Here's how Mumbai indians scripted their very own horror flick with some silly let-ups in the field against chennai in the IPL final...
Here's how Mumbai Indians scripted their very own horror flick with some silly let-ups in the field against chennai in the IPL final...
Sunday, the 13th, would be an apt title for Mumbai Indians' disappointing performance in the final of the Indian Premier League at the Dr DY Patil Stadium yesterday.u00a0
Many consider 13 to be an unlucky number and it proved just that for MI, though champions Chennai Super Kings would have a different outlook here.
The deciding phase of the IPL final in which MI crashed to a 22-run defeat was the contrasting manner in which the two team's fortunes swayed after 13 overs of either innings. CSK went from strength to strength while MI wilted under pressure.
Ironically, the two teams were equal at 13-over mark ufffd 80 for three after. And, MI would have fancied their chances during the first half of the game, as CSK's run-rate at that point was 6.15. To the home team fans' disappointment, things just went downhill for their team as CSK outplayed MI in all three departments and took the title away.
Overall, MI paid the price for a shoddy performance on the field. Suresh Raina, who top-scored with a 35-ball 57, was dropped twice. In the 15th over, Raina was on 13 and the CSK score 87 when Abhishek Nayar and Dilhara Fernando let an easy catch drop between them off the bowling off Zaheer Khan. And adding salt to injury, Raina helped CSK score 17 runs in that over.
If Nayar and Fernando's comedy of errors was not enough, in the very next over, Raina was given another reprieve when on 28. Zaheer failed to latch on to another top-edge from the left-hand batsman. The second chance offered to Raina fetched CSK 19 runs. Kieron Pollard was the unfortunate bowler, with Raina picking 18 off the 19 runs in that over.
It was a forgetful day in the field for MI. The catches were not the only blemish in the field. In the 13th over, with Pollard and CSK skipper M S Dhoni locked in a fierce duel to wrest the initiative, MI gifted a boundary.
Zaheer was late at backward point and to Pollard's disgust, Saurabh Tiwary let the ball through get his hands at the boundary line.
While Raina made the most of his chances, it was Dhoni's 15-ball 22 that swung the momentum in the visiting team's favour. When Dhoni walked in to bat, CSK were struggling at 67 for three in 11.2 overs. The mercurial skipper put the pressure back on the MI bowlers with a smart counter-attack. To upset Pollard's off-stump line, Dhoni started shuffling inside the line to hit him across mid-wicket. The ploy worked, Dhoni smashed him for a six and Pollard, one of MI's most economical bowlers, was never the same bowler again. He ended up conceding 45 runs in four overs.
Contrastingly, CSK's fielding was razor sharp. They lifted themselves especially in the decisive period ufffd the 13-over mark. The MI downslide was triggered by the fall of the well-set Tendulkar in the 15th over when M Vijay took a comfortable catch at long off (99 for four). Raina followed it up with a magnificent catch at mid-wicket, running and then diving forward, to dismiss Manoj Tiwary in the same over. JP Duminy also fell victim of CSK's brilliance in the field when Shadab Jakati checked his forward charge to swiftly moved back to take pocket his powerful hit inches inside the boundary rope.
The final nail in the coffin was hammered on the last ball of the 19th over when Matthew Hayden, standing in an unusual position at mid-off, took a fine low catch to dismiss the dangerous Pollard (27 off 10 balls).
IPL final: Defining moments
>> Had Mumbai Indians' Dilhara Fernando and Abhishek Nayar called correctly, left-hander Suresh Raina would have been cooling his heels in the dressing room. The duo kept looking at each other even as the ball fell between them. Raina was just 13 then. Later, Raina helped the team score 17 in that over.
>> In the very next over bowled by Kieron Pollard, Zaheer Khan grassed a skier when Raina was on 28 at short fine-leg. He went on to make an unbeaten 35-ball 57 and help CSK post 168, a total which Mumbai could have restricted to around 140-145.u00a0
>> Suresh Raina pulled off a stunning catch at deep mid-wicket to get rid of Saurabh Tiwary. Raina, positioned at long-leg, covered a fair amount of ground before diving forward full length to complete the miraculous catch.
>>u00a0If Raina's catch was an acrobatic spectacle, Shadab Jakati's effort to dismiss JP Duminy was all about keeping a calm mind in a pressure situation. Running backwards, Jakati completed Duminy catch inches inside the boundary line to ensure thatu00a0 Mumbai are pegged back to a point of no return.u00a0
>> If someone could have brought a dramatic turnaround for Mumbai, it was Pollard. But after a few breathtaking shots on his way to a 9-ball 27, Pollard was gobbled up by Matthew Hayden at mid-off with a splendid effort. Curtains for Mumbai and champagne time for Chennai!
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