JOIN USChasing 181 for victory, the Australian side reached the target with three balls to spare to inflict their second defeat on Mumbai, pushing them close to exit.
Mumbai had seemed to be in the driver’s seat when they posted 180 for seven in their twenty overs, with Saurabh Tiwary smashing a whirlwind 44. But the South Australians had other ideas as they plundered 69 runs off the last 5.3 overs to race to their second victory.
Earlier, Tiwary smashed one four and four sixes and added 32 runs off 28 balls with Ambati Rayudu (38) before adding another 58 runs for fifth wicket stand with Kieron Pollard (36) to resurrect the MI innings after they were tottering at 47/3 in 7.3 overs.
Electing to bat, Mumbai Indians had a disastrous start as they lost opener Shikar Dhawan (2) in the second over with the scoreboard reading just three.
Sachin Tendulkar (20) tried to break free and clobbered a six and a couple of fours to accumulate 14 runs off Daniel Christian’s first over to take MI to 31 for one in 5 overs. But left-arm spinner Aaron O’Brien dismissed Tendulkar in the last ball of the next over to leave Mumbai tottering at 35 for two. Trying to accelerate, Tendulkar stepped out of his crease and swung hard, only to see his stumps scattered.
Ambati Rayudu (38) then smashed O’Brien straight over his head for a six but the spinner bounced back to dismiss J P Duminy (3) in the third ball of the eighth over.With the South Australian bowlers bowling a tight line, Rayudu and Saurabh Tiwary kept dealing in singles as boundaries dried up.
After three silent overs, Rayudu smashed a four bisecting the deep square leg and deep midwicket and followed it up with a six over deep extra-cover to pick up 12 runs off O’Brien’s over.
But the wicketkeeper-batsman couldn’t stay long as Cullen Bailey sent him packing with Daniel Harris pulling off a brilliant catch to reduce MI to 73 for four in 12.1 overs.
Unperturbed by the dismissal Tiwary blasted Bailey over long-off for a flat six, while new man Kieron Pollard also followed suit with another maximum. Pollard fired another six over wide long-on off Daniel Christian to bring up the 100 for Mumbai Indians in 14 overs.
Tiwary went berserk in the 16th over, blasting a four and three consecutive sixes off O’Brien to amass 25 runs as MI reached 137 for four.
Shaun Tait then dismissed Tiwary, who holed out to Callum Ferguson at mid-off. Pollard and Dwayne Bravo then carried the innings forward adding 33 runs off 18 balls to take MI across the 150-mark, before being dismissed in the 20th over.
SCORE BOARD
Mumbai Indians: S Dhawan c Manou b Putland 2; S Tendulkar b O’Brien 20; A Rayudu c Harris b Bailey 38; J Duminy c & b O’Brien 3; S Tiwary c Ferguson b Tait 44; K Pollard c Ferguson b Christian 36; D Bravo (run out) 22; Harbhajan (not out) 0; Zaheer (not out) 0. Extras (B-1, LB-3, W-10, NB-1) 15. Total (For seven wickets in 20 overs) 180.
Fall of wickets: 1-4, 2-35, 3-47, 4-79, 5-137, 6-170, 7-179.
Bowling: S Tait 4-0-27-1, G Putland 4-0-24-1, D Christian 4-0-37-1, A O’Brien 4-0-49-2, C Bailey 3-0-30-1, D Harris 1-0-9-0.
South Australia: M Klinger c Bravo b Malinga 50; D Harris c Duminy b Murtaza 56; G Manou c Tiwary b Murtaza 12; C Ferguson c Murtaza b Malinga 6; D Christian c Tiwary b Zaheer 16; C Borgas (not out) 14; Cooper (not out) 19; Extras (B-5, W-4) 9. Total (for five wickets; 19.3 overs) 182.
Fall of wickets: 1-112, 2-116, 3-127, 4-140, 5-158.
Bowling: Zaheer 4-0-33-1; Malinga 4-0-22-2; Murtaza 3-0-29-2; Bravo 4-0-46-0; Harbhajan 3.3-0-31-0; K Pollard 1-0-16-0.