Warne could not resist playing Tendulkar: Barry

Durban (PTI): He was almost ruled out of rest of the IPL owing to his hamstring injury but Rajasthan Royals captain Shane Warne made a surprise appearance against Mumbai Indians as he did not want to miss possibly his only chance to play Sachin Tendulkar in the Indian Premier League here.

The previous match between the two teams was washed out by rains so with Tendulkar again on the opposite side yesterday there "no way to stop" Warne, who had his leg strapped up, says Rajasthan Royals Director of Coaching Darren Barry.

"We, Jermy (Snape), the physio, and I gave Shane every warning against playing today. You would have needed a semi trial to stop Shane from playing against the Mumbai Indians.With Sachin Tendulkar in their team, there was no way to stop him," Barry said.

"His leg was strapped up but he said he was playing. And when he says he is playing, it doesn't matter what we are saying," he was quoted as saying by the official IPL Website.

Acknowledging man-of-the-match Warne's role in the win, Barry also showered lavish praise on all his boys for their collective effort to pull off the win in the nerve-wrecking encounter.

"I think without a doubt all the players look up to him (Warne). He is one of the greats of all time. He enjoys an enormous amount of respect among our group. But, to be honest, it was actually a collective effort from all our players. He is a wonderful captain. Tactically, very good. The guys believe in him and that is important," Barry said.

On playing so many close matches, Barry said "Rajasthan Royals have played quite a few of those in the last couple of years. Last year we had two on the last ball and one on the penultimate ball against Deccan Chargers.

"Tonight (Thursday) I think, the most pleasing aspect from our point of view is that we came out on a winning side.It was also a great game of cricket. Both the sides really had a crack at it and it was fantastic. Warne vs Tendulkar – it doesn't get better than this," he added.

Barry also lauded the efforts of Munaf Patel and Rob Quiney in Jaipur winning the crucial match.

"Rob Quiney innings at the top was important. To come back into the team and get a half-century at the top was good.

"Full credit to Munaf Patel. The last over and four runs to defend with seven wickets down and he pulled it off. I think three wickets fell for just one run. It was all happening towards the end. When it came to the last over I am sure that most of the people would have had their money on Mumbai Indians. Munaf and Rajasthan Royals pulled off a great victory," he said.

Cool Rajasthan take humdinger

The spectators at Kingsmead were treated to yet another humdinger as the Rajasthan Royals prevailed by two runs in a see-saw encounter with the Mumbai Indians. Rajasthan were in control of the game for 14 overs before Sachin Tendulkar and Abhishek Nayar opened out and gave Mumbai hope. It all came down to the final over when Mumbai needed four runs but a combination of some incredible death bowling by Munaf Patel and panic running resulted in three wickets, incredible scenes and a third-place spot for Rajasthan.

When Nayar made room and lofted Johan Botha over deep extra cover in the penultimate over, Mumbai - who battled required rates crossing nine an over - suddenly needed six off nine deliveries. The following delivery, Nayar played all around a yorker, lost sight of the ball and ambled out of his crease, only to be run out by the keeper. The dismissal was as untimely as Mumbai's revival, which came a little too late and resulted in a last-minute scramble for the required runs.

Munaf had leaked 14 off his previous over but Warne was brave enough to toss the ball back to him for the final over. Munaf beat Dhawal Kulkarni off the first ball and then slipped in a yorker to trap him lbw. Chetanya Nanda pushed the third, a full toss, to mid-off but perished to a direct hit. That put Harbhajan Singh back on strike but he could only squeeze a single off the next ball. Three were needed off two balls when Lasith Malinga took strike but yet another suicidal single, this time to cover, closed out the match.

It took a good 15 overs for the chase to actually come alive. Mumbai were kept on a tight leash by some excellent restrictive bowling by Rajasthan, particularly the slower bowlers. The duo of Sanath Jayasuriya and Sachin Tendulkar - with 20 years of experience behind them - were silenced, to the extent that they had to settle for singles and an array of dot balls when the situation demanded at least a boundary every over to keep with the rising asking rate.

Much of that had to do with the early loss of wickets. At 23 for 3, Mumbai looked to their most explosive pair to give the innings a shove but the ball somehow just didn't find the boundary. The spinners were spot on target, varied their pace and slipped in the odd yorker. The boundary drought lasted 45 balls, before Tendulkar chipped down the track and lofted Warne over extra cover.

Prime Numbers 307 Number of runs scored by Sachin Tendulkar in the tournament, highest for Mumbai 16 Number of wickets for Lasith Malinga, becoming the joint highest wicket taker at this stage of the tournament 18 Extras conceded by Rajasthan, joint second-highest in the tournament 21 Runs conceded by Harbhajan to Jadeja 1 Number of times that a team has won by 2 runs in the tournament

Jayasuriya tried to break free by slog sweeping the spinners but those heaves met thin air. When he connected, the ball ballooned off the bottom half of his pad and skied to short midwicket where Yusuf Pathan took a diving catch. JP Duminy barely had enough time to settle in before he chopped one from Siddarth Trivedi onto his stumps. It was a smart bowling change by Warne, who decided to bring in a seamer after Tendulkar charged Yusuf and carted him over long-on for a massive six. The anxiety levels in the Rajasthan camp shot up when Tendulkar slammed Ravindra Jadeja down the ground for three consecutive boundaries.

Warne let out a war cry when he trapped Tendulkar fell lbw trying to sweep him but the game was far from over, at least in Nayar's mind. With a stance as imposing Lance Klusener, he took his left leg out of the way to mow Botha for consecutive fours over the on side and the following over, he did the same to Munaf. The equation had come down close to a run-a-ball before panic set in.

There were doubts as to whether Rajasthan had made enough especially after Rob Quiney and Jadeja had given the innings the impetus with a stand of 61 in six overs. Rajasthan Royals' shoddy batting effort against Deccan Chargers demanded a few changes at the top of the order and Quiney responded positively to his recall to the side in place of the inconsistent Swapnil Asnodkar. In his earlier games, Quiney often made starts, only to throw it away. Tonight, he seemed determined to stay at the wicket and play the dominant role in the stand with Jadeja, who matched Quiney in his powerful shots over the on side.

