Rohit-led MI advance; RR disappointed

MI made one change to their playing (Pat)eleven – Munaf made way for Rishi Dhawan.

RR made no changes to their playing eleven.

On winning the toss, Rahul Dravid, RR’s skipper, chose to bat.

Owing to rain at the start of play, the ground was wet.

The first Powerplay of RR’s innings – which was the mandatory Powerplay – was between the first and the sixth over. They scored 42, without the loss of a wicket.

Ajinkya Rahane, whose 18-ball innings included three boundaries, scored 21. Thirty-nine balls into the match, Harbhajan Singh, the player of the match, broke the 44-run stand.

RR scored 50 off 7.5 overs (47 balls). MI had conceded an extra at that point.

Shane Watson, the player of the series, scored half-a-dozen. His eight-ball innings included a boundary. Thirteen balls after Rahane’s dismissal, he was caught by Rohit Sharma, MI’s skipper. Harbhajan broke the 16-run stand.

Sanju Samson, who faced a couple of balls, didn’t get off the mark. Half-a-dozen balls later, he was caught by Harbhajan. Lasith Malinga broke the four-run stand.

Dravid, whose 37-ball innings included seven boundaries, scored 43. Fifteen balls later, he was caught by Rohit. Harbhajan broke the 23-run stand.

RR scored 100 off 13.4 overs (82 balls). MI had conceded a couple of extras at that point.

Stuart Binny, whose 17-ball innings included three boundaries and a six, scored 27. Eighteen balls after Dravid’s dismissal, he was caught by Harbhajan. Kieron Pollard broke the 17-run stand.

RR scored 150 off 19.4 overs (118 balls). MI had conceded half-a-dozen extras at that point.

The seventh-wicket pair put on 50 of 27 balls. While Brad Hodge’s contribution to the partnership was 14, Dishant Yagnik’s contribution to it was 31. Incidentally, the latter, whose 17-ball innings included five boundaries, was unbeaten. Extras’ contribution to the partnership gave MI no reason to be in seventh heaven.

Hodge, whose 20-ball innings included a couple of boundaries, scored 19. He was unbeaten.

Kevon Cooper, who faced a couple of balls, scored four. His runs came by way of a boundary. A couple of balls after Binny’s dismissal, he was caught by Dwayne Smith. Pollard broke the four-run stand.

MI eventually conceded 14 extras. RR scored 165 for the loss of half-a-dozen extras off 20 overs.

Mitchell Johnson, who bowled three overs, conceded 23. He was wicketless, as was Pragyan Ojha and Rishi, who bowled four overs apiece. While the former conceded 36, the latter conceded 30.

Malinga, who bowled four overs, conceded 43. He picked up a wicket.

Pollard, who bowled an over, conceded half-a-dozen. He picked up a couple of wickets.

Harbhajan, who bowled four overs, conceded 23. 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 45, without the loss of a wicket.

MI’s openers put on 50 off 7.1 overs (43 balls). RR had conceded an extra at that point. While Dwayne’s contribution to the partnership was 26, Aditya Tare’s contribution to it was 25.

Tare, whose 27-ball innings included three boundaries and a couple of sixes, eventually scored 35. Fifty-five balls into the chase, he was caught by Samson. Cooper broke the 70-run partnership.

MI scored 100 off a dozen overs (72 balls). The number of extras they had conceded at that point gave RR no reason to be in seventh heaven.

Dwayne’s half-century – which included half-a-dozen boundaries and a six – came off 38 balls.

The second-wicket pair put on 50 of 29 balls. While Dwayne’s contribution to the partnership was 28, Dinesh Karthik’s contribution to it was 22. Extras’ contribution to the partnership was five.

Dinesh, whose 17-ball innings included three boundaries, scored 22. Thirty balls after Tare’s dismissal, he was caught by Rahane. Cooper broke the 55-run partnership.

Rohit, who faced eight balls, scored a couple. Ten balls later, Trivedi broke the (Siddhar)three-run stand.

Dwayne eventually scored 62 off 76 balls, which included half-a-dozen boundaries, in addition to a couple of sixes. Four balls later, he was caught by Samson. Binny broke the run-a-ball stand.

Pollard, whose six-ball innings included a six, scored 11. Half-a-dozen balls later, he was caught by Cooper. Faulkner broke the nine-run stand.

MI scored 150 off 18.2 overs (110 balls). RR had conceded eight extras at that point.

Ambati Rayudu, whose 11-ball innings included a boundary and a six, scored 17. Eleven balls after Pollard’s dismissal, Watson broke the 19-run stand.

Harbhajan, whose four-ball innings included a boundary, scored half-a-dozen. He was unbeaten, as was Rishi, who faced two balls, scoring four. His runs came by way of a boundary.

RR eventually conceded 10 extras. MI, who scored 169 for the loss of half-a-dozen wickets off 19.5 overs, won by four wickets with a ball to spare.

Vikramjeet Malik, who bowled four wicketless overs, conceded 26.

Binny, who bowled an over, conceded 11. He picked up a wicket.

Watson, who bowled 2.5 overs, conceded 34. He picked up a wicket.

Faulkner and Trivedi bowled four overs each, picking up a wicket apiece. While the former conceded 36, the latter conceded 23.

Cooper, who bowled four overs, conceded 23. He picked up a couple of scalps.

While RR were knocked out, MI advanced to the final.