Rajasthan Royals win cliffhanger

Munaf bowls dream last over as Warnes men pip Mumbai by two-run

Chasing 146 for a much-needed win, Mumbai Indians managed 143 before being all out in 19.5 overs with Tendulkar scoring 40 off 30 balls even though it was Abhishek Nayar’s quickfire 35 off 18 balls that nearly saw them through.

Needing four runs of the last over from Munaf, Mumbai managed just two, while losing their last three wickets.

Earlier, Rob Quiney’s (51) maiden IPL fifty and Ravindra Jadeja’s brisk 42 guided Rajasthan Royals to 145 for seven, even though they had 160 in sight at some stage.
Mumbai faltered early in their pursuit and their rejigged top order looked in complete disorder.

In fact, by the time Sanath Jayasuriya (16) was joined by Tendulkar in the middle, the side had lost Dwayne Bravo, Ajinkya Rahane and Yogesh Takawale to score those 23 runs.

Boundaries becoming a rarity, Jayasuriya went after the wily Warne only to become the leggie’s second victim and then JP Duminy (4) dragged one onto his stumps.

Tendulkar hit Jadeja for three fours, preceded by a massive six off Pathan. Tendulkar looked at ease against Warne also but the Australian had the last laugh as he went on to trap his old nemesis.

Hamstring injury

Earlier, Quiney (51) added 43 runs for the opening wicket with Graeme Smith (19) and raised 61 with Jadeja (42) but Mumbai did well to restrict them inside the 150-mark.

Rajasthan skipper Shane Warne, nursing a hamstring injury, caught everyone by surprise when he walked out for the toss which he won and opted to bat first.

JP Duminy’s innocuous off-spinners troubled Smith and it prompted Mumbai captain Sachin Tendulkar to press Harbhajan Singh into service, a decision that immediately paid off.

Smith went for a heave that found Duminy in the deep and the youngster, who had earlier dropped the batsman, had his moment of redemption.

Yusuf Pathan (17) sizzled before he fizzled out but Jadeja stepped up to the plate, hitting Harbhajan for two fours in the same over before hitting Duminy out of the park, a treatment he meted out to Bravo too. His aggression rubbed on Quiney as well and the Victorian hit Bravo for a six and followed it up with a four to bring up his maiden IPL fifty before a Malinga yorker crashed through his defence.

Sanath Jayasuriya bowled a brilliant last over, claiming two wickets, including Jadeja’s, for just three runs.

SCORE BOARD

RAJASTHAN ROYALS:

Rob Quiney b Malinga 51,
Graeme Smith c Duminy b Harbhajan Singh 19,
Yusuf Pathan c Malinga b Nanda 17,
Ravindra Jadeja c Bravo b Jayasuriya 42,
Siddharth Chitnis c Nayar b Bravo 6,
Naman Ojha c Rahane b Jayasuriya 1,
Johan Botha (not out) 2,
Shane Warne (run out) 0.

Extras (LB-3, W-4) 7. Total (for 7 wkts, 19.6 overs) 145.

Fall of wickets: 1-43, 2-65, 3-126, 4-141, 5-142, 6-144, 7-145.

Bowling: Dhawal Kulkarni 4-0-29-0, Lasith Malinga 4-0-28-1, Dwayne Bravo 3-0-30-1, Jean Paul Duminy 3-0-17- 0, Harbhajan Singh 4-0-31-1, Chetanya Nanda 1-0-4-1, Sanath Jayasuriya 1-0-3-2.

MUMBAI INDIANS:

Dwayne Bravo c&b Patel 1,
Yogesh Takawale c Ojha b Trivedi 18,
Ajinkya Rahane c Raut b Warne 3,
Sanath Jayasuriya c Pathan b Warne 16,
Sachin Tendulkar lbw b Warne 40,
Jean-Paul Duminy b Trivedi 4 5,
Abhishek Nayar (run out) 35,
Harbhajan Singh (not out) 7,
Dhawal Kulkarni lbw b Patel 1,
Chetanya Nanda (run out) 0,
Lasith Malinga (run out) 0.

Extras (LB-3, W-14, NB-1) 18. Total (all out in 19.5 overs) 143.

Fall of wickets: 1-9, 2-23, 3-23, 4-56, 5-76, 6-103, 7-140, 8-142, 9-142.

Bowling: Yusuf Pathan 3-0-25-0, Munaf Patel 3.5-0-22-2, Siddharth K Trivedi 4-0-19-2, Shane Warne 4-0-24-3,  Johan Botha 4-0-32-0, Ravindra Jadeja 1-0-18-0.