Mumbai puts an end to Rajasthan?s ?royal? winning streak
In Match 27 of the DLF Indian Premier League (IPL) played at the DY Patil Sports Stadium in Mumbai, hosts Mumbai Indians beat the Rajasthan Royals comprehensively by 7 wickets.
The Rajasthan Royals were the leaders of the IPL points table before this game. They were put in to bat by the Mumbai Indians after their captain, Shaun Pollock won the toss and elected to field. Pollock is the stand-in skipper for Sachin Tendulkar who is yet to fully recover from a groin injury.
The batting line-up of the Shane Warne-led team from Jaipur lacked the punch and intensity which won them their last five consecutive matches. Graeme Smith, Yusuf Pathan, Ravindra Jadeja and Shane Warne – all match winners in their own right got out for paltry single digit scores.
The only saving grace for the Royals came in the form of Swapnil Asnodkar and Shane Watson who put on a 53-run partnership for the third wicket but that was the highest partnership the team could manage.
The Mumbai Indians bowling line-up, headed by their captain, reduced the best side in the IPL so far to a not-so-great total of 104 runs. Dhawal Kulkarni and Dwayne Bravo picked up two wickets apiece while Ashish Nehra claimed three.
In reply, Sanath Jayasuriya again failed to score above 20 runs caught by Yusuf Pathan off the bowling of Shane Watson for 18. The Mumbai wicketkeeper Yogesh Takawale, playing in just his second match scored a defiant 27 off 32 balls.
Robin Uthappa continued his good run in the series scoring an unbeaten 32 and guided Mumbai home with almost 5 overs to spare. Promising local lad Abhishek Nayar (12) hung on to see his side through along with Uthappa. The only other Mumbai wicket to fall was Dwayne Bravo (1).
Shane Watson took two wickets while Rajasthan Royals captain Shane Warne took one. Ashish Nehra was awarded Player of the Match for his spell of 3 wickets for 13 runs from 3 overs.
Rajasthan ended up losing its second match of the IPL in seven outings so far. The franchise has now forfeited its first place in the IPL standings to the Kings XI Punjab.
The Mumbai Indians, however, have won their third match in a row and things seem to be looking good for them with their skipper Tendulkar expected to be back in action soon. Currently, the Mumbai side lies in fifth place and seems to be regaining lost ground to reach the final four stage.
The next match of the IPL will be played between the Delhi Daredevils and the Chennai Super Kings at the Feroz Shah Kotla in Delhi.