IPL 6: Smith leads Mumbai Indians to thrilling win

Mumbai Indians 162 for 5 (Smith 62, Rohit 34, Narine 3-17) beat Kolkata Knight Riders 159 for 6 (Kallis 37, Ojha 2-21) by 5 wickets

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Harbhajan Singh did not have a great day with the ball, but struck an important six in the third ball of the last over to seal a thrilling five-wicket win for the Mumbai Indians. Harbhajan Singh felt the pressure in the last-over as they required 9 runs off 4 balls. Rajat Bhatia was constantly bowling the slower-deliveries, but Harbhajan saw it and took advantage before Raydu scored the winning runs with a ball to spare.

The Mumbai Indians, under new captain Rohit Sharma, approached the run-chase perfectly. They had a significant task at hand as Kolkata had three quality spinners and two medium pacers who are ideally suited to this type of wicket. Iqbal Abdulla and Narine bowled extremely well in the first three overs, but later Abdulla was clobbered for sixes as Dwayne Smith took in charge of the Mumbai Indians innings.

Dwayne Smith read the wicket perfectly as he looked to settle down before taking the aerial route. Abdulla bowled an excellent second over which prompted Smith to take the aerial route. The wicket was on the slower-side and the ball wasn’t coming onto the bat nicely. After the departure of Tendulkar in the 4th over, Smith dominated the Mumbai Indians innings together with Dinesh Karthik.

But Dinesh Karthik was adjudged lbw for 7 in the 8th over, leaving Mumbai Indians at 64/2. Smith and Rohit Sharma started the repair work as the begun to re-construct the innings for the Mumbai Indians. Just as when Smith looked in good rhythm, he was dismissed by Narine for 62.

Pollard had ample time to settle down as he had 10 overs left. Rohit Sharma and Pollard handled Narine beautifully and hit Senanayake all over the park as the duo maintained the required rate. The duo put on a constructive partnership of 50 runs that helped Mumbai Indians inch closer towards the Knight Riders total of 159. But there was a sudden twist in the game with the departure of Rohit Sharma and Pollard in quick succession. Nevertheless, Harbhajan’s six in the third ball of the last over sealed the game for Mumbai Indians.

Harbhajan Singh also had an off-day with the ball as he went for 26 runs in his first over, that included a no-ball. Harbhajan was not varying his pace or altering his length after being clobbered for a massive six over long-on in the first over. He came back to bowl the 13th over, where he was taken for 9 runs without difficulty. Perhaps that would have helped the Knight Riders to reach 159, for otherwise, it was a superb bowling performance from the Mumbai Indians.

Ojha was once again among the wickets as his figures read 4-0-21-2. Also, Lasith Malinga’s brilliant last over, where he grabbed two wickets and conceded three runs, helped the Mumbai restrict Kolkata to 159. Mitchell Johnson also bowled extremely well with the new-ball as he scalped the wicket of Yusuf Pathan in his first over, and came back in his third spell to produce the wicket of Morgan. It was Malinga and Johnson who pulled things back for Mumbai Indians.

Mumbai Indians play their next game against Royal Challengers Bangalore on April 27, while Kolkata Knight Riders play their next game against Kings XI Punjab on April 26.