Mumbai prevail in nail-biting finish, sides meet again in play-off
In what could be branded as a royal mess, Balaji lost the plot in the last over conceding 23 runs to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. Chasing a mammoth 175 at the iconic Eden Gardens, Mumbai looked gone for all money at the end of nineteenth over, 21 more were needed. James Franklin hit four consecutive boundaries before Ambati Rayudu crashed a gentle full-toss over square leg to earn a win that looked unlikely for major portion of the match.
The loss spoiled Kolkata’s plans of making it to the top-two and now they face Mumbai once again in the eliminator play-off. This would hurt the home side as they looked set for a showdown with Bangalore and the last minute goof-up by Kolkata provided Mumbai much needed momentum after a string of losses.
Mumbai batsmen faltered early on in the innings, T Suman was removed by impressive Iqbal Abdulla in the second over. Harbhajan Singh was promoted to play the role of a pinch-hitter at the no. 3, however, he missed and connected in equal proportion. Sachin on the other end played some elegant shots to get the chase back on track; they took the score to 70 in 8 overs when the former became Rajat Bhatia’s first victim. Rohit Sharma also did not last long, also falling to Bhatia’s medium pace. When Tendulkar was dismissed shortly afterwards for 38, Mumbai were in a spot of bother.
The visitors’ hopes were pinned on big-hitting Keiron Pollard but he could manage only two fours in his 22 ball stay at the crease. Brett Lee bowled an excellent nineteenth over and a Kolkata victory looked the mostly unlikely result when Balaji decided to throw it away. Kiwi all-rounder, Franklin who had till then got to 24 off 18 deliveries achieved the unlikely; three tickles down to the third-man boundary and a ferocious drive beat the fielder on the cover boundary left Mumbai to score 5 runs off the last two deliveries. A single meant Rayudu had to hit a boundary to settle the matter for Mumbai, he instead hit a six, Balaji hurled a Chetan-Sharma type delivery on the batsman’s legs and the ball landed in the stands.
The thoughtless last over apart, Kolkata batted with a lot of sense. Their innings revolved around solid Jacque Kallis to post a healthy 175 on the board. The South-African dropped anchor after some early wickets, Goswami was run-out in a horrible mix-up with Kallis and Gambhir tried to hit one too many to lose his stumps. At 22 for 2 in the fourth over, Kolkata were in some strife. However, as has been the case the home team’s batting depth got them out of trouble, Manoj Tiwary scored 19 of the first 7 deliveries he faced to push the overall score. His 35 off just 22 balls was followed by another purposeful knock by Yusuf Pathan, he got going with a six and a four of Ray Price who played in place of all-rounder Andrew Symonds. Pathan followed that with back to back boundaries off Pollard in the next over. He added crucial 57 runs with Kallis to set the platform for a late flourish.
Kallis finally decided to cut loose in the seventeenth over, 19 runs came off just five deliveries before he fell for a well paced 59. Another overseas player Ryan ten Doeschate played a little cameo that powered Kolkata to 175. It looked a safe total on a track that had something for the spinners but in the end, Mumbai surprised everybody with an improbable win.
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