored 18 runs each.
