All-round effort from Mumbai Indians helped them beat in-form Royal Challengers Bangalore at the Wankhede Stadium here on Saturday.
Bangalore’s away woes continue as the team registered their third defeat away from home. They won all their games in Bangalore, but have looked a different side while touring.
The home side did their home work and didn’t allow Chris Gayle to make a move. They kept serving short-pitch stuff, and Gayle was all at sea in the middle. Pressure from the seamers worked, and Harbhajan Singh removed the big man, courtesy a well-judged catch by Ambati Rayudu in the deep.
Playing his first game this season, Dhawal Kulkarni bowled a tremendous spell to pick wickets of T Dilshan, AB de Villiers and Virat Kohli. The seamer hit the right areas and gave nothing away. He used the bounce to full effect and moved it beautifully away from the right-handers.
Earlier, Dwayne Smith led the way with a stroke-filled half-century as Mumbai’s batting fired in unison to post a formidable 194 for seven. With his team opting to bat, Smith blazed his way to a quickfire 36-ball 50. Dinesh Karthik scored 43 off 33 balls while Kieron Pollard smashed 34 off just 16 deliveries to propel the hosts at the Wankhede Stadium.
After being reduced to 29 for one, opener Smith stitched a 39-ball 68-run partnership with wicketkeeper-batsman Dinesh Karthik. Smith, the aggressor of the two, continued his rich vein of form, scoring his second successive half century. The West Indian’s knock comprised four fours and three sixes, before being castled by left-arm spinner Syed Mohammad.
Mumbai suffered their first setback, when senior batsman Sachin Tendulkar, playing his first home match after his 40th birthday, was trapped leg before by R P Singh in the fourth over.
In the previous over, Tendulkar had taken a fancy to Ravi Rampaul’s bowling, and the West Indian was hit all over the park -- over point, mid-off, mid-wicket and fine leg — by the veteran. Tendulkar had struck four out of his five fours in the over and scored 23 off just 13 balls.
Rohit Sharma, leading the Mumbai Indians outfit, came into bat after Smith’s departure, but was run out following a huge mix-up with his partner. Sharma was livid after his dismissal as Karthik, who had called for the second run, took few paces and returned to his crease.
Brief Scores
Mumbai Indians: 194/7 in 20 overs (Dwayne Smith 50, Dinesh Karthik 43, Kieron Pollard 34) beat Royal Challengers Bangalore: 136/7 in 20 overs (R Vinay Kumar not out 26; Dhawal Kulkarni 3/19, Harbhajan Singh 2/21, Dwayne Smith 2/20) by 58 runs.