Mumbai:Sachin Tendulkar did almost everything right while batting but still could not ensure a win for Mumbai. In a crunch Indian Premier League (IPL) match at the Wankhede Stadium on Wednesday, the master batsman could only look on from the dugout as his team did a ‘hara-kiri’ to lose by one run to Mohali in a thrilling encounter.
Skipper Yuvraj Singh’s diving effort for a run out off the last delivery of the match sealed a semifinal berth for Mohali after Tendulkar had shepherded the team through in their chase of 190.
Tendulkar’s run out in the 17th over at 159-4 pegged the team back and a spate of run outs towards the end saw them being bowled out just short of the mark.
Tendulkar paced his innings well, hitting boundaries all around the ground with deft placements rather than brute power to register a half-century (65 off 46 balls). He smashed 12 boundaries and ran well between the wickets to keep Mumbai in the hunt even as other batsmen failed to produce significant contributions.
Abhishek Nayar, dropped at the square-leg fence early on, holed out to the same position in trying to attack leg-spinner Piyush Chawla. Nayar, one of the finds of the tournament, struck 27 off 18 deliveries with one six and two consecutive sixes off VRV Singh.
Sanath Jayasuriya and Dwayne Smith too perished when looking good for big scores. Jayasuriya reached 20 off just eight deliveries, hitting Irfan Pathan for two huge sixes but after playing a couple of dot balls, tried a heave off a slower one from Sreesanth and was trapped lbw. Smith too scored 20 before being run out in a mix-up with Tendulkar.
The match went to the wire as VRV Singh bowled a loose last over but Mumbai took unnecessary risks and lost their last three wickets to run outs, taking the count to a total of five in the innings.
Skipper Yuvraj Singh’s diving effort for a run out off the last delivery of the match sealed a semifinal berth for Mohali after Tendulkar had shepherded the team through in their chase of 190.
Tendulkar’s run out in the 17th over at 159-4 pegged the team back and a spate of run outs towards the end saw them being bowled out just short of the mark.
Tendulkar paced his innings well, hitting boundaries all around the ground with deft placements rather than brute power to register a half-century (65 off 46 balls). He smashed 12 boundaries and ran well between the wickets to keep Mumbai in the hunt even as other batsmen failed to produce significant contributions.
Abhishek Nayar, dropped at the square-leg fence early on, holed out to the same position in trying to attack leg-spinner Piyush Chawla. Nayar, one of the finds of the tournament, struck 27 off 18 deliveries with one six and two consecutive sixes off VRV Singh.
Sanath Jayasuriya and Dwayne Smith too perished when looking good for big scores. Jayasuriya reached 20 off just eight deliveries, hitting Irfan Pathan for two huge sixes but after playing a couple of dot balls, tried a heave off a slower one from Sreesanth and was trapped lbw. Smith too scored 20 before being run out in a mix-up with Tendulkar.
The match went to the wire as VRV Singh bowled a loose last over but Mumbai took unnecessary risks and lost their last three wickets to run outs, taking the count to a total of five in the innings.
Earlier, opener Shaun Marsh struck a belligerent 81 and Luke Pomersbach carved an aggressive 79 not out as Mohali set a stiff target of 190.
Marsh was fluent from early on, quick to loft pacers as well as spinners, getting to the pitch of the ball with his quick footwork. The Aussie struck four sixes and seven fours during his 56-ball knock to virtually knock the stuffing out of a team that had been on a superb recent run.
He added 133 runs for the second wicket with Pomersbach before holing out to Pollock in the deep off off-spinner Sidharth Chitnis. But the job had been done for his team and Pomersbach continued the good work after his compatriot had returned to the dugout.
Marsh and Pomersbach came together after the first-ball dismissal of James Hopes by Pollock and sent the opposition on a leather-hunt straightaway. The two ran brilliantly and were always keen to punch on the loose stuff.
Yuvraj’s current lean patch continued as he once again failed to capitalise on the rampaging stand between Marsh and Pomersbach, falling to Chitnis. While Mohali have several batsmen who have come good for the, the skipper’s lack of scores would certainly be a concern.
In the final count, Mohali probably would end up thinking that they could have put up a bigger total than they finally did, but some tight bowling towards the end of their innings went on to ensure that it was not an unreachable target.
Chitnis ended up with 2-40 but incredibly, Pollock and Ashish Nehra, the two most experienced Mumbai bowlers, bowled only three overs apiece.
It was the eighth win in 11 matches for Mohali, while Mumbai lost their fifth match in as many outings, ending a six-match winning streak.
Marsh was fluent from early on, quick to loft pacers as well as spinners, getting to the pitch of the ball with his quick footwork. The Aussie struck four sixes and seven fours during his 56-ball knock to virtually knock the stuffing out of a team that had been on a superb recent run.
He added 133 runs for the second wicket with Pomersbach before holing out to Pollock in the deep off off-spinner Sidharth Chitnis. But the job had been done for his team and Pomersbach continued the good work after his compatriot had returned to the dugout.
Marsh and Pomersbach came together after the first-ball dismissal of James Hopes by Pollock and sent the opposition on a leather-hunt straightaway. The two ran brilliantly and were always keen to punch on the loose stuff.
Yuvraj’s current lean patch continued as he once again failed to capitalise on the rampaging stand between Marsh and Pomersbach, falling to Chitnis. While Mohali have several batsmen who have come good for the, the skipper’s lack of scores would certainly be a concern.
In the final count, Mohali probably would end up thinking that they could have put up a bigger total than they finally did, but some tight bowling towards the end of their innings went on to ensure that it was not an unreachable target.
Chitnis ended up with 2-40 but incredibly, Pollock and Ashish Nehra, the two most experienced Mumbai bowlers, bowled only three overs apiece.
It was the eighth win in 11 matches for Mohali, while Mumbai lost their fifth match in as many outings, ending a six-match winning streak.
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