Cricket Tournaments

Cometh the hour, cometh the man. Suresh Raina stood up to be counted for the Chennai Super Kings as M S Dhoni’s men got the better of the Mumbai Indians in the title clash of IPL 3. In front of a capacity Sunday evening crowd at the D Y Patil stadium, Raina first blasted an unbeaten 57 from 35 balls to help his side recover from a slow start and post a highly challenging 168 for 5.

Then, when it was Chennai’s turn to defend the score, the youngster chipped in by dismissing Harbhajan Singh and also took a magnificent running catch to dismiss the dangerous Saurabh Tiwary as Mumbai’s batting fell apart. In a baffling move, the home side sent in Kieron Pollard at the fall of the sixth wicket, by which time the required rate had sky-rocketed to nearly 17.

And, so despite a last-ditch, big-hitting effort of 27 from 10 balls from the tall West Indian, Mumbai were left stranded, eventually falling 22 runs short.

There was nothing dramatic at the start of Chennai’s innings to suggest that they would end up posting a winning total. After winning the toss and promptly deciding to bat first, Matthew Hayden and Murali Vijay were kept quiet in the wake of some accurate bowling from Mumbai bowlers.

Dilhara Fernando was particularly impressive, mixing his deliveries up very well and keeping the batsmen on their toes. Still, Chennai’s openers did well to add to keep their wickets in tact and add 44 for the first wicket at a steady pace.

But, once Vijay fell to Fernando, trying to break the shackles, the momentum clearly shifted in Mumbai’s direction. Hayden followed soon after struggling for his 17. And, with S Badrinath also not firing, Chennai had their back to the wall at 67 for 3 in the 12th over.

Chennai needed something special to recover. And, it came in the form of Raina, who timed and the placed the ball with ludicrous ease, on a pitch where most other struggled. Raina was lucky to be dropped twice in two overs.

But, to his credit he rode his luck. He played some superb lofted shots against Zaheer Khan and Kieron Pollard and also drove on the up, finding the gap with precision.

The left-hander raced to his half-century as Mumbai were made to pay dearly for their misses. While Raina, was brilliant at one end, it was actually skipper Dhoni who began the turnaround by smashing a couple of boundaries after the fall of the early wickets.

However, such was the impact of Raina’s knock that everything else paled in comparison. Chennai did not mind it though as they went into the mid-innings break having the upper hand.

The match was far from over as Mumbai had the arsenal in their ranks to chase it down. But, Chennai made things extremely tough for them right from the start. Doug Bollinger not only bowled a tight line, he also got an edgy Shikhar Dhawan to nick one in his opening over.

At the other end, R Ashwin carried on with the good work he had been doing throughout the tournament. For a change he wasn’t among the wickets, but kept runs at a premium, which aided Dhoni add extra pressure.

Mumbai did shine briefly during the chase. Sachin Tendulkar and Abhishek Nayar combined to bring their side back on track with a 66-run partnership. Tendukar found the boundary at regular intervals while Nayar hit a couple of big sixes off the spinners. However, once the partnership was broken, following a mix-up, things fell apart.

Mumbai did not help their cause by holding back Pollard for the last three overs. It was 114 for 6 by the time walked and there was just too much for him to do. He did give it his best shot, slamming three fours and two mighty sixes in the space of 9 deliveries.

It was far from enough though. In the end, Mumbai were left ruining the missed opportunities that let Raina get away and swing the final in Chennai’s favour.

Kieron Pollard

Kieron Pollard proved why he was the most expensive buy during the auction for IPL 3. He put in a magnificent all-round performance against the Bangalore Royal Challengers in the first semi-final as Mumbai sealed their place in the final with an emphatic 35-run win.

The fiery West Indian first slammed a sizzling, unbeaten 33 and in the company of Saurabh Tiwary (52 not out) enabled Mumbai to recover from a dicey position and post an imposing 184 for 5. Such was the brutality of the duo’s attack in the last five overs that as many as 77 runs were scored and the total skyrocketed from 107 for the loss of 4 wickets in the 15th over as roar at D Y Patil got bigger.

