Pune Warriors v Mumbai Indians – Indian Premier League 5 – Match Recap – Mumbai Indians clinch narrow 1-run victory
Despite having an achievable 121-run target to chase, the Pune Warriors were unable to best the Mumbai Indians bowling attack, and found themselves suffering an agonizingly narrow 1-run defeat at the Subrata Roy Sahara Stadium in Pune on May 3.
The visitors won the toss and chose to bat on what proved to be a low scoring pitch which did not lend much to the batsmen on either side. The Mumbai Indians opened their innings with a steady 50-run stand between James Franklin (25) and Sachin Tendulkar
(34).
However, the partnership came to an end when the Kiwi batsman was caught out by Mithun Manhas off Bhuvneshwar Kumar in the 8th over. He was succeeded by Rohit Sharma, who is currently fifth on the Indian Premier League records for most runs scored,
but the 25-year-old right-hander wasn’t able to contribute much, managing just 3 runs before he was run out in the 9th over.
The team appeared to get back on track with the arrival of Robin Peterson at the crease. In addition to an individual score of 13, he set up a 25-run stand with Tendulkar, but the partnership was broken up by Ashish Nehra, who sent both batsmen packing,
leaving the MI at 88 for 4 by the 14th over.
Wicketkeeper batsman Dinesh Karthik remained not out but his contribution was a meagre 18 runs off 22 deliveries. He was joined at the crease by Ambati Rayudu (1), Thisara Perera (0), and skipper Harbhajan Singh (0), all of whom made quick exits. Lasith
Malinga attempted to bring the score up and managed 14 runs, in addition to a 26th run stand for the 8th wicket with Karthik, but the visitors were restricted to 120 by the end of 20 overs.
Kumar and Nehra were the highest wicket-takers for their side, claiming 2 scalps each, while Ashok Dinda managed one for 34.
The hosts had an achievable target of 121 in front of them, but an exceptionally slow Sourav Ganguly bogged the innings down, rendering his side incapable of successfully chasing the target.
The Warriors opened with wicketkeeper batsman Robin Uthappa (18) and Jesse Ryder, who took up 13 deliveries in order to bring his individual score up to 9. Their opening stand of 20 runs was fleeting, and brought to a close when Uthappa was dismissed, lbw,
by Munaf Patel. The next two wickets were claimed by skipper Harbhajan Singh, who sent both Ryder and Michael Clarke (14) back to the pavilion by 9th over, leaving the team at 44 for 3.
Steven Smith (2) was also unable to get any runs out of the surface, and found himself bowled out by Pragyan Ojha. Ganguly (16 off 24) and Manhas (42 off 34) joined forces for a 47-run 5th wicket stand, but the partnership was largely dominated
by the latter, who contributed 31 runs while Ganguly inched his way forward, unable to find his rhythm before he was bowled out by Malinga in the 17th over.
Wayne Parnell’s (2) time at the cease was also fleeting, with Malinga striking once again to remove the 22-year-old in the 19th over, with the Warriors at 105 for 6.
Malinga conceded just 4 runs in the second last over, and with Manhas and Kumar (10) at the crease, the Warriors required 12 runs from the last six balls. However, despite a four by Kumar, Patel did not allow them to meet the target, enabling the MI to secure
a narrow 1-run win.
Malinga won the Player of the Match award for his 2 for 25, and the visitors found themselves at number 3 on the points table, while their defeat ensured that the Warriors remained at their second-last position on the rankings.
As the tournament nears the playoffs stage, both teams will be looking for a rise in rankings – the Warriors have a high-profile match against the Kolkata Knight Riders coming up on May 5, while the Mumbai Indians will be facing the Chennai Super Kings on
May 6 at the Wankhede Stadium.