Mumbai: Mumbai Indians bowled their heart out to successfully defend a modest total against Sunrisers Hyderabad and earn their second win in the Indian Premier League here yesterday.
After putting up 157/8 on the board, the hosts picked up wickets at regular intervals to restrict Sunrisers to 137/8 in 20 overs at the Wankhede Stadium.
The 20-run victory, however, was not enough to pull out Mumbai Indians from the eighth and last position in the cash-rich league, while Sunrisers are three rungs higher.
Lasith Malinga was the pick of the Mumbai bowlers, finishing with impressive figures of 4-1-23-4. He took three wickets without conceding a single run in his final over.
The Sri Lankan was well supported by Mitchell McClenaghan (4-0-20-3). Spinner Jagadeesha Suchith too was economical.
The visitors got off to a flying start, with opener Shikhar Dhawan striking the ball to all parts of the park, as Hyderabad raced to 39 in four overs.
The other opener, skipper David Warner (9), was the first to go, with Lasith Malinga rattling the stumps and then giving the Australian a perfect Indian-style send-off with a namaste.
Soon after, Dhawan (42 off 29 balls) also departed with Malinga taking a catch of McClenaghan.
Incoming batsman Naman Ojha (9) also did not last long, as his attempted big hit went only as far as the outstretched hands of Kieron Pollard.
Lokesh Rahul showed promise but after making 25 off 27 balls, offered a catch to mid-on.
Ravi Bopara (23 off 28) seemed set to finish off the game, but was dismissed by McClenaghan.
Earlier, the visitors pegged Mumbai to a modest total.
Opting to bat first, home side Mumbai Indians started off carefully, with openers Lendl Simmons and Parthiv Patel scoring at a run-rate of just over six an over.
But Sunrisers speedster Dale Steyn hit the brakes on the scoring by getting rid of Parthiv (17) in the sixth over. Hyderabad were 42/1.
Unmukt Chand also did not last long as he was caught at mid wicket by Dhawan off Praveen Kumar.
Simmons, however, was looking fluent with the bat as he struck the first six of the innings in the 10th over.
As the West Indian seemed to have the perfect launch pad for a huge total, bowling changes by Warner worked wonders. Steyn devoured Simmons (51; 42b, 4x4, 1x6).
Wickets then fell at regular intervals.
Mumbai suffered a huge blow when skipper Rohit Sharma (24 off 14 balls) was caught by Bhuvneshwar Kumar at long on while trying to hit a six off the bowling of Karn Sharma.
The final over of the Mumbai innings saw Bhuvneshwar picking up two wickets in consecutive deliveries, most importantly that of Kieron Pollard (33 off 24 balls) who was looking dangerous at the death overs.
Bhuvneshwar ended with figures of 4-0-26-3. Hyderabad’s other seamers Praveen Kumar and Dale Steyn got two wickets apiece. IANS
Chennai: Chennai Super Kings (CSK) marched to the top of the Indian Premier League (IPL) points table with a comfortable 97-run victory over Kings XI Punjab in their league match at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium here yesterday.
The home team always had the upper hand after winning the toss and opting to take first strike, posting a formidable 192 for three. Set a target of 193, Punjab were never in contention during their run chase. Their batting collapsed spectacularly to ultimately manage a paltry 95 for nine.
With the win, CSK took the summit spot in the standings via a superior run rate with 10 points from six matches overtaking Rajasthan Royals (10 from seven games). Punjab dropped to the bottom spot with just four points from six outings.
Punjab needed a strong start to have any chance of chasing the big total, but they began on the wrong foot, losing star man Virender Sehwag (1) in the fifth ball of their innings.
That marked the beginning of their downfall as they lost wickets at regular intervals to be reduced to 40 for three in 6.3 overs and then a precarious 69 for seven in 12.2 overs.
None of the batsmen of Punjab, which boasts of big names like Australian duo of Shaun Marsh (10) and skipper George Bailey (1), settled at the crease as the CSK bowlers made merry.
Indian spinners Ravichandran Ashwin (2/14) and Ravindra Jadeja (3/22) were at the peak of their powers, snaring crucial wickets to set their team on its way to a comprehensive victory.
They were well supported by veteran pacer Ashish Nehra, who grabbed two wickets for 16 runs.
Earlier, an aggressive batting display from the hosts helped them post a strong score of 192 for three.
CSK won the toss and chose to bat. And skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s decision was justified by the performance of their batsmen.
The opening duo of Dwayne Smith and Brendon McCullum started in top gear and piled the pressure quickly on the Punjab bowlers, putting up 50 runs on the board in just 4.4 overs.
Even Smith’s (26 runs off 13 balls) departure, after a cameo knock punctuated by three fours and two sixes, didn’t slow down the momentum.
McCullum (66 off 44) took over the reins of brisk run-scoring and together with Suresh Raina put up a 66 run second-wicket stand.
Their task was made easier by the Punjab men who were sloppy on the field, dropping several catches.
That put CSK in a strong position of launching into an all-out attack in the death overs when McCullum perished after bludgeoning eight fours and three sixes with the score at 116 for two in 12.1 overs.
Dhoni (41 off 27) ensured they his team had a grand stand finish entertaining the crowd with some lusty blows towards the end. IANS
