JAIPUR: On paper, it was a clash between the David and the Goliath. But in T20, there aren’t any favourites, and the fancied Mumbai Indians learnt it the hard way on Wednesday as they crashed to a humiliating 87-run loss to Rajasthan Royals.
After letting the hosts pile up 179/3, Ricky Ponting’s men were found wanting by a big mile as they were bowled out for 92 in 18.2 overs to suffer one of their worst-ever defeats in the league.
Chasing a formidable target, Mumbai required was a sizzling start. But with Royals offie Ajit Chandila dismissing Sachin Tendulkar (1) and Ponting (4) in quick successions, the star-studded side were in complete disarray. Trying to sweep across the line, Tendulkar was caught by Siddharth Trivedi at short-fine leg. Moments later, it was Ponting’s turn to walk back to the pavilion, after giving a return catch to Chandila. In-form Rohit Sharma too failed to last long, getting caught by Shane Watson off Trivedi.
It was an uphill battle after that which Mumbai found too hot to handle. On the other hand, the Royals bowlers, led by Chandila, Trivedi and James Faulkner, enjoyed a fruitful day.
Earlier, riding on Ajinkya Rahane’s unbeaten 68, the Rajasthan Royals put up a total which must have warmed the hearts of their fans. Against a heavyweight side, it was a tough job at hand for the Royals but openers Watson and Rahane helped them get off to a flier. While the Australian all-rounder (31) was in an attacking mode, a steady Rahane kept the scoreboard ticking.
Rahane changed gears later as the hosts put up the highest total at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium this season.
The win helped Royals climb to the top of the tally.
Scoreboard:
Rajasthan Royals: Shane Watson c Karthik b Pollard 31 (25b, 5×4, 1×6), Ajinkya Rahane (not out) 68 (54b, 8×4, 1×6), Dishant Yagnik c Tendulkar b Harbhajan 34 (24b, 4×4, 1×6), Stuart Binny (run out) 4 (4b), Brad Hodge (not out) 27 (15b, 2×6); Extras (lb-7, nb-2, w-6): 15; Total (for three wkts. in 20 overs): 179.
Fall of wickets: 1-62 (Watson), 2-115 (Yagnik), 3-126 (Binny).
Mumbai Indians bowling: Johnson 4-0-41-0, Malinga 4-0-30-0, Dhawan 2-0-20-0, Ojha 4-0-31-0, Pollard 2-0-24-1, Harbhajan 4-0-26-1.
Mumbai Indians: Sachin Tendulkar c Trivedi b Chandila 1 (3b), Ricky Ponting c & b Chandila 4 (9b), Dinesh Karthik c Hodge b Faulkner 30 (32b, 3×4), Rohit Sharma c Watson b Trivedi 2 (7b), Kieron Pollard b Binny 1 (7b), Ambati Rayudu lbw b Cooper 27 (29b, 2×4), Rishi Dhawan c Faulkner b Binny 0 (1b), Harbhajan Singh (run out) 1 (1b), Mitchell Johnson b Faulkner 11 (9b, 2×4), Lasith Malinga b Faulkner 7 (11b, 1×4), Pragyan Ojha (not out) 1 (1b); Extras (lb-4, w-3): 7; Total (in 18.2 overs): 92.
Fall of wickets: 1-4 (Tendulkar), 2-10 (Ponting), 3-26 (Rohit), 4-31 (Pollard), 5-61 (Karthik), 6-63 (Dhawan), 7-64 (Harbhajan), 8-83 (Johnson), 9-83 (Rayudu).
Rajasthan Royals bowling: Chandila 2-0-6-2, Chavan 3-0-10-0, Faulkner 3.2-1-16-3, Trivedi 4-1-17-1, Binny 3-0-14-2, Cooper 3-0-25-1.
Man-of-the-match: A. Rahane.
Mishra googlies floor Warriors
Pune, Apr 17, 2013 IANS
Amit Mishra picked up four wickets in one over to take Sunrisers Hyderabad to a sensational win over Pune Warriors in the Indian Premier League here Wednesday.
Mishra took all his scalps, including the hat-trick, in the 19th over of the Pune innings which ended at 108 — 11 runs short of Hyderabad’s 119 for eight. The leg-spinner also made 30 crucial runs after his side was tottering at 44 for six.
The hosts needed 25 runs off 24 balls with six wickets in hand before Mitchell Marsh’s dismissal triggered a dramatic batting collapse.
Mishra removed opposition skipper Angelo Matthews (20), Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Rahul Sharma and Ashok Dinda to propel the Hyderabad team to a memorable win. His first hat-trick in IPL came in 2008 and he repeated the feat in the 2011 edition.
Hyderabad now have four wins out of their six matches, pushing them to second spot in the standings. Pune, who shocked Chennai Super Kings Monday night, are placed second from bottom with four losses in six games.
It seemed the match would get over before time when Pune raced to 38 for no loss in four overs.
Medium pacer Thisara Perera provided Hyderabad the breakthrough, removing the dangerous Aaron Finch (16) and Robin Uthappa (22) in successive balls.
Mathews and Steven Smith (17) hung around for a while and the target looked very much within reach. The match witnessed a massive turnaround following the fall of Marsh’s wicket which made it 101 for five.
It was all Mishra thereafter.
Earlier, Bhuvneshwar Kumar rattled the Hyderabad top order with high quality swing bowling with Ashok Dinda giving him good support.
Kumar bowled Parthiv Patel (12) through one that swung enough to hit the off-stump and then foxed Cameron White with an inswinger castling his stumps.
His third wicket was of Hanuma Vihari, who eded another moving ball to first slip.
Another couple of dismissals spelt huge trouble for the visitors, leaving them at 44 for six in the 11th over.
A gritty knock from Biplab Samantray (37) and a 40-run partnership between Mishra and Ashish Reddy (19 not out) took Hyderabad to a fighting total.
