Mumbai: Ajinkya Rahane’s prayers at the Siddhivinayak Temple here on Thursday seemed to have worked, but on his opponents, which co-incidentally is his hometown franchise. Mitchell McClenaghan’s (3/31) one over turned the tide for Mumbai Indians as they beat Rajasthan Royals by eight runs at the Wankhede Stadium on Friday. The Kiwi pacer dismissed the in-form Sanju Samson and Karun Nair (7) in the 18th over to guide Mumbai to a comfortable win.
When Rajasthan needed 27 off 14 and a win looked inevitable, Suchith caught Samson off McClenaghan which changed the script. In the same over, Nair nicked it to Parthiv Patel behind the wicket. Even Rahane himself, the Orange Cap holder, could not carry on with his momentum and was dismissed upfront for 12.Chasing 188 for victory, R Vinay Kumar removed the in-form Mumbaikar early on but Samson – who walked in at No 3 – pulled it back for Rajasthan.
However, having captain Shane Watson for company, Samson played his natural game and punished the Mumbai bowlers throughout the innings. Owing to his pace, Rajasthan reached 50 runs in 31 balls – their fastest so far in this IPL. He scored 76 off 46 with seven boundaries and three sixes.Watson looked in good touch too but a straight, quicker one from Jagadeesha Suchith uprooted his stumps. By then, the Australian had two fours and sixes under his belt. He scored 28 off 23.
Steve Smith, who joined Samson in the middle, played a sheet anchor’s role for sometime before McClenaghan started troubling him. Smith’s frustration reflected in the lose shot he played in the same over to find Harbhajan Singh at third man.Earlier, Mumbai started confidently with Parthiv Patel unleashing himself on the RR bowlers. He cut, drove and kept finding gaps through backward point and fine leg before Dhawal Kulkarni grabbed one banged straight at him. Patel – who was looking dangerous – was dismissed for a 13-ball 23 that included five boundaries.
Nonetheless, Lendl Simmons kept the scoreboard ticking before Ankit Sharma trapped him before the stumps. The Caribbean, being restless, was looking to pad the delivery and also found an inside edge which the umpire did not notice. He fit a six and four boundaries for a 38 off 31.Tim Southee did not look threatening but a short ball from the Kiwi surprised Unmukt Chand (13) who was caught by Stuart Binny at mid-on. It looked like Mumbai would head the same downhill path one more time at their fortress but captain Rohit Sharma had a different intention.
Rohit held the innings with Ambati Rayudu and gradually started opening up from the 13thover. The situation started looking bright for Mumbai once he pulled a short one by Kulkarni over deep midwicket for a six but the very next ball, he tried to switch his unorthodox side that failed miserably. Batting comfortably on 27 off 20, he moved across to scoop it above the wicketkeeper’s head and found Ankit at fine leg. But Rayudu stuck to the plans and sent the Rajasthan bowlers for a leather hunt. Having Kieron Pollard for company on the other end, the duo amassed 61 runs for the fifth wicket in 29 balls.
Juan Theron got rid of Pollard but he had done the damage (24 off 14). Rayudu slammed three massive sixes and four boundaries and reached his half-century on the last ball of the over. He remained unbeaten on 53 off 29 balls.Among the Rajasthan bowlers, Kulkarni stood out with figures of 2/26 in three overs.
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