IPL 6: MI v/s PWI - Heroes of the Match

Clinical – just the right word to describe Mumbai Indians‘ magnificent win over the hapless Pune Warriors today. There was plenty of excitement right from the word go. ‘Pondulkar’ finally came good, the batsmen who followed made merry of a clueless attack, and the bowlers were in their element right through the chase. In the end, Mumbai soared to the top of the table, while Pune were left to pick up the pieces (again!).

Heroes of the Match:

1. Sachin Tendulkar (44 runs off 29 balls; 7 fours, 1 six):

The Maestro finally came good for the first time in this season, and what better stage to do it in than the Wankhede. It was vintage Tendulkar all the way as the veteran opener cracked four sublime boundaries – all off pacer Ashok Dinda, who was completely off-colour today. The trademark backfoot punch off the same bowler was easily the shot of the day. Sachin also struck a lovely maximum off leg spinner Rahul Sharma – all this after being dropped in the first over by Pune’s surprise opening bowler Aaron Finch. Though he didn’t continue on to post a big score, his 54-run opening stand with Ponting set the platform for the later assault.

2. Dinesh Karthik (41 runs off 29 balls; 4 fours, 1 six)

The South Zone wicket-keeper bat is proving to be the go-to man for Mumbai this season. He scored his runs at breakneck speed, hammering 4 fours and one six (casually struck off the PWI skipper Angelo Mathews), sharing a 55-run stand with Rohit Sharma. No wonder he deserves the Orange Cap for his special efforts and sublime consistency.

3. Rohit Sharma (62 n.o. off 35 balls; 3 fours, 5 sixes; 1 catch)

Starting off slowly, with Karthik blazing away at the other end, Rohit Sharma quickly came into his own when he smashed Dinda for two consecutive sixes – one off a no-ball – in the 17th over. He tore the bowling to shreds with three more towering shots – two off the luckless Dinda and one off Mitchell Marsh. And to round off a brilliant game, Rohit also pouched PWI skipper Angelo Mathews’s attempted huge hit off Pragyan Ojha – earning praise from MI fielding coach Jonty Rhodes. Now there’s something you don’t see every day!

4. Mitchell Johnson (3/33 in 4 overs)

The Aussie left-arm seamer produced a magical spell to rattle Pune early in their chase. He sent down two classical left-arm in-swinging deliveries to remove the dangerous Aaron Finch (for a duck) and the dashing Robin Uthappa. Though he got tonked for a 6 and a 4 by his namesake, Marsh, he returned to pick up his wicket as well, thus effectively sealing Pune’s fate.

5. Mitchell Marsh (1/24 in 2 overs; 1 catch; 38 runs off 26 balls-2 fours, 2 sixes)

Mitchell Marsh seems to be doing what Steve Smith did for Pune last season. First off, he took a great catch in the deep to dismiss the marauding Master Blaster for 44. Next, he removed Dinesh Karthik, trapping him lbw with the classic in-swinger of the right-arm pacer. Finally, with his side reeling from Johnson’s strikes, he provided some respectability to Pune’s final score with some lusty hitting – slamming one six each off Harbhajan and Johnson. Had it not been for MI’s brilliant effort in the field as well as with the bat earlier on, this would have easily been a match-winning performance.