In reply, Bangalore never quite got going during the chase. The pressure of the semi-final clearly got even to the strong batting line-up. In the big game, Bangalore opened their reply Rahul Dravid joining Jacques Kallis at the top of the order. But, the move failed to work. While Kallis (11) was consumed by a brilliant outswinger from Lasith Malinga early in the innings, Dravid fell victim to a mix-up between him and Ross Taylor.

His hard-earned 22 did not do much to help the team’s cause. In between, a dangerous looking Kevin Pietersen (19), who was rightly sent in one down, was brilliantly stumped down the leg side by Ambati Rayudu off Harbhajan Singh’s bowling. In what appeared to be a well-planned move, the off-spinner fired one down the leg-side and Rayudu completed the smart stumping as Pietersen blindly charged down the track.

It was wide delivery, but Mumbai would have happily exchanged an extra run and delivery to see the back of the England’s world-class player.

With the top guns gone, all hopes were now pinned on Robin Uthappa. Could he turn batman again? Unfortunately not, for Bangalore even though he shone briefly. Uthappa lofted Harbhajan’s for two massive sixes. The 18-run over gave Bangalore some hope. But, with the run-rate always on the ascendancy, Uthappa had to keep on going for the big ones consistently.

One such stroke led to him downfall. Pollard chipped in with a smart slower ball. It was one of the rare occasions when Uthappa failed to time one and, as a result, holed out in the deep for 26. In walked Taylor, but out walked Dravid the very next ball, confused over taking a quick single. At 81 for 4, Bangalore needed something miraculous from the woefully struggling Taylor.

He did chip in with 31*. However, with wickets falling at the other end, he was deprived of the strike during the most crucial occasions. For Mumbai, Pollard and Malinga complemented each other perfectly – one slowing things up and causing trouble and other beating the batsmen with pace.

Mumbai’s batsmen played an equally significant part in the victory, earlier in the evening. Sachin Tendulkar fell early courtesy and the next three also departed with only 77 on the board. It was only Rayudu, who kept the runs flowing from one end, throwing his bat wherever and gathering a number of boundaries. He eventually fell for 40, but his dismissal put Mumbai back in trouble. It was here though that the game changed drastically.

Tiwary and Pollard put in a special exhibition of power-hitting. Tiwary began by slamming a wayward Kallis all over the park in the 16th over. The home team never looked back from then. Even Anil Kumble was taken for plenty in his final spell by the left-hander. Pollard took no time to get his eye in. He took care of Vinay Kumar and Dale Steyn as Mumbai were rollicking away. Bangalore could not recover from the brutal assault.

Ambati Rayudu’s sensational, unbeaten 55 off a mere 29 balls and Saurabh Tiwary’s rebuilding effort of 44 from 35 balls were responsible for Mumbai Indians recovering from a mid-innings collapse and posting 178 for 5 in their game against the struggling Deccan Chargers at the Brabourne Stadium.

The total was too good for Deccan, who were never in the hunt during the chase. The entire team succumbed to 115 all out before the stipulated overs and lost by an embarrassing 63-run margin.

Despite a professional performance by the Mumbai bowlers, it has to be said that the turning point of the match was the partnership between Rayudu and Tiwary. The duo added an impressive 65 in 7.4 overs at a stage when Mumbai where crumbling after a confident start.

The home team were cruising at 53 for no loss in the seventh over when things turned murky. Pragyan Ojha had Shikhar Dhawan stumped for 14 and in his next over cleaned up the dangerous Dwayne Bravo for 2. At the other end, Rahul Sharma claimed the ever so crucial scalp of Sachin Tendukar, who was well-set on 35.

Things could have gone horribly wrong for Mumbai had Rayudu and Tiwary not held things together. Mumbai were well-aided but Deccan’s fielders and some rather poor bowling in the death overs. Tiwary was lucky to survive on more than one occasion even as the bowlers went for over 12 an over in the last five overs of the innings.

Batting sensibly, Rayudu and Tiwary were initially prepared to get themselves in, at the same time ensuring that the run-rate did not come down drastically. And, once they were in, there was no stopping them. Rahul could have had Tiwary in his return spell, instead Herschelle Gibbs deflected it over the long-on boundary.