The spinners had held the initiative with some tight bowling to pressurize the top order but the pair chose attack as the best form of defence. Between overs 12 and 15, Rajasthan managed 50 runs and the batsman who started the domination was Jadeja, who cut Harbhajan past point and slog swept over the on side. Quiney was particularly strong over the onside, slog sweeping Duminy high over deep square-leg before tonking Bravo for 19 in an over. The power behind his strokes stood out as he sent the ball sailing at least half a dozen rows back.

An excellent legstump yorker by Malinga sent back Quiney for 51 and after his departure, the runs dried up. Rajasthan managed only 22 off the last five overs and lost three wickets in the final over of the innings, bowled by Jayasuriya. Mumbai also lost three wickets in the final over of their innings but it was Rajasthan who had the last laugh.

Dazzling Bravo hands Mumbai big win

For the second time in two meetings between these teams, Kings XI Punjab batted first and scored 119, but unlike the game in Durban, there was no redemption in the field this time as Mumbai Indians swept to an eight-wicket win to move up to 11 points and fourth in the points table. The win was set up by Mumbai's offspinners - Harbhajan Singh, JP Duminy and Ajinkya Rahane returned combined figures of 4 for 29 in nine overs to launch a stunning comeback. Dwayne Bravo ensured a hiccup-free run-chase with a magnificent unbeaten 70 in an innings full of expansive drives and pulls.

Mahela Jayawardene's absence due to a leg injury sustained during the previous game hit Punjab badly: not only did they miss his calm presence in the middle order, it also meant there were six left-handers in the top eight, since his replacement was Luke Pommersbach. That suited Sachin Tendulkar's offspin theory perfectly, and Punjab didn't help their cause with some reckless shot-making and brainless running between the wickets.

After the first five overs, though, it seemed this match would be a run-fest just like the previous one of the day, when Ross Taylor's heroics had lit up Centurion. Punjab rattled along to 50 off a mere 32 balls, with Sunny Sohal (43 off 23) plundering boundaries at will, either shuffling across his stumps to flick to leg, or giving himself room to carve sixes over point. Soon, though, Harbhajan came into the attack, beat Kumar Sangakkara with his first three deliveries, and from there Punjab had little to cheer as Tendulkar quickly latched on to the offspin theory.

Coming in to bowl in the eighth over, Harbhajan immediately settled into a magnificent rhythm. Bowling from round the stumps to the left-handers, he flighted the ball, got it to drift in, and the spin away sharply. Sangakkara was clueless off the first three deliveries, and then lost that contest comprehensively when he played all over one from Harbhajan's next over.

Duminy was soon pressed into the attack, and he responded with two strikes in his second over, first getting Wilkin Mota to hoick one to Harbhajan, who juggled repeatedly before holding on, and Yuvraj Singh, who paid the price for hitting against the turn. The twin offspin success prompted Tendulkar to try Ajinkya Rahane, and that move paid off too, as Pommersbach played a rash head-in-the-air shot that typified Punjab's approach.

In between all the spin trouble, Punjab contributed to their own downfall with some extremely sloppy running between the wickets. Mota gave it away with one such effort, making no effort to get back into his crease when Tendulkar misfielded at midwicket.

The bowlers had done much more than had been expected of them, and Bravo and Tendulkar ensured the run-chase would be a canter. Punjab nailed a couple of wickets - including that of Sanath Jayasuriya - to give them some initial hope, but Bravo, who survived a tough caught-and-bowled chance off Irfan Pathan early in his innings, ended the momentary high with a fearsome assault on Sreesanth which turned the momentum completely Mumbai's way.

Only 14 had come off the first four overs when Sreesanth came into the attack, and Bravo duly seized the opportunity, pulling him for four, straight-driving and flicking him over long-on for two glorious sixes, and then flicking through midwicket for another four as the over leaked 21.

Tendulkar soon joined in the fun, dropping down to No.4 and playing himself back into form after a run of low scores. The spinners caused a few problems, but Bravo trusted his footwork, going down the pitch and striking Yuvraj for a straight six. Piyush Chawla spun a few past the bat, Brett Lee bowled a fiery spell and tested the batsmen with pace and bounce - Bravo copped one on the helmet late in his innings - but with such a paltry target before them, the batsmen were never under any pressure. Tendulkar carved a few slog-sweeps through and over midwicket, Bravo finished it off with a spanking pull shot, and Mumbai ended the evening feeling much better about their semi-final chances than they had when they began the match.

Tight bowling puts Delhi back on top

Delhi Daredevils didn't quite pull off the cakewalk expected after their bowlers set the batsmen a target of 117, but the end result was satisfactory because they took back the top spot. Chasing an easily achievable total Delhi's openers ate up overs and departed in succession to put undue pressure on the middle order, but AB de Villiers returned to form and saw Delhi through in the end.

Mumbai Indians needed a win desperately to mark a step towards a much-needed turnaround, but they utterly failed to cash in on the toss. Both openers were dismissed in the first over, two more fell before the end of the Powerplay, and there was no final hurrah. Dwayne Bravo and Abhishek Nayar stitched together a 57-run partnership but that too was snuffed out by Delhi's bowlers before it could really cause damage.

This was a win set up in the field, when Delhi were excellent with pace and spin, allowing just seven boundaries and three sixes. For the 22nd time in 21 days, a wicket fell in the first over of an innings. Luke Ronchi, in for Sanath Jayasuriya, was run out second ball and JP Duminy nicked Dirk Nannes behind.

Mumbai were hurting with the scoreboard showing four batsmen with 0 next to their names. Sachin Tendulkar, who had opted to bat, didn't last long either. Having inside-edged a length ball behind the stumps, Tendulkar set off, only to be set back by Pinal Shah. He failed to just ground his bat as Dinesh Karthik nailed the second damning direct hit in six overs. Mumbai were 30 for 3 after the Powerplay.

