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Mumbai Indians vs Delhi Daredevils
Pollock leads Mumbai’s shock win
Mumbai—A magnificent all-round performance by Shaun
Pollock produced the biggest upset of the tournament as Mumbai
Indians - languishing with just one win in five games - pipped the
fancied Delhi Daredevils by 29 runs in a gripping contest at the DY
Patil Sports Academy stadium. Requiring a modest 163 for the fifth
win, Delhi’s much-vaunted batting line-up collapsed for a paltry
133.
One player influenced this result more than any other. Pollock has
had a mixed tournament so far, but here he was immense in every
aspect. With the bat, he came in to bat in the 15th over, when
Mumbai were languishing at 112 for 5, and blasted 33 off a mere 15
balls, including 22 off the penultimate over, which changed a
below-par total into a competitive one. He then returned with the
ball and sent down four metronomic overs, conceding just 16 for two
wickets. In his second over, he nailed Shikhar Dhawan, and then
returned for a second spell to dismiss the dangerous Shoaib Malik.
Add a catch to dismiss Virender Sehwag, and some inspired captaincy
moves, and there was no doubt about who the Man of the Match was.
Delhi’s strength has been their top-order batting - their top three
have been in outstanding form - but here, two of them were back in
the hutch after 14 deliveries, and the rest failed to measure up. On
a slow pitch, both Gautam Gambhir and Dhawan mistimed drives on the
up, and after three overs, the scorecard read a sorry 6 for 2. to
make matters worse, Sehwag struggled to get the strike, facing just
seven deliveries in the first six overs.
AB de Villiers and Sehwag mounted a mini-revival, but when de
Villiers was unluckily run out backing up too far, it was the first
indication that the day was going to belong to Mumbai. Sehwag,
though, wasn’t about to give up too easily. He continued to struggle
to get to the striker’s end, but when he did, he made it count:
Pollock was slashed over point for a huge six, Dwayne Bravo’s slower
one was heaved over the bowler’s head, while Sanath Jayasuriya was
greeted into the attack with two brutal sixes over long-on and
midwicket, the first of which gave him the orange cap for the
tournament’s highest scorer. The next ball he faced was his last,
though, as Pollock - that man again - brought off a smart catch as
Sehwag miscued a low full-toss off Dominic Thornely.
From there, it was a matter of holding their nerve, and Mumbai did
that expertly. The bowling was spot-on, and the fielding showed an
urgency which clearly demonstrated how much they wanted this win.
Nothing exemplified the new-found spirit more than Ashish Nehra
diving full-length at the long-on boundary to bring off an amazing
save in the 16th over.
Shoaib Malik and Dinesh Karthik both threatened a fightback, but
Mumbai weren’t to be denied today. Pollock returned for a second
spell and immediately had Malik scooping one to long-on as another
batsman was defeated by lack of pace, while Pollock’s golden touch
then brought another success, as he tossed the ball to Bravo, who
trapped Karthik plumb in front with his first ball. Nehra, the other
stand-out bowler in the game, then took two wickets in two balls to
seal the contest.—Agencies
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