Mumbai inflict first Jaipur defeat on Rajasthan

Apr 11 2010

A Sachin Tendulkar inspired Mumbai Indians defeated the Rajasthan Royals by 36 runs to qualify for the semi finals and become the first visiting team to win an IPL match at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur.

Tendulkar – who was dropped on 45 - amassed a typically cultured 89 to lead his side to a challenging 174 for 5, despite the hostile Shane Watson taking 3-37.

A mixture of quality bowling from Zaheer Khan and some truly atrocious running between the wickets ensured Rajasthan never got close as they replied with a prosaic 137 for 8. 

The defeat was Rajasthan’s first in nine matches at the Sawai Mansingh and they now need to win their final two fixtures to follow Mumbai into the semis.

The hosts started well and Watson’s aggression brought two wickets in his first over, the Queenslander accounting for Sanath Jayasuriya and the inform Ambati Rayudu for a duck amid some controversy. Rayudu gloved a bouncer behind to Naman Ojha but Watson had already bowled one for the over and Mumbai believed this was over shoulder height, and thus a no ball. However the umpires believed the delivery was legal and Rayudu was on his way.

An intense period of play followed as Watson and skipper Shane Warne tried to unsettle big hitting Saurabh Tiwary with a barrage of bouncers and verbals. Every ball Watson bowled to Tiwary was short and the young Indian quickly holed out to fine leg for 15, this left Mumbai 34 for 3 after a pulsating first four overs.

The spectre of Sachin still loomed as he and JP Duminy guided the visitors to 47 for 3 at the culmination of the powerplay. After Duminy’s recent travails against off spin, Yusuf Pathan was quickly brought back on but the South African survived and quickly raced to 23 with four boundaries. 

Watson starred with the ball but not the bat

 

A sedate passage followed and at halfway, the Indians found themselves 73 for 3, with Tendulkar on 23 and Duminy 28. A brilliant battle between Tendulkar and Warne then ensued with the little master slamming consecutive boundaries over cover, bringing up 1,000 IPL runs and the 50 partnership in the process.

Duminy’s run a ball 31 was ended by Siddharth Trivedi with the score 96 for 4 after 13. The potentially mesmerising contest between Tendulkar and Warne was negated by the loss of wickets, with Sachin content to see the leg spinner off. As if to emphasise the point, Tendulkar then went for the big shot off Trivedi, and was horrifically dropped Aditya Dole at fine leg. The Indian legend soon went through to his fifth half century in this year’s tournament with Mumbai 115 for 4 with four overs left.

Watson returned but conceded three boundaries which left the Indians 130 for 4. Kieron Pollard then smeared Dole for a mighty maximum as he powered to 25 - his highest score in this year’s competition.  Dole gained his revenge when Pollard chopped on to his stumps and Mumbai were now 143 for 5.

Unfortunately for the Royals, Dole’s drop proved to be extremely costly as Tendulkar plundered 20 from the final over, including consecutive sixes to propel Mumbai to 174 for 5. This would be a tough chase for Rajasthan as in Khan, Harbhajan and Malinga, Mumbai boast the strongest attack in the tournament.

Zaheer Khan illustrated the size of Rajasthan’s task with an outstanding opening over which saw him beat the bat on three occasions.

The Royals’ innings took a turn for the worse in the space of six balls as Lumb, Ojha and Watson were all dismissed to leave the hosts reeling on 11 for 3 after three overs; Watson’s run out was particularly galling after his earlier verbals.

Abhishek Jhunjhunwala managed to break the shackles with an imperious six off Dhawal Kulkarni but Rajasthan were well off the pace after the powerplay - 34 for 3. Just as the Royals were looking like getting back on track another communication breakdown saw Faiz Fazal run out for 10, leaving them 40 for 4.

This left Jhunjhunwala and Adam Voges with a mountain to climb, the duo steadied the ship slightly but they crawled to 60 for 4 at the halfway stage. It wasn’t long before Rajasthan’s run out epidemic struck again; Jhunjhunwala the third Royals batsman to be struck off via this mode after he had made 22.

Pathan promptly fell to Pollard for just 10 and Khan snared Voges for 28 to leave Rajasthan in disarray on 89 for 7 after 15 overs.     

Rajasthan’s predicament was summed up by the fact Dole top-scored with 30, they finished on 137 for 8, 37 runs short of their target and have to win both their final fixtures to progress to the semis.

Next fixture: 14th April 1530 GMT Rajasthan Royals V Royal Challengers Bangalore at Jaipur

Neil Evans