It got worse. Shah failed to cash in on a drop on 5, swinging Rajat Bhatia to the deep for a chalky 11 from 20 balls. In walked Bravo at 33 for 4. He looked gone for all money on 1, struck on the front pad in front of middle and leg, but the umpire Marais Erasmus was watching a different match. Amit Mishra cut a flustered figure.

There were just two boundaries littering the first ten overs, aptly displaying just how tight Delhi kept it. With singles and doubles and inside edges Bravo and Nayar gave the total some respectability. But just when it seemed Bravo might turn it on - he lofted two big sixes down the ground - Nannes got his man with a wide delivery. Nayar departed next ball, top-edging Ashish Nehra, and there was little oomph from the tail. Bhatia, notable for his clever slower balls, took two wickets and allowed only a single and a leg bye in the last over. It was eerily similar to how Delhi had started 19 overs earlier.

Delhi's chase toward a small target was nervy, with Gautam Gambhir and David Warner pacing themselves. It wasn't a crawl, but neither was the pair forcing the issue. There were only two fours and a six in the 50 balls Gambhir and Warner batted together. Duminy snapped a steady partnership of 42 with a gentle offbreak, luring Warner out of his crease. In the next over Gambhir sashayed out and sliced the ball to deep cover. But that was as good as it got for Mumbai, as de Villiers and Tillakaratne Dilshan eased into a 61-run stand.

It began slowly, with both batsmen struggling to get runs off the spinners. Duminy and Harbhajan Singh rushed through their overs, one relying on flight and the other firing them flat. Duminy only gave 15 from his four overs and Harbhajan was also frugal, but one over of pedestrian spin from Tendulkar got Delhi - at this stage needing 43 from 30 - back ahead of the rate. A floater was sumptuously clipped for four, a full toss was dumped over midwicket for six, and two half-trackers were duly deposited for boundaries. In six balls de Villiers doubled his score. Defending a small total, a 19-run over was not what Mumbai needed from their leader.

Dilshan fell with ten needed, but de Villiers brought up his fifty and ensured victory was sealed with seven balls to go.

Delhi Daredevils v Mumbai Indians Out-of-form Mumbai desperate for recovery

Mumbai Indians had themselves to blame for the collapse against Deccan Chargers which deprived them of a spot in the top four. They start underdogs against Delhi Daredevils who've played fewer games than the rest of the teams but still sit third in the points table. Mumbai have lost each time they have chased this season, squandering winning positions to slip down to seventh place, just above the struggling Kolkata Knight Riders. Their capitulation under pressure, and failure to finish off games hurt them badly last season, and the trend this year is no different. Equally worrying has been their excessive reliance on JP Duminy to hole them out of difficult situations. His three 40-plus scores, including two half-centuries, in Mumbai's three defeats while chasing demonstrate the huge responsibility he's had to bear amid little support from his team-mates. Mumbai need a win desperately, and though a positive result may not haul them into the top four, it will mark a step towards a much-needed turnaround in a crucial phase in the tournament.

Delhi won't worry too much about points, for as much as they would want to regain the No.1 spot, their place in the top four, for the moment, remains safe. They have been boosted by the consistency of AB de Villiers, and especially Tillakaratne Dilshan. And with their new opening combination of David Warner and Gautam Gambhir coming good against Kolkata, the tournament's dominant team looks good to consolidate its impressive run.

Form guide (completed matches, most recent first)

Mumbai Indians: LLWLW

Mumbai's new inclusions Dhawal Kulkarni and Rohan Raje had a good outing against Deccan, but Harbhajan Singh has gone wicketless in his last three games. Sachin Tendulkar was averaging 81 after Mumbai's first three games, but since then he's only managed 48 runs in his last four innings.

Delhi Daredevils: WLWLW

The fast-bowling trio of Dirk Nannes, Ashish Nehra and Pradeep Sangwan have been fairly consistent, though Nannes had an off day against Kolkata. The three have taken 24 wickets at 24.9, with Nehra being the leading wicket-taker. Gambhir, desperate for runs, top-scored against Kolkata with a lucky 71 - he was dropped twice - but the runs will give him some much-needed confidence in a relatively disappointing IPL.

Watch out for

Virender Sehwag and Gambhir had averaged 23.8 for the first wicket, while Warner and Gambhir have averaged 40 in their two games together. Tweaks in the opening combination notwithstanding, their battle against Mumbai's new-look bowling attack with Raje and Kulkarni, backed up by Lasith Malinga, who put in a disciplined effort in their previous game, will make for an interesting contest. Malinga has been particularly impressive, with 12 wickets in seven games at 10.66, conceding just over five an over.

Team news

Delhi may not tinker too much with their line-up, though Sehwag could make a comeback after missing two games. In the event of his inclusion, Mithun Manhas may be asked to sit out, which also means Daniel Vettori would have to miss out for Warner to play.

Delhi Daredevils (probable): 1 David Warner, 2 Virender Sehwag, 3 Gautam Gambhir, 4 Tillakaratne Dilshan, 5 AB de Villiers, 6 Dinesh Karthik, 7 Rajat Bhatia, 8 Amit Mishra, 9 Pradeep Sangwan, 10 Ashish Nehra, 11 Dirk Nannes

Mumbai made three changes to their team for their game against Deccan, leaving out Shikhar Dhawan and Ajinkya Rahane to play Saurabh Tiwary. On the bowling front, Kulkarni and Raje were inducted after Zaheer Khan was ruled out by a shoulder injury. The three players look likely to retain their places, but Abhishek Nayar's injudicious sweep at a critical stage in Mumbai's previous game - he missed and was bowled - would certainly not have gone down well with the team's think-tank. Nor would have Harbhajan Singh's swipe the next ball; his performance with the ball, too, has been fairly low key but his exclusion would prove a big gamble.

Mumbai Indians (probable): 1 Sanath Jayasuriya, 2 Sachin Tendulkar, 3 JP Duminy, 4 Dwayne Bravo, 5 Abhishek Nayar/Jaidev Shah, 6 Saurabh Tiwary, 7 Pinal Shah, 8 Harbhajan Singh, 9 Rohan Raje, 10 Dhawal Kulkarni, 11 Lasith Malinga.

