Royal Challengers back with a bang

The Wankhede Stadium played hosts to Mumbai’s first match of the DLF Indian Premier League (IPL) on Sunday. A packed house greeted the home side Mumbai Indians and the visiting Bangalore Royal Challengers for a much-awaited duel.

Harbhajan Singh came out for the toss as captain Sachin Tendulkar was still recovering from an injury. The Mumbai team won the toss and elected to bat. A good start was required and that was just what Sanath Jayasuriya gave his team. The early fall of Luke Ronchi did not seem to deter the Matara Mauler as he hit five boundaries and a six in his 16-ball score of 29. However, the Sri Lankan’s innings came to an end with an excellent piece of fielding by Zaheer Khan off his own bowling.

Number three batsman Dominic Thornely was unfortunate to miss out on an opportunity as he was struck on the right eye-brow by a Zaheer delivery. Thornely retired hurt. Wickets kept tumbling but Robin Uthappa and Pinal Shah stringed together a useful partnership. But the Bangalore-based Uthappa was caught short of his crease when Boucher had him stumped off B. Akhil for 48. His 36-ball knock was studded with five hits to the fence and a six. He also added 28 quick runs with Abhishek Nayar.

A late charge by South African Shaun Pollock helped the side reach 165-6 in their 20 overs. The all-rounder entertained the crowd with three sixes and two fours in his 12-ball cameo of 28 runs. He fell off the last ball of the innings to give Zaheer Khan his second wicket.

In reply, the Bangalore side led by Rahul Dravid brought the spectators to the edge of their seats as the match went down to the wire. The captain came up with a solid 32 at the top of the order. Chasing the modest total was not so easy. But two South African cricketers brought their experience to the fore and helped their side fashion a fantastic win. Mark Boucher scored a brilliant 39 and shared an important partnership of 55 runs with Jacques Kallis.

In the end, the Challengers beat the Mumbai Indians by 5 wickets with only two balls to spare. This victory wiped off the bad memories of the crushing 140-run defeat in their opening match against Kolkata Knight Riders on Friday.