IPL 6: MI vs RR - The Quick Flicks

In a high voltage contest, Mumbai Indians just about held their nerve to send the dark-horses of IPL, Rajasthan Royals, out of the tournament.

Snap shots from today’s game:

Dravid stamps his class

If a team is going through choppy waters, then Rahul Dravid is the cricketer who can launch a rescue mission. After going through a nightmarish week, RR’s players must have been shattered to bits. But the the man for a crisis, Dravid, with those lissome drives stamped his authority at Eden Gardens, and erected a solid platform for the middle-order to come into play.

As a captain, he tried every trick in the book, which included trying to slow the game down. But for once, his battalion of valiant warriors let the team down with all those misfields, overthrows and that crucial dropped catch by Hodge.

Yagnik’s eye-catching street-smartness

At 108 for 6, RR looked down and out, but Yagnik, with some innovative shots, out-foxed MI’s experienced bowlers. The way he used the depth of the crease to take the mickey out of Malinga was the highlight of a keenly contested match. Malinga is famous for bowling toe-crushing yorkers. But Yagnik almost took the yorker out of the equation by batting from behind the crease.

The best in the business lose the plot too

Malinga seems to nhave that uncanny ability to bowl yorkers at will. Today though, he lost his radar. Those extras he conceded in the last over would have made Steve Harmison and Mitchell Johnson proud.

Dwayne Smith’s pyrotechnics win it for MI

When the likes of Smith, Gayle and Pollard bat, it doesn’t seem like they need to find the middle of the bat for the ball to sail deep into the stands. It was certainly a power-packed performance from Smith, as he played some sumptuous lofted shots. MI’s middle-order tried their level best to undo all the good work done by Smith, and Harbhajan Singh with a ball in hand. But in the end, they somehow managed to eke out a famous win.

Can MI win this year’s IPL?

In every IPL they have played, MI on paper look like a strong contender to win it. But they have been criticised in the past for being inflexible. T/20 is a format which provides ample scope for experimentation. To upset the apple-cart and beat CSK in the final, they definitely need to show flexibility in their approach.

MI played better cricket and deserved to win today. RR have punched above their weight in this tournament, but in a crunch game, their fielding was a complete let down. One just hopes now that the final of the IPL will be a humdinger of a contest.