Tendulkar shines; MI beat Rajasthan

RR made no changes to their playing eleven.

MI made a couple of changes to their playing eleven – Shikhar Dhawan and Ryan McLaren made way for Sanath Jayasuriya and Dhawal Kulkarni.

On winning the toss, Shane Warne, RR’s skipper, chose to field.

The start of play was delayed.

The first Powerplay of MI’s innings – which was the mandatory Powerplay – was between the first and the sixth over. They scored 47, and lost three wickets.

Jayasuriya, who faced a couple of balls, scored a run. Nine balls into the match, he was caught by Abhishek Jhunjhunwala. Shane Watson broke the 12-run stand.

The second-wicket pair didn’t get off the mark. Ambati Rayudu, who faced three balls, didn’t open his account. Four balls later, he was caught by Naman Ojha off the bowling of Watson.

Saurabh Tiwary, whose nine-ball innings included three boundaries, scored 15. Eleven balls later, he was caught by Aditya Dole. Watson broke the 18-run stand.

MI scored 50 off 6.2 overs (38 balls). RR had conceded five extras at that point.

The fourth-wicket pair put on 50 off 45 balls. While the contribution of Sachin Tendulkar, MI’s skipper and the player of the match, to the partnership was 17, Jean-Paul Duminy’s contribution to it was 28. Extras’ contribution to the partnership was half-a-dozen.

Duminy, whose 32-ball innings included four boundaries, eventually scored 31. Fifty-two balls after Tiwary’s dismissal, he was caught by Michael Lumb. Siddharth Trivedi broke the 63-run partnership.

MI scored 100 off 13.3 overs (81 balls). RR had conceded 10 extras at that point.

Tendulkar’s half-century – which included five boundaries – came off 45 balls.

The fifth-wicket pair put on 50 off 32 balls. While Tendulkar’s contribution to the partnership was 22, Kieron Pollard’s contribution to it was 25. Extras’ contribution to the partnership was three.

Pollard, whose 13-ball innings included three boundaries and a six, didn’t add to the aforementioned score. Thirty-three balls after Duminy’s dismissal, Dole broke the 50-run partnership.

MI scored 150 off 18.2 overs (110 balls). RR had conceded 12 extras at that point. That was, incidentally, the number of extras they eventually conceded.

Tendulkar, whose 59-ball innings included 10 boundaries and a couple of sixes, eventually scored 89. He was unbeaten, as was Rajagopal Sathish, who faced a couple of balls, scoring a run.

MI scored 174 for the loss of five wickets off 20 overs.

Jhunjhunwala, who bowled an over, conceded half-a-dozen. He was wicketless, as were Warne and Yusuf Pathan, who bowled four overs apiece. While the former conceded 34, the latter conceded 24.

Dole, who bowled three overs, conceded 34. He picked up a wicket, as did Trivedi, who bowled four overs, conceding 35.

Watson, who bowled four overs, conceded 37. He picked up three scalps.

The first Powerplay of RR’s innings – which was the mandatory Powerplay – was between the first and the sixth over. They scored 34, and lost three wickets.

Lumb, who faced half-a-dozen balls, scored eight. His runs came by way of boundaries. Ten balls into the chase, he was caught by Duminy. Kulkarni broke the nine-run stand.

The second-wicket pair didn’t get off the mark. Ojha, who faced five balls, didn’t open his account. Three balls later, he was caught by Tendulkar off the bowling of Zaheer Khan.

The third-wicket pair put on a couple. Watson, whose faced a couple of balls, scored a run. Three balls later, Rayudu ran him out.

The fourth-wicket pair put on 23. Faiz Fazal, whose 15-ball innings included a boundary, scored 10. Twenty-one balls later, Jayasuriya and Harbhajan Singh ran him out.  

RR scored 50 off 8.5 overs (53 balls). The number of extras they had at that point gave MI no reason to be in seventh heaven.

The fifth-wicket pair put on 28. Jhunjhunwala, whose run-a-ball innings included a six, scored 22. Twenty-five balls after Fazal’s dismissal, Tiwary and Rayudu ran him out.

Pathan, whose 10-ball innings included a six, scored eight. Twenty balls later, he was caught by Harbhajan. Pollard broke the 23-run stand.

Adam Voges, whose 27-ball innings included a couple of balls, scored 28. Four balls later, he was caught by Rayudu. Khan broke the two-run stand.

RR scored 100 off 16.5 overs (101 balls). The number of extras they had at that point gave MI no reason to be in seventh heaven.

The eighth-wicket pair put on 50 off 33 balls. While Abhishek Raut’s contribution to the partnership was 19, Dole’s contribution to it was 30. Extras’ contribution to the partnership was a run.

Raut, whose 17-ball innings included a couple of sixes, eventually scored 20. He was unbeaten.

Dole, whose 18-ball innings included a couple of boundaries and a six, failed to add to the aforementioned score. Thirty-four balls after Voges’ dismissal, he was caught by the substitute, Dhawan. Harbhajan broke the 50-run partnership.

MI eventually conceded eight extras. RR, who scored 137 for the loss of eight wickets off 20 overs, lost by 37 runs.

Jayasuriya, who bowled a couple of overs, conceded 16. He was wicketless, as was Lasith Malinga, who bowled four overs, conceding 23.

Pollard, who bowled a couple of overs, conceded 19. He picked up a wicket, as did Kulkarni and Harbhajan, who bowled four overs apiece. While the former conceded 40, the latter conceded 21.

Khan bowled four overs, including a maiden. He conceded 17, picking up a couple of scalps.