It rained fours and sixes

This sure was the case in the 17th match of the IPL – Mumbai Indians (MI) v/s Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). After a not-so-good performance in the previous matches by both teams, expectations were high among the supporters on both sides.

Sachin Tendulkar, captain of the MI, won the toss and elected to bat first. Right from the start, the two opening batsmen – Tendulkar and Sanath Jayasurya – came down strong on the bowlers of the KKR.

The match saw quite a few landmarks, namely, one of the best totals put up by a team in the first innings, (187 runs), a fantastic partnership between the two openers of the MI, and, the most important of all, Sachin Tendulkar’s highest ever IPL total (68 runs).

Right from the beginning of the match, the KKR looked under pressure (evident from the mis-fielding in the very first ball, and also from the fact that Anureet Singh had to retire while trying to save a four hit by Tendulkar early in the match). The match was especially memorable because not even one wicket had fallen till the end of the first 10 overs. When Tendulkar finally did get out on an LBW appeal, (superb bowling by Lakshmi Shukla), it was not before he had made an amazing 68 runs off only 45 balls.

A surprising development was Harbhajan Singh coming in at 1-down. However, he did his job, and before he fell prey to Mendis, (caught out), he had hit two sixes, and made a total of 18 runs off just eight balls.

Then came Abhishek Nayar and J. P. Duminy, who failed to make any significant contributions. All this while, Jayasurya had stayed put, but finally got out on a ball by Shukla once again. However, he had, by then, made a fantastic 52 runs off only 32 balls. Thereafter, the wickets started falling in quick succession, but by the time the 20 overs were completed, the damage had been done, with the MI ending with a fabulous 187 – 6.

Like they say, ‘the game of cricket is never over until it’s over’, expectations were once again riding high on the openers of the KKR, Brendon McCullum and Chris Gayle. However, due to immense pressure on the two, only four runs were made in the first over. Soon, the wickets started falling as first McCullum (who got out on a ball by Lasith Malinga; one run off six balls) and then Gayle (ball – Bravo, catch – Tendulkar; 12 runs off 11 balls) got out. Former captain of the KKR, Saurav Ganguly, and Brad Hodge managed to get a 50 run partnership off 39 balls, but just when things were beginning to look up, they got out, too. From then on, it was a downward fall for the KKR, and before they knew it, they were all out after having made only 95 runs, thus losing by more that 90 runs, one of the worst scores ever by any team in an IPL match.

From the get-go, the MI looked determined to win the match. The ‘DLF Maximum’ award for hitting the maximum number of sixes was shared by the two openers of the MI, Tendulkar and Jayasurya, and the Man of the Match prize was also given to Tendulkar, while Lasith Malinga claimed the purple cap for taking the maximum number of wickets in the series till now.
By far one of the most entertaining matches in the season so far, this victory scooted the MI to the third position (where they must be very happy to be) and looking to make it to the top spot.