Stats and trivia

Dilshan has scored 231 runs at an average of 77 in seven matches, while JP Duminy has made 238 at 47.60 in as many games. Both are the highest run-getters for their teams this season.

Sanath Jayasuriya and Sachin Tendulkar have averaged 31.14 for the first wicket, but have only averaged 12 in the last four games.

Head-to-head record

The teams won a game each when they went head-to-head last season. Nehra, Shaun Pollock and Kulkarni combined to overcome an onslaught from Sehwag and seal a 29-run win for Mumbai in the first game. The second game was much more closely-fought with Mumbai letting it slip after limiting Delhi to 89 for 4 in pursuit of 177, to eventually lose by five wickets on the penultimate ball.

Dominant Bangalore crush Mumbai

What a difference a week makes. Last Sunday, Royal Challengers Bangalore were at the bottom of the table, had slumped to their fourth consecutive defeat, and were looking ahead to surviving without two key batsmen, Rahul Dravid and Kevin Pietersen. Now, after a thoroughly dominant performance against Mumbai Indians they are jostling for a share of the top spot. The reversal of fortunes was illustrated by the two men who blunted the powerful Mumbai bowling, Jacques Kallis and Robin Uthappa, who shrugged off their forgettable starts to the tournament with superbly paced half-centuries.

The star of the first half for Bangalore was little-known South African allrounder Dillon du Preez who had an IPL debut to tell the grandkids about, taking three early wickets with his medium-pacers. A resilient Mumbai though recovered, first through Sanath Jayasuriya's half-century before Dwayne Bravo and Abhishek Nayar slammed 48 runs off the last three overs to lift their side to what-had-seemed a competitive total.

du Preez started off with that rarest of beasts in Twenty20s - the double-wicket maiden, and it included the scalp of Sachin Tendulkar. Handed the ball in the fourth over there were a quiet couple of balls before he induced an outside edge off Tendulkar to the safe hands of Rahul Dravid at slip, to spark wild celebrations. The hint of away movement in the next delivery had Ajinkya Rahane giving catching practice to slip.

The Boys' Own story continued for du Preez in his next over, with his first poor delivery also fetching him a wicket; Duminy went for an ill-advised pull to a long hop angling away from him, only under-edging it to the wicketkeeper. du Preez's figures were a scarcely believable 1.2-1-0-3, and Mumbai were gasping at 23 for 3.

Jayasuriya then began reviving Mumbai with a steady partnership with Bravo. After a watchful beginning - he was on 11 off 20 at one stage - he broke free in the eighth over, muscling a fractionally short ball over mid-on's head, and then hammering the next delivery into the crowd behind midwicket. There were also the Jayasuriya trademarks, powerful slaps over point and some nimble running between the wickets. Despite all that, Mumbai reached the strategic time-out at an unsatisfactory 53 for 3.

Top Curve
Prime Numbers

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22.83
Sanath Jayasuriya's average after six innings
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10
The number of wickets picked up by Anil Kumble, the highest for Bangalore
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66*
The total runs added for the fifth wicket by Abhishek Nayar and Dwayne Bravo, a record this season
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69*
Runs scored by Jaques Kallis today, the best by a Bangalore batsman
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126*
The runs added by Kallis and Robin Uthappa for the second wicket, the second best partnership for any wicket
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9 and 11
Bangalore win by nine wickets with 11 balls remaining. The second most comfortable win this season in terms of wickets and also by balls remaining in the second innings
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8.70
Dwayne Bravo's economy rate, the worst for a Mumbai bowler who has bowled more than 15 overs

Bottom Curve

Bravo was following the Jayasuriya method of taking his time to gauge the pitch. There were some stylish flicks, and deft dabs to third man but it wasn't till the 18th over - 12 overs after he came in - that he hit his first boundary. Mumbai were 101 for 4 after 17 overs, but a spell of frenetic hitting from Bravo and Nayar took them towards 150, a score which has proved eminently defendable in this tournament.

As usual, Bangalore had a new combination at the top of the order, Kallis and Wasim Jaffer, but the start was completely different from those earlier in the tournament. Kallis began aggressively, with a couple of boundaries off the first over, and his response to the introduction of the bowler of the series so far, Lasith Malinga, was exceptional. He was welcomed with a clip over square leg for six, and two balls later there was a powerful uppercut - a shot Kallis used frequently all innings - for six more. Seventeen came off the over, and Bangalore had sprinted to 41 for 1 after four overs.

Jaffer fell early, bringing in Uthappa, who started scratchily against the side he represented last season. It wasn't till the spinners came on that he found his touch. On 5 off 11 balls, the pressure was beginning to tell on him but a loose over from Harbhajan Singh gave him confidence. With the asking-rate in check, both Uthappa and Kallis were content to nudge the ones and twos - there were no boundaries for nearly four overs till the 13th, but they never needed more than eight an over.

Uthappa feasted on some buffet bowling from Tendulkar in the 14th - helping himself to three boundaries - after which the result wasn't in doubt. Bravo was pounded over midwicket by Uthappa for the biggest six of the tournament in the next over, and it wasn't long before a six and a four off Jayasuriya sealed one of the biggest wins of the season.

Duminy and Zaheer seal it for Mumbai

Kolkata Knight Riders made a good attempt at causing possibly the biggest surprise of the season so far but fell short despite smart bowling for most of Mumbai's innings and a first fifty for them by Brad Hodge, who kept together a chase that threatened to fall away early on.

Mumbai turned the game irreversibly in six overs: the last three of their innings and the first three of Kolkata's. The main characters in this script were JP Duminy and Zaheer Khan. Duminy's late assault helped Mumbai scored 42 in the last three overs of an otherwise limp effort and, on the other side of the break, Zaheer removed Kolkata's openers Chris Gayle and Sourav Ganguly in his first two overs.

Hodge's innings was, in isolation, the best individual effort of the match. Chasing 149, Kolkata were 8 for 2 in the third over. Hodge consolidated along with Morne van Wyk and, while they didn't score at a spectacular rate, their 89-run stand kept Kolkata in the hunt. Hodge made an especially slow start, scoring 3 off the first 14 balls he faced. But once he'd stepped out and lofted Harbhajan Singh for a four in the sixth over, he pulled out a remarkable mix of sensible batting and attacking cricketing shots.

