Tendulkar Guides Mumbai Indians Back to Top Spot

iSport Cricket Paddock: Mumbai Indians conquer the Chennai Super Kings. An excited iSporter Rajas Joshi gives us his analysis.

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The last time Mumbai Indians hosted Chennai Super Kings, it was at the Wankhede stadium and it turned out to be a forgettable night for the visitors. This time, it was the Cricket Club of India, and though it wasn’t exactly a one-sided affair, the result was the same.

MI had a great start when all rounder Ryan McLaren conceded only five off his first over. But Matthew Hayden had other ideas as he bludgeoned Zaheer Khan for seventeen runs in the second. MI Captain Sachin Tendulkar made a smart move by bringing Harbhajan Singh into the attack, and it paid off immediately as the big Australian was struck right in front of the middle stump. After Parthiv Patel was out bowled by a good yorker from McLaren, Suresh Raina and Subramaniam Badrinath carried the innings forward and at the end of ten overs, CSK were 85 for 2.

Tendulkar’s move of keeping Malinga in the latter half of the innings wasn’t working, mainly due to a few extras, streaky boundaries and errors in the outfield. Raina who played a brilliant innings, 83 off 52 balls, shared a record 142 run partnership with Badrinath who made 55 (45 balls). McLaren and Harbhajan were by far the pick of the bowlers conceding only a run a ball. Malinga’s seven run last over meant that CSK managed a total of 180, ten to fifteen runs short of what they looked like getting at one stage.

I felt the best strategy for MI would be to get off to a steady start without losing too many wickets. While Shikhar Dhawan and Tendulkar started off with just six of the first over, the next five power play overs yielded fifty eight runs without losing a wicket. It was Dhawan, who had most of the strike, dominating the partnership scoring most of the runs. The Delhi left-hander smashed three towering sixes, one of which brought up his half-century. He departed soon after, when he skied one of the Goan left arm spinner Shadab Jakati.

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Tendulkar, knowing that the difficult part had been done and the required rate was under eight, started nudging the spinners around for well-judged singles and doubles. Champion off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan weaved his magic with good support from Jakati, on a pitch that was slow and conducive for spin. A good three overs spell for CSK, yielding only twelve runs, resulted in the asking rate suddenly rise up to more than nine an over.

Realising Murli’s dominance, Tendulkar danced down the track and sent the ball soaring into the picturesque CCI club house to bring up the 200th six of IPL-3. This was his first six of this IPL, and it could not have come at a better time for the Mumbai Indians. When all the others were struggling to play Murali in a run chase that was always going to be tough, one man kept picking him off the middle stump almost as if it was just another session of knocks in the nets!

Tendulkar, who was recovering from a viral fever, got to his third fifty in four matches. This wasn’t a flawless innings like the ones we’ve seen in past. It included a few lucky escapes, as the capacity crowd did not fail to thank their famous god – “Ganpati Bappa Morya”. He surpassed his highest T20 score, which came in just the last match, by one run scoring 72 off 52balls.

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The big man Keiron Pollard joined Tendulkar and the pair hit a couple of crucial boundaries each, extracting nineteen runs off the 16th over. Pollard finally announced himself by hitting an astonishing six over long on, with a flick, even Azhar would have been proud off! Both of them fell soon after but Dwyane Bravo saw Mumbai home. Though it wasn’t as comprehensive as a few of their previous victories, a five wicket win with an over to spare while chasing 181, is convincing enough.

This night witnessed the highest partnership in the history of IPL, top quality spin bowling and several unbelievable shots, but for me the finest moment was the first ball of 17th over when Muttiah Muralitharan bowled a perfectly flighted off-spinner, and Sachin Tendulkar offered the full face of the bat, playing a rock-solid forward defence. It was cricket at its very best!

Mumbai Indians have always looked a formidable outfit and this win will give tremendous confidence to a team that will not relax until they confirm a place in the last four. They are playing incredible cricket and it only helps when the Captain leads from the front. MI’s next match, on 28th, is an ‘away’ game against the current champions Deccan Chargers at D.Y. Patil Stadium, Navi Mumbai. No prizes for guessing which team the home crowd will be rooting for!