Mumbai team come together to script big win

Bengaluru: The Mumbai Indians juggernaut rolled on for one more game continuing their reign over the points table of IPL 2010.

In a return match at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium here against hosts Royal Challengers Bangalore, Mumbai Indians turned in a solid all-round team effort.

The Mumbai Indians added two more points to their tally with a confidence-boosting win in preparation for the semi-finals. For the hosts, the loss by 57 runs meant that they needed to watch the results of the other fixtures with a lot of interest.

Royal Challengers Bangalore skipper Anil Kumble seemed to have got it right with his call to field first. His strike bowler Dale Steyn bowled a mean spell, but the other bowlers did not back up the fast bowler.

Set to chase Mumbai Indians’ target of 191-4, the Royal Challengers Bangalore innings never took off.

Kieron Pollard’s spell of 3-28, complemented by Dilhara Fernando (2-24) and Harbhajan Singh (2-29) helped Mumbai Indians win by a massive margin.

For the home team, the fall of Jacques Kallis early on put pressure on the line-up. The middle-order crumbled as the asking rate mounted and the big-hitters like Robin Uthappa just could not turn it on.

Earlier, the Mumbai Indians innings was built around a team effort as the batsmen contributed massively to the total.

Ambati Rayudu weighed in with 46 off 27 balls with three fours and four sixes. Rayudu and Sachin Tendulkar’s newest opening partner, Ryan McLaren, shared a crucial 69-run second wicket stand.

This alliance propelled Mumbai Indians to a strong base from where the strikers could use the long handle to good effect.

That’s exactly what happened as Kieron Pollard walked in and slammed sixes at will. Pollard scored a dramatic 20 off 7 balls with three successive sixes (6, 6, 6) off a Pankaj Singh over.

Then it was up to Jean Paul Duminy to provide the late flourish. The South African left-hander dictated terms to the Royal Challengers during his crucial stay at the crease. Duminy made 42 off 19 balls with three fours and three sixes.

The Duminy charge right at the end of the innings added meat to the Mumbai Indians innings and pushed the score just beyond the Royal Challengers’ reach.

In the end it was Tendulkar who walked away with the Orange Cap, leaving Kallis to chase him in the semi-finals if his team make it there.