Harbajahn won the toss and put Pune into the field, giving his batsmen first use of a decent looking track (the average score at Pune being 160). Mumbai got off to an unspectacular but solid start in the face of some disciplined bowling from PWI, Dinda marking his return to the side with a maiden at Tendulkar. Both players were kept relatively quiet for the majority of the powerplay, but Franklin cut loose in the 6th over with a few big hits off Nehra to leave MI in a steady position at 42/0 after 6. However, from here Pune were brilliant to get right back into the match and find themselves well on top at the half way mark. The bowling was extremely accurate and the pressure built up by dot balls got to the MI batsmen, with most getting out attempting big shots. Kumar started the procession as he sent back Franklin who miscued to mid on before Sharma, in at 3, once again gave his wicket away in the next over. Clarke, bowling for the first time in the IPL, had sent down a probing over when Sharma missed a ball that was sliding marginally down leg. In the midst of a Pune appeal Sharma wandered down the pitch looking for a single that wasn't there and Tendulkar sent him back to run out by a good yard. A man with his talent really needs to doing more for Mumbai, and hopefully India in the near future, and their poor batting this year is greatly down to his inconsistency. MI were suddenly at 56/2 after 9 overs and never recovered. Nehra produced his best performance of the year (4-0-19-2) as he hit the deck hard and seemed to surprise batsmen with his pace, dismissing Tendulkar for a scratchy 34 from 35 as well as Peterson who skied an attempted heave over the leg side. Kumar, once again, impressed with his consistency as he grabbed 2-9 from his 3 overs to stop Mumbai generating momentum. Were it not for a big 19th over from Dinda, as Malinga and Karthik managed a few boundaries to score 17 from it, they would have struggled to reach the disappointing 120/9 that they got. Pune would have been thrilled with their efforts, especially having lost the toss, and had given themselves an excellent chance to get the win they desperately needed to leap up the table to 3rd.
What followed was some seriously shoddy cricket from Pune in the face of some good bowling from Mumbai, although you'd have to admit there was nothing special on offer as a result of a fairly placid pitch, other than some slow turn. Ryder and Uthappa came out to open the innings, my favorite Pune combination, and Uthappa in particular started nicely with some attractive cover drives and a stunning six over long on, played with a perfectly straight bat. There hardly seemed in any trouble and I couldn't see Mumbai getting back into it, all looked rosy for Pune fans! However, the trouble began when spin was introduced with clear signs of turn from the word go, much more than there appeared to be when Mumbai were batting. Uthappa had fallen LBW having shuffled across his stumps to Patel and the shot played by Ryder really was awful, aimlessly chipping the ball to mid wicket to allow MI well and truly back into the game at 40/2 after 7 overs. The moment that put Mumbai in control, however, was a shocker from the umpire who gave Clarke out sweeping when the ball was wide of off and probably going over too. With the ball turning and a vastly experienced and skilled Mumbai attack, 120 now looked a long way off, even more so when the ever reliable Smith was bowled through the gate by a beauty from Ojha - 47/4 after 10. The experienced duo of Ganguly and Manhas, who played brilliantly for his 42* from 34, set about rebuilding as necessary.
It was vital that they didn't lose another wicket given their thin batting line-up today, but the issue was the S/R of Ganguly who scored 16 from 24 balls. Manhas managed to keep the strike ticking over, creating his own room and cutting balls on leg stump, whereas Ganguly was happy to block deliveries and allow the pressure to build. It wouldn't have taken much to nudge the ball into gaps and had he scored at a run a ball PWI may well have got home. When he fell, bowled by a Malinga slower ball, it was up to Manhas to try to finish it off alongside the tail still needing 27 from just 18 balls. The 18th over from Ojha went for 11 runs, and just about made PWI favourites needing 16 from the last 2 overs, after Manhas edged the first ball through the slips for a welcome boundary. Unfortunately for PWI Malinga is the best in the business at the death and his next over went for just 4 as well as getting Parnell, who can a hit long ball, to leave Munaf Patel defending 12 from the last over. He started well, with dots and singles up until the 5th ball which was struck for 4 over the covers, a classy shot from Kumar to set up a tense finish, 4 needed from the last ball. The setting of the field was almost a military operation and eventually Patel sent down a low full toss that Kumar could only clip out to deep mid-wicket for 2 which left Pune one run short, an incredible win for Mumbai that seemed unlikely at the change of innings. They bowled brilliantly on the surface, Harbajahn and Ojha (2-18 and 1-24) found enough turn to wonder why Peterson didn't get a go, which hadn't threatened to make 120 a stiff chase. Pune just fell behind the rate early on and let it rise throughout without looking to do much about it, a perfect example in how not to chase a small total in 20/20 cricket. The 5 over period after the powerplay somehow cost just 12 runs as well as 3 wickets to hand Mumbai the initiative, PWI simply dug themselves a hole they couldn't get out of. Malinga fully deserved the MoM award as he scored what turned out to be a crucial 14 runs with the bat as well as taking 2-25.
It was near enough a must win game for Pune and this makes the quality of the batting inexcusable, you really feel for the bowlers (Nehra, Kumar etc) who'd done brilliantly to put the game on a plate for the top order, Smith once again was the leader in the field with 3 run outs. To their credit, Mumbai ramped up the pressure with aggressive fields, disciplined seam bowling and then the attacking spin options, but really 120 should never have been a problem. It was painful to watch as at times it seemed the batsmen were oblivious of the climbing required rate, it wouldn't have taken much effort to prod the ball into the gaps and take a single, as Manhas' sensible display showed. This is not the first time Ganguly has been at fault for exactly this, he simply plays out too many dot balls which really is a crime in the game's shortest format. Still not sure that the right XI was selected by Pune today, they picked 5 specialist bowlers (Parnell, Kumar, Dinda, Karthik, Nehra) which left the batting looking light. I think Pandey could easily come in for one of the domestic bowlers, who I'm not sure, and then leave the possibility for some fill in overs for Clarke, Ryder, Ganguly and Smith, all of whom can more than hold their own in the middle overs. Apologies to Mumbai fans as I'm sure this post may read a little biased, I was not impressed with PWI's display today! It was a huge win for the Indians who consolidate 3rd place, although their batting continues to flatter to deceive and is leaving their bowling under far too much pressure at the moment. No margin for error now for Pune as 4 wins from 5 may not be enough to take them through, one team always makes a late surge and I'll be hoping its the Warriors!
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