The three sixes he hit were hit down the ground without any power at all, just a clean swing of the straight bat. Despite the run-rate climbing every over, Kolkata were always with a chance while Hodge was in. With 61 required off the last six overs, he hit Graham Napier for back-to-back fours. With 51 needed from the last five, he hit Zaheer Khan for a six over long-off, and suddenly Kolkata needed just 38 in the last four overs with seven wickets in hand.

That's when Lasith Malinga delivered two near-perfect overs of death bowling, giving away just 11 runs and shutting Kolkata out. Mumbai's last three overs were a mirror image.

Kolkata had done everything right in the first 17 overs, but they still had Duminy to take care of. When Laxmi Shukla came on to bowl the 18th over, Duminy was 22 off 26 and Mumbai had reached only 106. He pulled Shukla for two sixes in the 18th over, and suddenly all Kolkata's good work from the first 17 overs seemed wasted. Ishant Sharma bowled a superb 19th over, giving away just nine runs and taking a wicket, but Duminy still stood between Kolkata and an easy target.

Top Curve
Prime Numbers

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16
The most productive over number for the bowlers this season. 21 wickets have fallen in the 16th over so far. At number two is over number 11, with 17 wickets
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5
The number of ducks by Kolkata Knight Riders batsmen this season, including Ganguly's golden duck today
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5
Zaheer Khan's wicket tally so far this season. He more than doubled his tally by snapping up 3 today
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73
Brad Hodge's score today was Kolkata's first fifty of the season
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5.16
Brendon McCullum's batting average after six innings - the worst by a Kolkata batsman who has played more than two matches

Bottom Curve

Two more sixes followed in the last over, both down the ground, off length deliveries from Dinda. The latter came off the last ball, which meant he had scored 30 off the last 11 balls he faced.

It was the most critical phase of the match: only two sixes had been hit before that, both by Sachin Tendulkar, emphasising the concern that Mumbai have been overly reliant on Tendulkar and Sanath Jayasuriya. Once Jayasuriya was out for 6, there was no danger of repeating the hammering they had handed out to Kolkata earlier this week.

It was also a day when Mumbai and Kolkata experimented a lot. Kolkata made proactive and frequent bowling changes, and didn't let the batsmen settle to any kind of rhythm. After the first 12 overs of the innings, five of seven bowlers used by Kolkata had gone for less than six an over, and four of them had taken a wicket each. Mumbai sent in their hitters Harbhajan Singh and Abhishek Nayar at Nos 3 and 4. Neither move worked and Mumbai paid the price of aiming too high.

When it came to Kolkata's innings, both teams tinkered with their opening combinations. Ganguly replaced Brendon McCullum at the top of the order, and Mumbai didn't open with Malinga, saving him for the latter half of the innings. The final experiment worked for Mumbai, with Malinga bowling tight overs towards the end, and it's the final experiment that counted.

Punjab steal low-scoring thriller

Talk about pulling one from out of the hat. Defending a small total Kings XI Punjab's three-pronged pace attack bowled canny spells to rock Mumbai Indians' chase, and despite a composed half-century from JP Duminy, Punjab hung on to complete a nerve-wracking three-run victory. Mumbai hardly set a wrong foot forward from the time they lost the toss, striking early through spin and keeping their hands on the jugular through Lasith Malinga's late strikes, but failed to chase 120. Kumar Sangakkara had kept the innings alive with an important unbeaten 45 with scant support and it proved decisive in the end. Having struck early in the piece the task of bowling the last over, and defend 12 runs, came to Yusuf Abdulla. And what an over it turned out to be.

Duminy, who was on 55, swung two down the ground, missed a clever slower ball, left a wide be, heaved two more, and then swung the fourth ball straight to deep midwicket. Abdulla was perspiring insanely in the Kingsmead cauldron as he left his giddy team-mates and went back to his mark. But this is a left-arm fast bowler adept at the Twenty20 format, and he only allowed three off the next two balls, aided by a superb dive at cover by the portly Ramesh Powar off the last ball to save a couple, to spark incredible scenes.

This major upset was put into motion early in Mumbai's chase. Mumbai are very reliant on their veteran openers, so striking early was one massive way at winning. Irfan Pathan gave Punjab exactly what they wanted, getting Sanath Jayasuriya to nick one to slip in the first over. Then Sachin Tendulkar, for once, failed. After a thick edge past backward point and crude hoick he drove Vikramjeet Malik straight to point. The situation was particularly dubious when a struggling Shikhar Dhawan missed a middle-stump yorker from Abdulla.

That left Duminy and Dwayne Bravo to steer a faltering chase, and Duminy set about it with consecutive boundaries in Malik's second over. Bravo a pulled four and lofted six in Piyush Chawla's opening over only to repeat the big shot in the next and hole out to long-on. Mumbai went into the tactical break on 47 for 4, still 73 adrift.

Duminy has proved a master of such situations and milked the bowling in a 49-run stand with Abhishek Nayar. Livewires alike, they pinched singles and kept runs ticking over. Harried singles from clever paddles and rubber-wrist dabs also did the trick. A few fumbles in the deep told as Punjab started to slack; a couple fortuitous inside edges and a missed run out and stumping compounded their frustration.

As the target got closer Duminy raised his fifty off 55 balls, the slowest of the IPL. Irfan came back to clean up Nayar first ball of the 18th over, with Mumbai needing 26, and Harbhajan Singh fell in the penultimate over with 19 left. Seven runs were scampered in the next five balls. Then Abdullah came into the picture to seal Punjab the tightest win of the tournament.

It was a disappointing loss for Mumbai after a glossy display in the field. For the second game running at Kingsmead spin had its say over proceedings early on. Mumbai's slow bowlers came on well inside the first ten overs and quickly dented Punjab. Malinga and Zaheer Khan were frugal with the new ball, but it was Harbhajan's entry in the fourth over brought the wicket of Goel, stumped easily. That brought about another change, Bravo coming in and immediately accounting for Ravi Bopara with an away-swinger. The Powerplay yielded two wickets for Mumbai and just 26 runs for Punjab, which included one six and a four.