The fact that Deccan’s best fielder came up with that effort symbolized the agony of the Chargers. As if that wasn’t enough, Monish Mishra couldn’t latch on to a low offering from the same batsman. This was after the bowler had already been lofted for a maximum.

At the other end, Rayudu had better control. He slogged Andrew Symonds for a mighty off the last ball of the 16th overs. And, things only got worse for Deccan. Ojha did manage to pick up his third wicket by ending Tiwary’s important knock, but Rayudu continued his merry ways.

Jaskaran Singh was taken for 20 off the penultimate over, which featured two dismissive fours and a beautifully lofted, inside-out six. Kieron Pollard also threw his bat around a gathered three boundaries as Mumbai ended their innings on a high.

There was nothing noteworthy to talk about in Deccan’s chase. Gibbs hit a couple of boundaries off Harbhajan Singh and Adam Gilchrist lashed Lasith Malinga for a six. That was about it though. Gibbs, Gilchrist and VVS Laxman all few before the side crossed 40. Symonds, with 21, ended up being highest score, too low even in the shortest format of the game.

A scintillating 63 from Sachin Tendulkar and an equally smashing 61 from Saurabh Tiwary helped Mumbai Indians post an imposing 218 for 7 against the in-form Delhi Daredevils, a score which proved more than enough for Mumbai to register their second successive win, and hand Delhi their first defeat. Chasing the huge target, Delhi began on an aggressive note with Tillakaratne Dilshan opening the innings with Virender Sehwag in place of the injured skipper Gautam Gambhir.

The duo went hammer and tongs right from the start, but a smart piece of bowling by Lasith Malinga ended Dilshan’s threatening knock. Dilshan was cleaned up by a slower ball for 17 and that opened the floodgates as Mumbai cruised to a comprehensive win.

The victory was achieved thanks in main to two utterly entertaining and typical T20 knocks. One was played by none other than the master blaster Tendulkar. He batted as if he was the 16-year-old Sachin, fearlessly thrashing the bowlers all around the park. It was a great sight to watch the Mumbaikar in great flow.

Over the years, the heavy burden of expectations has forced him to play in a rather measured manner. But, thanks to T20 we can again see glimpses of the batsman, who dominated bowlers the world over with utter disdain. As usual, his innings featured lofted drives down the ground and deft touches behind the wicket. However, it was the sight of him charging down the wickets and hitting the spinner over the top that remains a favourite with Sachin fans.

When the little master eventually fell striving for quick runs, Delhi heaved a sigh of relief. But, they could not have fathomed what was to come. Saurabh Tiwary was equally explosive if not more and sent the Delhi bowlers on a massive leather hunt. With four boundaries and three sixes, he ensured that Mumbai easily crossed 200. Tiwary got great support from Ambati Rayadu, who contributed 34, an innings which also included three sixes.

While the Mumbai batsmen benefited from a number of useful partnerships, the Delhi bowling was completely out of sync. For a change even Dirk Nannes went for runs, bowling length deliveries and being punished accordingly against a strong batting line-up. Still, his figures of none for 35 were respectable in comparison to the rest. Though Farveez Maharoof picked up two wickets, that of Sanath Jayasuriya and Rayadu, he leaked 50 runs.

Spraying the ball all over, he was easy meat for the Mumbai batsmen. Left-arm quickie Pradeep Sangwan and the two spinners, Ladda and Mishra, did not fare any better. While Sangwan managed to sneak in one economical over, the latter who were torn apart by Sachin, Tiwary and Rayadu.

The onslaught did not seem to dent Delhi’s confidence though as Dilshan and Sehwag began merrily. However, they missed Gambhir big time, which was evident from the fact that no one was prepared to stick around once they lost a few quick wickets. Bravo, Harbhajan and Jayasuriya took advantage of the situation and added a couple of scalps each to their kitty.

This win by Mumbai has now set up the tournament nicely, with no team being able to extent their winning steak beyond two. Whether Mumbai will break the hoodoo remains to be seen.