Pollard's blitzkrieg takes Mumbai Indians to the top

Mumbai - Kieron Pollard single-handedly took the Mumbai Indians to the top of the table, scoring an unbeaten 66 off just 27 balls to help his team beat the Sunrisers Hyderabad by seven wickets at the Wankhede Stadium .

The Sunrisers looked to be all set to claim two points and with it going fourth in the table.

However, a blitzkrieg from Pollard, which included eight sixes and two fours, changed all that and gave the hosts an unlikely win.

Mumbai, chasing 179 runs for victory, scored 184 for three in 19.3 overs and took their tally to 20 points, same as the Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals but with a better run-rate.

West Indian all-rounder Dwayne Smith got Mumbai Indians off to a brisk start, scoring 21 off 17 balls before Ishant Sharma, who bowled beautifully with the new ball, got the better of him.

Sachin Tendulkar (38 retd. hurt) and Dinesh Karthik (30) added 68 runs for the second wicket but were never able to score too quickly.

When Tendulkar walked off the field, with cramps in his left hand, Mumbai still needed 84 off 48 balls.

The hosts suffered a double blow as they lost Karthik in the same over, bringing two new players to the crease.

Requiring 62 off the last four, the game changed hands as Perera was plundered for 29 runs in the 17th over with Pollard hitting three consecutive sixes and Rohit Sharma (20 not out) adding another one.

Pollard, then inflicted more misery on the Sunrisers, smashing spinner Amit Mishra for another three sixes in the very next over.

With 12 needed off the last two overs, Pollard finished the match with a maximum off the third ball to give Mumbai their seventh consecutive win at home.

Earlier, Hyderabad electing to bat, got off to a flyer courtesy Parthiv Patel. The diminutive left-hander, who scored a half-century in the previous match, hit 26 off 14 balls.

Shikhar Dhawan (59) and Hanuma Vihari (41) carried on the good work and added 73 runs for the second wicket. Cameron White (43 not out) too played a cameo as the Sunrisers posted a fighting total.

Sunrisers Hyderabad

Parthiv Patel c Rayudu b Malinga 26

Shikhar Dhawan c Karthik b Johnson 59

Hanuma Vihari c Johnson b Malinga 41

Cameron White not out 43

Thisara Perera not out 2

Extras (b 1, w 6) 7

Total (for three wickets in 20 overs) 178

Fall of wickets: 1-38 (Patel, 3.5 overs), 2-111 (Dhawan, 12.5), 3-166 (Vihari, 18.3)

Bowling:

Mitchell Johnson 4-0-43-1

Dhawal Kulkarni 4-0-42-0

Harbhajan Singh 3-0-19-0

Lasith Malinga 4-0-26-2

Pragyan Ojha 4-0-37-0

Kieron Pollard 1-0-10-0

Mumbai Indians

Dwayne Smith b Ishant 21

Sachin Tendulkar retired hurt 38

Dinesh Karthik c White b Karan 30

Rohit Sharma not out 20

Ambati Rayudu st Patel b Karan 2

Kieron Pollard not out 66

Extras (lb 1, w 5, nb 1) 7

Total (for three wickets in 19.3 overs) 184

Fall of wickets: 1-26 (Smith, 3.3 ov), 1-94* (Tendulkar, retired not out, 11.4 ov), 2-95 (Karthik, 11.6 ov), 3-99 (Rayudu, 13.2 ov)

Bowling:

Dale Steyn 4-0-23-0

Ishant Sharma 4-0-32-1

Thisara Perera 3.3-0-55-0

Darren Sammy 2-0-15-0

Amit Mishra 3-0-36-0

Karan Sharma 3-0-22-2

Toss: Sunrisers Hyderabad, who chose to bat

Result: Mumbai Indians won by seven wickets

Player of the match: Kieron Pollard (Mumbai Indians)

Umpires: AK Chaudhary and SJA Taufel (Australia)

TV umpire: Asad Rauf (Pakistan)

Match referee: RR Jadeja