Harbhajan fiver, Rohit's 87 give MI 8-run win over CSK

S S Ramaswamy
Mumbai, Apr 22 (PTI) Off-spinner Harbhajan Singh led a
clinical bowling show with a five-wicket haul after Rohit
Sharma's batting heroics as Mumbai Indians scored a thrilling
eight-run victory over defending champions Chennai Super Kings
in an Indian Premier League clash here Friday night.
Mumbai posted a challenging 164 for four after being put
into bat, thanks to a 48-ball 87 by Rohit and then Harbhajan
(5/18) produced this IPL season's second five-wicket haul to
give the home side their fourth win in five games.
Harbhajan's MI team-mate Lasith Malinga was the first to
take five wickets this season with five for 13 against Delhi
Daredevils on April 10.
The home side also produced a superb fielding show with
the match turning their way with Kieron Pollard taking a
stunning forward diving catch to remove Michael Hussey in the
fifth over.
With this win at the Wankhede Stadium, MI surged to sole
top slot with eight points.
Chasing a challenging total of 165, CSK lost wickets at
regular intervals, including three in the 18th over from man
of the match Harbhajan to be left stranded at 156 for nine.
Subramaniam Badrinath made a fighting, unbeaten 71 from
48 balls while Hussey scored 41 in 33 balls for a losing cause
while the rest of the batsmen caved in meekly.
It was Harbhajan who took the bowling honours in the
match with his five-wicket haul while Kieron Pollard took two
catches, one of them a fabulous diving catch to send back
danger man Hussey off Malinga.
Malinga, who today announced his retirement from Test
cricket, ended up with fine figures of two for 20 while Munaf
Patel and Pollard took a wicket apiece to help last year's
runners-up Mumbai defeat their arch-rivals for the fourth time
in eight meetings in IPL history.
Chennai began their reply by losing two wickets within
the first five overs with Murali Vijay departing after scoring
12 and Suresh Raina caught and bowled for five by Harbhajan.
The double strike left Chennai at 38 for two in the fifth
over.
Hussey and Badrinath then put on 60 runs for the third
wicket in 6.4 overs to put their side on course of the run
chase. Both used the pace of the bowlers to find the gaps with
nudges, flicks and off-glides.
Badrinath outscored his Australian partner by finding the
gaps with aplomb. He also stepped out once to Rohit to slam
the bowler for a six over the straight field.
However, Hussey surged past his partner by striking two
fours off R Satish, the seventh bowler to be used by
Tendulkar, in successive balls.
Just when he looked set for big innings, Hussey was
dismissed by Malinga who came back for his second spell. The
Sri Lankan had Hussey caught brilliantly by Pollard, who dived
full length in front at short mid wicket, when the batsman
swatted at a bouncer on to his face.
The gangling Pollard, who had taken an acrobatic catch in
the previous match to send back Pune's Robin Uthappa to turn
the tide, was once again the man in the centre stage with his
stupendous catching.
Then the West Indian dismissed CSK skipper Mahendra Singh
Dhoni with a rank bad ball which the Indian captain mistimed
and the ball ballooned towards third man where Rohit brought
off the second stunning catch of the innings after running a
few yards to his left.
Chennai had lost two important wickets within seven balls
and for the addition of three runs to give back the initiative
to their opponents.
Badrinath and S Anirudha (9) put the innings back on
track for a brief while with a stand of 22 runs before the
latter was caught in the deep off a full-toss from Harbhajan,
leaving CSK the task of getting 42 runs in the last four overs
with five wickets in hand.
Badrinath completed his fifty in 37 balls with six fours
and a six, with clever batting and after the 17th over his
side required 32 in 18 balls.
But three wickets in five balls in the 18th over bowled
by Harbhajan pushed Chennai to the brink as they lost Albie
Morkel (3), R Ashwin (0)and Joginder (0) to be left facing
defeat at 137 for eight after the 18th over.
Chennai needed 25 from the last over and Badrinath took
16 off Munaf Patel.
Earlier, Rohit Sharma cracked a blistering 87 to help
Mumbai rally strongly and put up a challenging 164 for four.
Rohit, who came to the crease at the fall of skipper
Sachin Tendulkar in the fourth over, put on half century
stands with Ambati Rayudu (27) and Andrew Symonds (31 not out)
to help the home team recover from 13 for two.
He was finally out in the last over holing out to long on
fielder Michael Hussey off Doug Bollinger.
Thanks to Rohit, who hit five sixes and eight fours from
48 balls, and his partnerships of 61 with Rayudu and of 87
with Symonds, who hit two sixes and a four in 36 balls, Mumbai
could post a challenging total after they had lost both their
openers Rajagopal Satish (0) and Tendulkar (5).
For Chennai, Doug Bollinger grabbed two for 30 while
Albie bowled a splendid four-over spell, including one maiden
over, to take 1-19.
Mumbai began their innings with a new partner for
Tendulkar, Satish replacing James Franklin who opened in the
previous game against Pune. But the move did not click as
Satish failed to get going and that put pressure on Tendulkar.
Facing the first over from Albie Morkel after his team
was asked to take first strike, Satish failed to connect all
the deliveries barring one which ended up as a near-catch to
the point region and the opening over was a maiden.
Tendulkar started promisingly with a superb back-foot
cover-drive in the next over from left-arm Doug Bollinger who
began with four wides.
But Satish fell off the very first ball in Morkel's
second over, spooning a tame catch to Srikkanth.
Bollinger dealt MI a big blow when he induced Tendulkar
to a pull shot with a short ball and the champion batsman
gloved it to give a dolly catch to slip fielder Michael Hussey
to leave MI tottering at 13 for two in fourth over.
Rohit, who had completed Mumbai's victory over Pune two
days ago with a six, began in splendid fashion by square
driving Bollinger for two boundaries in the same over.
The talented Mumbai batsman then flicked Morkel, who
bowled four overs at a stretch for 20 runs and was able to
extract appreciable movement off the pitch, for a four.
Rohit slammed the first six of the contest by hoisting
Joginder Sharma, playing in his first match of the season
after replacing Shadab Jakati, over long on.
Mumbai, 41 for two after the power play six-over period,
reached 50 in the eighth over and 67 for two after 10th over.
Rayudu (27) departed in the 11th over after having added
61 runs with Rohit in 7.3 overs. Lured by Randiv, he gave the
bowler the charge but was deceived by a straight ball and
Dhoni made an easy stumping. He hit four fours in 29 balls.
In the same over, Rohit essayed a classy lofted
cover-drive off Randiv and later struck the bowler straight to
the sight screen for his second six to bring up his 50 in 31
balls and the team's 100 in the 15th over.
The 16th over bowled by Joginder proved expensive for CSK
with Rohit hitting the pacer for two fours and Symonds carting
him over long on for a six. Sixteen runs came off it.
Rohit even scored a scooped six off Bollinger in the 18th
over. He went hammer and tongs against Suresh Raina by
slamming him for two sixes in 19th over.