Mumbai made hard work of what should have been an easy chase as they crossed the finish line off the final ball to beat Pune Warriors by seven wickets in the Indian Premier League (IPL).
With one required off the last ball, Rohit Sharma smashed a six over extra-cover after Mumbai had contained Pune to a below-par 118. Sharma finished with 20 off 18 deliveries and Andrew Symonds was unbeaten on 16 made in 15 balls.
Sachin Tendulkar and Ambati Rayadu added 74 for the second wicket, Pune made sure the hosts fought hard for runs. Tendulkar went for 35 and the wicket-keeper made his way back after a well-made 37 but Pune needed more than just those two to spring a suprise.
Sharma and Symonds, however, made sure that did not happen as Mumbai finished with their third win in four matches.
The IPL newcomers were earlier reduced to 17 for four after Abu Nechim and Munaf Patel claimed two wickets each. Pune never recovered from the blows and even though the in-form Robin Uthappa hit 45, they were bowled out inside their quota of 20 overs for a paltry 118. The IPL debutants now have two victories in four matches.
Bangalore, Rajasthan share points
Meanwhile, the IPL match between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Rajasthan Royals was washed out due to rain as both teams shared points. Rajasthan now have five points from five matches while Bangalore languish near the basement with three points in five games.
WICB angered after Gayle signs for Bangalore
The West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) has made its anger obvious after opener Chris Gayle was confirmed as a replacement for Australian Dirk Nannes in the Royal Challengers Bangalore IPL squad.
The board, which has granted the NOC to the player, was not impressed with the way Gayle opted to play in India and not make himself available for the home series against Pakistan.
“The WICB does not accept Gayle’s reason for making himself unavailable but as he has already clearly made his choice and has travelled to India, the WICB does not wish to stand in his way,” said the board.
Gayle, along with teammates Kieron Pollard and Dwayne Bravo, refused central contracts to pursue their interests in the lucrative Twenty20 league in India.
While Bravo and Pollard made themselves available for national selection, the WICB were under the impression that Gayle was taking part in a rehabilitation programme to help him recover from a side strain.
However, the news of him replacing Nannes has not sat well with the WICB who said that they were surprised Gayle was making arrangements to play in India and not planning on returning to the national squad.
The hard-hitting West Indies opener was ironically not bought by any franchise in the IPL auction earlier this month as the teams feared Gayle would be busy with international commitments.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 21st, 2011.
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