12: MI vs RR

There may have been only the one game today, but as a spectacle it more than made up more this. What, on paper may have seemed an uneven match up, was a really closely fought affair and the Royals even looked capable of a big upset at stages of their reply but it wasn't to be as an all round performance from Pollard sealed Mumbai's win.

The Rajasthan bowling attack is tailor-made for defending totals, adept at taking pace off the ball and building pressure, and for this reason it was a surprise to most as Dravid elected to bat, possibly fearing the effects of dew on his bowlers if bowling second. MI got off to a good start, despite a quiet couple of overs, as both Suman and Levi got stuck into the 3rd that went for 21 runs and from there they refused to give back any momentum throughout the innings. Even when RR took wickets the run rate didn't dip as the new batsmen got into their stride quickly, always vital in 20/20 cricket. Pollard was the star performer in their innings and it was his partnership of 96, with the ever impressive Rayudu, that took the game out of RR's reach. The Rajasthan attack suits Pollard's game perfectly and Mumbai accordingly promoted him to 5, giving him overs to play himself in before teeing off. The combination of medium pacers and spinners were milked around as the West Indian showed why he is such a hot property in the game's shortest format. Botha's solitary over of off-spin was smashed for 22, with Rayudu also managing to combine singles and boundaries. By the time Pollard fell, at the end of the 17th over, the damage had been done as his 64 from 33 balls, suprisingly his first ever IPL 50, propelled his side to a mammoth 197/6, along with a late cameo from Harbajahn and Rayudu's unbeaten 47. Only Amit Singh and 41 year old (IPL debutant!) Brad Hogg managed to escape with their figures in tact, 2/29 and 2/31 respectively. Hogg's enthusiasm was good fun to watch and he showed that he's still got it at a 20/20 level but the rest of his colleagues struggled to contain the big hitting Mumbai and the chase looked far beyond RR.

I couldn't see Rajasthan making a game of it and this view was compounded as RR lost Dravid and Goswami in consecutive balls to the ever accurate Munaf, whose 4/28 got him the purple cap. At 7/2 the game looked over but what followed was another partnership of real class, this time from Rahane, showing his 98 was no flash in the pan, and Englishman Owais Shah. They refused to panic with the required rate gradually rising and, in the knowledge that their line up was not the deepest, took on the responsibility. Rahane seems strong all around the ground, he must be pushing for national selection in all formats by now, and Shah was brutal in his hitting. He uses the crease really well and knows his areas, scoring plenty to the leg side boundary with his bottom handed strokeplay. When Rahane (40 from 31) fell at 89/3 to the first ball of the 12th over, to a Pollard slower ball, it once again looked like the match had swung in MI's favour but this was the point where Shah decided to step up a gear. He continued to pummel anything too straight and, in partnership with Menaria, levelled the match again. At this point Harbajahn decided to bring back his strike bowler Malinga in a move that immediately paid off as Shah (76 from 42) was cleaned up first ball, effectively ending the match as there was too much to do for a short batting line-up as Pollard cleaned up the mid-lower order, taking 4 wickets in total. As per usual, whenever necessary Harbajahn was able to call on Malinga, who walked away with an awesome 4-0-13-2, to seal the match for his side and could easily have been MoM. This award though, deservedly went to Pollard for his brilliant innings as well as some useful wickets and typically lively fielding. It was a great effort from Rajasthan, showing why they came in with good form, but the chase was always too much.

The game should have been a lot closer, but I think Rajasthan really let themselves down tactically. I cannot understand why they batted first, particularly after MI failed to chase a low total in their last home game against Pune. Their bowling is completely suited to defending totals and this is what they should have done, Harbajahn was only too happy to bat first. Equally, its common knowledge that Pollard bullies medium pacers, and particularly spin, and RR left out their one man capable of troubling him with serious pace in the form of Shaun Tait. Then again, hindsights a wonderful thing and had Pollard been bowled first ball RR could have won the game and chased a small total comfortably, I just don't think they did themselves any favours. Rajasthan are a side I really like to watch and, despite a spirited effort, they found themselves up against one of the top sides who, when on form, will beat any side in the competition and they were at their best today. Pollard and Shah both played masterful knocks, but there is simply more quality in the Mumbai ranks and this was evident today.