The Hindu : Sport : Rajasthan Royals clinches a humdinger

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Rajasthan Royals clinches a humdinger

G. Viswanath

Neeraj Patel and Ravindra Jadeja take the side home scoring 15 off the last over

Royals now has 22 points
Mumbai remains on 12

— Photo: S. Subramanium

DELIGHTED: The Rajasthan Royals team members are a happy bunch as they congratulate Neeraj Patel after he guided his team to an exciting win.

JAIPUR: Neeraj Patel and Ravindra Jadeja held their nerve to clinch a thrilling five-wicket win for Rajasthan Royals off the last ball against Mumbai Indians in their IPL match here on Monday. Needing two runs to win off the last ball after Dilhara Fernando bowled a wide, Patel drove down the ground past a diving Fernando and desperately scrambled for a run. And, Sanath Jayasuriya fumbled the return from mid-on to concede the second run.

The two left handers joined forces at 77 for five. Taking their team to a seventh straight victory though at their home ground seemed beyond their capacity, but the two victory from the jaws of defeat.

The Royals’ win has ensured a semifinal entry for Delhi Daredevils while Mumbai Indians would face elimination from the knock out should Chennai Super Kings beat Deccan Chargers at Hyderabad on Tuesday.

Mumbai Indians was far from spectacular in its crucial campaign against a side unconquered on home turf and was restricted to 145 against Rajasthan Royals here on Monday.

Quite understandably tense and slow to begin with, openers Sachin Tendulkar and Sanath Jayasuriya who are accustomed to bombarding the new ball bowlers offered the softest hands to push the ball between gaps and short of the fielders for meagre returns.

Shane Warne was in the thick of action, as he took time to move his fielders around to choke the supply of runs. Royals dominated the first session and it was Yogesh Takawale’s big shots in the final over off Shane Watson that provided some hope.

Put in, Jayasuriya and Tendulkar struggled to hit the ball to the fence often, though the visiting side captain produced a classic straight drive off Pankaj Singh in the fifth over.

Outwitted

The local bowler turned out to be costly in his two overs, conceding 25 runs, and Mumbai Indians found some momentum. However, once Jayasuriya was drawn into playing a false stroke, there was palpable decline. The clever and fast improving Siddarth Trivedi outwitted the Sri Lankan.

Though the visitor managed 71 runs off 66 balls before Jayasuriya fell, Royals was in total control. Jayasuriya and Tendulkar were denied by the accurate bowlers who bowled to their field. The Lankan was clueless against Baroda’s Yusuf Pathan who sent down off breaks around the wicket and from wide of the crease.

After eight years, Tendulkar and Warne renewed their intense rivalry. The batsman played smart cricket, deflecting the leg breaks to pick up useful runs. Jayasuriya even pulled a short ball for his fourth boundary. However, Warne was not mastered and the wizard showed his class while removing Robin Uthappa.

Trivedi struck a big blow when he caught Tendulkar off his own bowling. From then on, left-arm seamer Sohail Tanvir captured wickets in a heap. The middle-order was clearly under immense pressure to hasten the scoring rate and fell to the Pakistan bowler who had made Jayasuriya dig out a yorker off the first ball of the match.

Abhishek Nayar was the first to fall to Tanvir after making an aggressive 25. .

The scores: Mumbai Indians: S. Jayasuriya c Pankaj b Trivedi 38, S. Tendulkar c & b Trivedi 30, A. Nayar lbw b Tanvir 25, R. Uthappa st. Akmal b Warne 3, D. Smith c N. Patel b Tanvir 8, S. Pollock c Akmal b Tanvir 0, M. Pandey b Tanvir 3, Y. Takawale (not out) 24, R. Raje (not out) 1; Extras (lb-6, nb-1, w-6): 13; Total (for seven wkts. in 20 overs): 145.

Fall of wickets: 1-71, 2-82, 3-98, 4-107, 5-107,6-118, 7-119.

Rajasthan Royals bowling: Tanvir 4-0-14-4, Watson 3-0-30-0, Pankaj 2-0-25-0, Yusuf Pathan 3-0-9-0, Trivedi 4-0-31-2, Warne 4-0-30-1.

Rajasthan Royals: K.Akmal run out (Pandey) 18, S.Asnodkar c Takawale b Fernando 17, Y. Pathan c Nehra b Fernando 2,S.Watson c Tendulkar b Raje 18, M.Kaif run out 12, R.Jadeja 23 not out, N. Patel 40 not out, Extras (b4, lb6,nb1,w 5) 16, Total (for 7 wkts in 20 overs) 146.

Fall of wickets: 1-20, 2-32, 3-47, 4-77, 5-77.

Mumbai Indians bowling: Pollock 4-0-26-0, Nehra 3-0-18-0, Fernando 4-0-27-2, Smith 2-0-16-0, Nayar 1-0-4-0, Raje 4-0-37-1, Jayasuriya 2-0-8-0.

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