Rajasthan lose to Pollock-led MI

Neither MI nor RR made any changes to their playing eleven.

On winning the toss, Shaun Pollock, MI’s skipper, chose to field.

The first Powerplay of RR’s innings – which was the mandatory Powerplay – was between the first and the sixth over. They scored 48, and lost a couple of wickets.

Graeme Smith, who faced nine balls, scored five. Fourteen balls into the match, he was stumped by Yogesh Takawale. Pollock broke the 12-run stand.

Yusuf Pathan, who faced three balls, scored a run. Five balls later, Ashish Nehra, the player of the match, broke the nine-run stand.

RR scored 50 off 6.1 overs (37 balls). MI had conceded an extra at that point.

The third-wicket pair put on 50 off 31 balls. While Swapnil Asnodkar’s contribution to the partnership was 15, Shane Watson’s contribution to it was 31. Extras’ contribution to the partnership was four.

Watson, whose 20-ball innings included four boundaries and a six, eventually scored 32. Thirty-four balls after Pathan’s dismissal, Dwayne Br(av)oke the 53-run partnership.

Mohammad Kaif had no reason to be in seventh heaven – he scored four. A dozen balls later, he was caught by Nehra. Rohan Raje broke the eight-run stand.

The fifth-wicket pair didn’t get off the mark. Ravindra Jadeja, who faced a ball, didn’t open his account. A couple of balls later, he was caught by Takawale off the bowling of Dhawal Kulkarni.

Although his run-a-ball innings included a boundary, Shane Warne, RR’s skipper, had no reason to be in seventh heaven – a dozen balls later, he was caught by Takawale. Kulkarni broke the run-a-ball stand.

Asnodkar, whose 36-ball (Rob)innings included three boundaries and a six, eventually scored 39. Half-a-dozen balls later, he was caught by Uthappa. Raje broke the one-run stand.

RR scored 100 off 14.4 overs (88 balls). The number of extras they had conceded at that point gave MI no reason to be in seventh heaven. However, that was, incidentally, the number of extras they eventually conceded.

Sohail Tanvir, whose run-a-ball innings included a boundary, scored half-a-dozen. Half-a-dozen balls after Asnodkar’s dismissal, Nehra broke the run-a-ball stand.

Mahesh Rawat, who faced five balls, scored a run. Four balls later, he was caught by Takawale. Nehra broke the one-run stand.

The last-wicket pair didn’t get off the mark. Siddharth, who faced three balls, scored a run. Three balls later, he was (Trive)dismissed by Bravo.

Munaf Patel, who faced a ball, didn’t get off the mark. He was unbeaten.

RR were bundled out for 103 off 16.2 overs.

Sanath Jayasuriya, who bowled a couple of wicketless overs, conceded 17.

Pollock, who bowled three overs, conceded 19. He picked up a wicket.

Bravo, who bowled 2.2 overs, conceded a dozen. He picked up a couple of wickets, as did Kulkarni and Raje, who bowled three overs apiece. While the former conceded 21, the latter conceded 19.

Nehra, who bowled three overs, conceded 13. He picked up three scalps.

The first Powerplay of MI’s innings – which was the mandatory Powerplay – was between the first and the sixth over. They scored 34, without the loss of a wicket.

Jayasuriya, whose 20-ball innings included a boundary and a six, scored 18. Forty-five balls into the chase, he was caught by Pathan. Watson broke the 41-run stand.

MI scored 50 off 8.4 overs (52 balls). RR had conceded five extras at that point.

Takawale, whose 32-ball innings included a boundary and a six, scored 27. Sixteen balls after Jayasuriya’s dismissal, Warne broke the 23-run stand.

Uthappa, whose 21-ball innings included four boundaries and a six, scored 34. He was unbeaten.

Bravo, who faced five balls, scored a run. Eight balls later, he was caught by Asnodkar. Watson broke the run-a-ball stand.

Abhishek Nayar, whose 13-ball innings included a boundary, scored a dozen. He was unbeaten.

RR eventually conceded 12 extras. MI, who scored 104 for the loss of three wickets off 15.1 overs, won by seven wickets with 29 balls to spare.

Trivedi and Patel, who bowled three overs each, conceded 23 and 21, respectively. They were wicketless overs, as was Tanvir, who bowled 3.1 overs, conceding 13.

Warne, who bowled a couple of overs, conceded 19. He picked up a wicket.

Watson, who bowled four overs, conceded 26. He picked up a couple of scalps.