Attempting to up the tempo Yuvraj was well held on the long-on boundary by Zaheer off Duminy - who came in the seventh over - and Mumbai were hooting and screaming. At the ten-over break Punjab were 50 for 3. Throughout the tournament the first over after the tactical break has proved jittery for sides batting first and the pattern continued. Enter Jayasuriya and third ball Mahela Jayawardene chipped a low full toss to long-on.

Batting wasn't easy with the slow bowlers purchasing grip from a track on which spin accounted for eight wickets in the afternoon's game. Sangakkara curbed himself in and knocked the ball around. The sweep was a shot he played regularly in between chopping the ball into the arc between cover and point. After Irfan fell in the 15th over Punjab needed a big over, but it never came. Malinga came back for two overs and nobody was able to get him away; Wilkin Mota and Chawla were yorked in the space of three balls. In the last ten overs Mumbai conceded just two boundaries off the bat, Sangakkara and Powar clubbing Bravo twice in the final over.

Ultimately Sangakkara's vigil and Abdulla's calm came up trumps for Punjab. For Mumbai, it was a rude wake-up call, and they will now seriously have to address a batting order too reliant on the openers.

Mumbai cruise to massive victory

Many a time over the last 15 years or so fans of this great game have wondered what it would be like if Sachin Tendulkar and Sanath Jayasuriya opened together in a limited-overs game and really turned it on. Today they got a glimpse.

The two masters of the limited-overs game, with a combined age of nearly 76, treated Port Elizabeth to the cleanest, purest exhibition of batting that this season of the IPL has seen. Tendulkar paved the way with a sublime innings and Jayasuriya followed suit with an explosive hand, the veteran pair combining to raise a century stand in 52 balls that flummoxed Kolkata Knight Riders. That stunning opening assault formed the crux of Mumbai Indians' 187 and though Kolkata restricted the damage with six wickets for 48 runs after the tactical break, the damage had been done. Their only realistic chance at victory rested on their explosive openers' shoulders but once they were gone inside three overs the chase was basically kaput.

Mumbai's first five overs were busy, without being spectacular. Tendulkar was beaten a couple times by Ishant Sharma but upper-cut a six and flicked a four in Ashok Dinda's first over. That set the tone for a busy innings, taken up a level when he pulled Ishant for six from outside off stump.

While Tendulkar whisked the ball off his pads and slapped through point, Jayasuriya didn't get much strike. His first shot in anger was a chip just over extra cover's fingertips and a signature clip to fine leg followed. Mumbai were 45 for 0 in five overs. What followed was carnage.

Jayasuriya, who was on 8 as Tendulkar scurried to 30, launched Sourav Ganguly's gentle military-medium stuff for consecutive sixes; Tendulkar swept Ajantha Mendis for six; Chris Gayle went for ten in six balls; Mendis was dumped for two sixes by each batsman in his second over. Tendulkar's fourth six, a deft pick-up over midwicket off Mendis, raised his fifty from 34 balls. Jayasuriya had blasted 33 from 13 balls. The 100 was up in 8.4 overs. When the tactical break was taken Tendulkar was 60 off 39 and Jayasuriya 43 off 21, Mumbai 111 for 0.

For a man who has only played one international Twenty20, Tendulkar batted with amazing fluency. He got the wrists into play superbly, pulling and cutting hard, and used his crease to negotiate the pacers. Mendis wasn't even allowed to settle; Gayle was effortlessly reverse-swept.

There were no crude shots, no cross-batted slogs from Tendulkar and Jayasuriya. This was clinical hitting - each veteran knew the field and backed himself to pick the gaps. It was the experience of 1138 combined international games coming together in a mesmerizing mosaic of boundaries. In between clearing his front leg to lift Mendis there were clever late dabs from Tendulkar, neat tickles from Jayasuriya.

That assault was in stark contrast to the second half of Mumbai's innings, when Kolkata regrouped. The scoring slowed after the break and Tendulkar fell to Laxmi Shukla, looking to take the ball from off stump and work it to leg. Harbhajan Singh strode in, clubbed 18 from 8 balls, and sent a full toss to deep midwicket. Jayasuriya looked for width but instead chipped to cover for 52 from 32 balls. Then Abhishek Nayar was run out, Dwayne Bravo top-edged to the deep, and Shikhar Dhawan edged Ishant. Gayle bowled a decent last over and Mumbai were unable to end on with a flurry.

Kolkata needed almost 9.5 runs an over inside a stadium rumbling like a Jay Z amplifier, and the pressure of chasing a large total under lights affected the Kolkata openers early in their innings. Brendon McCullum shouldered arms to his first ball before he steered Lasith Malinga to point. Gayle thumped Bravo for the 152th six in the IPL only to edge his West Indian team-mate to slip.

Sourav Ganguly wasn't allowed to come onto the front foot and so he used his feet to loft Bravo down the ground for six and four, and with that try for some momentum. But Ganguly struggled to find the boundaries thereafter and Brad Hodge never really threatened with 24 off 22 balls. Both were to fall against the tidy seam-up bowling of Nayar in successive overs, the last nail firmly hammered into Kolkata's coffin.

Nayar, Bravo, Zaheer Khan and Malinga didn't have to do much but keep it near the stumps and wait for an urgent shot. Each struck rather easily and the rest of the batting card made for disappointing reading as Kolkata fell short by 92 runs. From 71 for 3 when Hodge fell, Kolkata folded for 95 in 15.2 overs.

A powerful batting display was followed by an efficient, shining effort in the field, aptly demonstrating that Mumbai pretty much have all the bases covered.

Malinga swings Mumbai to victory

In the first match of the IPL in 2008, Brendon McCullum smashed an unbeaten 158 from just 73 balls to set up a crushing win for his side. A year later, as season two got underway across the Indian Ocean in different conditions and under grey skies, Sachin Tendulkar batted 20 overs for an unbeaten 59 from 49 balls. It was as valuable as McCullum's blitzkrieg, if utterly different in execution and appeal, for it came on a track not entirely conducive to batting and laid the platform for Mumbai Indians' victory.

