Wed, 20 Apr 2011 - IP Mumbai vs IP Pune, IPL 2011, 21st Match - Bulletin

Mumbai win battle of the west

In the end, there was some excitement and hope for Pune with Mumbai needing five runs to win the last over. And, situation became nervy for Mumbai when Andrew Symonds played a dot fourth ball and on fifth he could have been run-out by a meter had Murali Karthik not missed the ball at non-striker’s end. A run needed off the last ball and Pune skipper Yuvraj bringing all the men up in the circle but calm Rohit Sharma finished the game with some hitting the only six of the innings over cover. Nervy finish, yes, but at no point in the match Pune was ahead of Mumbai with latter’s super bowling performance rattling Pune’s batting effort.

With chasing a modest target of 119, Mumbai didn’t go for big shots opting to bat sensibly on a Wankhede pitch that wasn’t conducive for stroke-making. Losing an early wicket in the form of James Franklin, there was a familiar sight of skipper Sachin Tendulkar combining with young Ambati Rayudu to put Mumbai chase on track.

The duo of the master blaster and the young batting sensation didn’t go for big shots but scored at strike rate of less than 100 not to let Pune bowling to make early inroads. While Sachin added to his run tally in the tournament that has awarded him orange cap, Rayudu kept on adding to his growing legend of one of the most promising young batsmen going around in the country.

However, both fell in a space of nine runs with young leg spinner Rahul Sharma claiming the wicket of the master blaster with bowler doing virtually a lap of honor out of excitement. Any raises of Pune making a comeback were dashed as Sharma and Symonds playing his first innings for his new team didn’t do anything silly to get their team across the line. It was for the first time in the tournament that Mumbai lost three wickets and it had a blessing in a disguise as likes of Sharma and Symonds got an opportunity to bat and more importantly some batting practice in tough match conditions.

Mumbai win though was set up their bowlers with fast bowling duo of Munaf Patel and Abu Nechim ripping heart out of Pune top order as both took two wickets each in their opening spells to reduce Pune 17 for 4.

Nechim playing his first game this season bowled a lively spell having Jesse Ryder caught off a short ball following it up with the wicket of Mithun Manhas off a beautiful out-swinger to have dream start to the tournament. Munaf backed it up with a super over with Tim Paine playing a horrible shot to see his off-bail disturbed and then followed the most important moment of the innings as Munaf produced a gem of a delivery to have Yuvraj groping to edge one to wicketkeeper.

There was a recovery innings though from Robin Uthappa who hit a more than run a ball 45 to give some respectability to the Pune total. Fall of wickets didn’t affect his natural game as he attacked in his usual fashion to hit half a dozen fours and a six but was dismissed to one of the all time great catches of the IPL when mistimed a lofted drive to long-on where Kieran Pollard dived to his left full length to garb the ball.

There was nothing substantial from other batsmen as Mumbai bowlers displayed a terrific bowling performance with Nechim, Lasith Malinga and Ali Murtaza taking two wickets apiece. It was Munaf though who emerged as the bowler of the match returning with the figures of 3 for 8 runs in his 2.2 overs he bowled.