Stumbling and bumbling, Mumbai managed to put together a competitive total after the core of their vaunted batting struggled to cope with the uneven bounce at Newlands. There were few fireworks from the big bats and the team owed plenty to the vast experience of Tendulkar, who absorbed the pressure superbly. Where Chennai's pacers were tidy in restricting runs during the middle stages of Mumbai's innings, it was the spinners Harbhajan Singh and Sanath Jayasuriya who derailed Chennai. They varied their pace and reined in the big hitters before Lasith Malinga kept the tail under control.

The pre-match drizzle in cloudy Cape Town influenced MS Dhoni's decision to field on a damp pitch, and though Mumbai's opening partnership yielded 39 in 5.4 overs, it wasn't convincing. Jayasuriya slashed and swiped and survived a run-out before he mowed fellow Sri Lankan Thilan Thushara to midwicket for 26. The ball didn't come on to the bat, as was evident in Tendulkar's frequent grimaces and constant shuffling to manoeuvre the bowling. Tendulkar attempted and connected with a few risky shots over the infield and was dropped on 10 by Matthew Hayden at first slip, off a leading edge induced by Andrew Flintoff.

Play was then held up for 12 minutes when a dog found its way onto the field. Failing to be enticed by whistles, calls, dives and even an inviting snack, the canine intruder got bored and finally trudged away. After the resumption Chennai's bowlers made swift inroads.

Shikhar Dhawan struggled for fluency and was undone by the slow bounce as he top-edged Manpreet Gony. Gony then held on to a sharp reflex catch to get JP Duminy with a clever bouncer in his next over and, taking the cue, Joginder Sharma dropped short and had Dwayne Bravo pulling to deep square leg. It was proof that the short-pitched ball can work well on such tracks. With Tendulkar keeping one end up, Abhishek Nayar walked out and played an invaluable cameo that provided a late push. Nayar larruped Flintoff for three sixes in a 22-run over in his 14-ball 35, while Tendulkar kept the innings alive by batting through the 20 overs. That 46-run partnership would prove decisive.

Chennai's chase was dented in the first over when Parthiv Patel steered Malinga to Tendulkar at slip. Suresh Raina caressed an impressive boundary in Zaheer Khan's first over but fell in the next, pulling Bravo to deep square leg where Rohan Raje made a difficult chance look easy. Malinga was tight, and Tendulkar showed the value of taking pace off the ball as a run-checking tactic by bringing on spinners at both ends, as Chennai's batsmen remained restless.

And as long as there is limited-overs cricket there will linger the prospect of the spinners' choking the opposition during the middle overs, especially when an Indian and a Sri Lankan are bowling. Today Harbhajan and Jayasuriya did that job. Flintoff didn't last long against Harbhajan, going for a wild swipe and popping back an easy catch.

Hayden - who bullied young medium-pacer Raje for three successive fours and drilled his old friend Harbhajan for a straight six - chased a wide one from Jayasuriya and picked out a diving Zaheer at cover. Jacob Oram then perished to an ugly slog against Jayasuriya, leaving Dhoni with plenty to do.

Dhoni swung his bat freely but the rest perished with a whimper. Malinga gave away nothing and his crafty yorkers and reverse-swinging variations netted him excellent figures of 3 for 15 from four parsimonious overs.

The crowd had filed in two hours ahead of the toss in gloomy conditions, and by the end of the first game of a double-header day they'd seen the weather clear and the ball go past the boundary several times. Mumbai celebrated the win animatedly in front of a healthy crowd - it wasn't exactly a boisterous Wankhede cauldron, but the IPL thinktank has reason to smile after the tournament opener.

Mumbai Indians: Mission possible

Bought by Mukesh Ambani's Reliance for $111.9m, Mumbai Indians happened to not only be the costliest team in the IPL, but also the most
exciting one.

After all, who didn't want to watch Sachin Tendulkar and Sanath Jayasuriya open the innings in a T20 game! The Tendulkar-led side featured 'Turbanator' Harbhajan Singh too. However, the script went awry and ultimately Mumbai were denied a semifinal spot.

The franchisees admitted they had learnt much from last year's experience, and went about taking what they think, were corrective measures.

The domestic players were sent to South Africa for training, which should now turn into a big advantage considering that the IPL is now being held there.

Shaun Pollock retired as a player, but has now turned into a mentor. Coach Lalchand Rajput was sacked and replaced by Pravin Amre to be the link between Pollock and the Indian domestic players.

The fielding coach's responsibility has been entrusted to Jonty Rhodes, ending Sameer Dighe's tenure as well.

At the February auction, South African batting sensation JP Duminy, Bangladesh skipper Mohammad Ashraful, New Zealand fast bowler Kylie Mills and English batsman Graham Napier were picked up.

In :

Mentor: Shaun Pollock

Coach: Pravin Amre

Fielding coach: Jonty Rhodes

Players: JP Duminy, Mohammad Ashraful, Kyle Mills, Shikhar Dhawan, Lasith Malinga, Graham Napier, Jaydev Shah, Rahil Shaikh, Jude Singh, Ryan McClaren

Out:

Coach: Lalchand Rajput

Fielding coach: Samir Dighe

Players: Shaun Pollock, Ashish Nehra, Robin Uthappa, Dwayne Smith, Ashwell Prince, Andre Nel, Dominic Thornley, Gaurav Dhiman.

Rhodes calls for fielding captains

Jonty Rhodes, one of the greatest fielders, has partially backed John Buchanan's multi-captain theory by calling for a fielding captain in Twenty20s. Rhodes feels the nominated player can play the role of a "facilitator" for the team captain, who would have many other responsibilities and could not be expected to carry out every fielding change.

Rhodes, the fielding coach of Mumbai Indians in the IPL, said Hansie Cronje, the former South Africa captain, had given him the task of monitoring the field to make sure all the players were attentive. Rhodes felt it was a move that helped South Africa become one of the best fielding units.

"Cronje gave me the responsibility to find ways to improve our fielding...You can have a guy who is responsible for that, if you want to call him the fielding captain that's fine," Rhodes told Cricinfo from Durban, where he is supervising the Mumbai squad with his former team-mate Shaun Pollock, the team's mentor.

Buchanan's theory of multiple-strategists for the Kolkata Knight Riders created a huge furore. As part of his plan to succeed in Twenty20s, Buchanan favoured more "decision-makers" in the side, including one who could look after the fielders. Rhodes said the man in charge of the fielding needs to make sure fielders are into their positions quickly so the bowlers could get through the overs soon.

"Also if there is an instance where the player could dive but doesn't then, without adding pressure on him, you need the guy [fielding captain] to tell him what could've been the result if only he had attempted the dive," Rhodes said. "That's not the captain's role (to advise the fielders). He has many other things on his head. The fielding captain is like a facilitator."

Rhodes, who was a consultant with the South African team, said during his interaction last month with the Mumbai players he stressed on throwing techniques and foot movement, two aspects that make a good fielder.

Asked to nominate the best fielders in the game today, Rhodes picked countrymen JP Duminy and AB de Villiers, Australian Andrew Symonds, and England's Paul Collingwood.

"JP Duminy fields well in the inner ring in the first six overs. And when the fielding restrictions are over because he is very quick to the ball and even if he may not have the biggest arm in the world, he has a good throw, his body position is good, catches a lot of balls in the outfield so he is very good. Andrew Symonds is a very good all-round fielder, too He is very strong in the inner ring, who leans very well and throws very well from the boundary. AB de Villiers has really good feet movement as a wicketkeeper and Paul Collingwood is very good at backward point or at cover."

Rhodes felt their strength was that they are completely focused. In his own words it means "intensity", which, he says, is the key to success in Twenty20 cricket. "You have to maintain a high intensity. There are only 120 balls, you have to be focused every single ball, expecting every single ball to come to you whether you are fielding at third man, fine leg, or backward point, the way the guys play shots these days you have to expect the ball to come wherever you fielding," Rhodes said. "That is the key to good fielding - if you are expecting it you can put up a good performance."

Rhodes said that while the basic skills of fielding remain the same in all forms of the game, it is the intensity that differs. "Even in the 50-overs game I was expecting the ball to come to me and was quite disappointed if it didn't come. Pressure is a constant in the 20-over game with matches going right down to the wire so you can't afford to really make a mistake with bat, ball or in the field. Fielding is the same, just that you are doing it at a lot quicker pace."

Tussauds unveil Sachin's wax figure

Indian ace cricketer Sachin Tendulakar too would join the likes of many other Indian personalities who have adorned the wax museum of Madame Tussauds Museum in London.

Sachin's figure spotted in his cricket whites in an on pitch pose, will be unveiled at Tussauds in April this year.

So far only filmstars and politicians have been found a place at the world popular wax museum which includes celebrities like Amitabh Bachchan, Sharukh Khan, Aishwarya Rai, Indira Gandhi etc.

Sachin would be the first Indian sportsman to feature in the museum which has world sporting legends like Tiger woods, David Beckham, cricketers Brian Lara, Shane Warne etc.--MP

Mumbai Indians

Mumbai Indians will be representative of the city of Mumbai in the Indian Premier League. The team will be led by Sachin Tendulkar, also the Icon Player for the team and coached by Lalchand Rajput, the former Manager of the Indian Cricket Team.

Reliance Industries Limited through its subsidiary Reliance Retail Ltd purchased the rights for the Mumbai franchise of Indian Premier league for a total of $111.9 million during the auction on January 24, 2008. The RIL bid has made the Mumbai Indians the most expensive franchise in IPL.

The team logo has the Sudarshan Chakra with the team’s name engraved in it. The team’s colour will be blue. The choice of the name “Indians” for a regional competition is widely regarded as a blunder.

The mascot is still unknown.
Players

Sachin Tendulkar is the designated icon player and also captain for Mumbai Indians. During the player auction Mumbai Indians successfully bid for 7 players, including two of the heroes of Indian Twenty-20 world cup side in Harbhajan Singh and Robin Uthappa. Sanath Jayasuriya was also another prized catch, along with South African legend Shaun Pollock. The team also added the Sri Lankan speedster Lasith Malinga.

Outside of the player auction, the franchise has also signed up Ajinkya Rahane and Abhishek Nayar (from Mumbai), Yogesh Takawale (from Maharashtra) and Pinal Shah (from Baroda)

* Name - Age - Country - Position

Batsmen

* Sachin Tendulkar (Captain) - 35 - India - Right-handed Batsman
* Robin Uthappa - 22 - India - Right-handed Batsman
* Loots Botsman - 30 - South Africa - Right-handed Batsman
* Ashley Prince - 30 - South Africa - Left-handed Batsman
* Manish Pandey - 18 - India - Right-handed Batsman
* Saurabh Tiwari - 18 - India - Left-handed Batsman

Wicket Keepers

* Yogesh Takawale - 23 - India - Right-handed Batsman - Wicket keeper
* Pinal Shah - 20 - India - Right-handed Batsman - Wicket keeper

All Rounders

* Sanath Jayasuriya - 37 - Sri Lanka - Slow left-arm orthodox spin
* Shaun Pollock - 35 - South Africa - Right-arm medium-fast
* Ajinkya Rahane - 19 - India - Right-arm medium

Bowlers

* Harbhajan Singh - 27 - India - Right-arm off-break
* Lasith Malinga - 24 - Sri Lanka - Right-arm fast
* Dilhara Fernando - 29 - Sri Lanka - Right-arm fast-medium
* Abhishek Nayar - 24 - India - Right-arm medium-fast
* Ashish Nehra - 28 - India - Left-arm fast-medium


Administration and Coaching staffFront Office:

* Owner - Reliance Industries Limited
* CEO - R Balachandran
* President - Mukesh Ambani

Coaches:

* Head Coach - Lalchand Rajput
* Assistant Head Coach - TBA
* Physiotherapist - TBA