Mumbai outplay Rajasthan in IPL clash

All-round performance ensures 25-run win for defending champions.

Defending champions Mumbai Indians recorded an impressive 25-run win over former champions Rajasthan Royals in their Indian Premier League (IPL) match at the Motera Stadium in Ahmedabad.

Batting first, the opening pair of Mike Hussey and Lendl Simmons took the attack to the opposition, adding 120 runs in 14.3 overs. Hussey thrashed 56 off only 39 balls; his innings included two sixes and three fours, while Simmons scored 62 runs off 51 balls.

“I enjoyed the opening partnership,” said Hussey. “Simmons is a good striker of the ball.”

Mumbai captain Rohit Sharma outscored Kieron Pollard in an attacking contribution towards the end of the innings; the right-hander belted four sixes and three fours in his 19-ball 40 run effort.

Ankit Sharma was the lone successful bowler for the Royals, capturing two scalps as he conceded 23 runs in his four-over quota.

Rajasthan was never in the hunt after their top order collapsed in the hunt of a steep target. Opener Karun Nair fought hard as wickets fell at the other end, his 48-run innings was compiled off only 24 balls. He managed three sixes and four boundaries in the process.

Nair’s was the seventh wicket to fall as the score at the time of his departure read 75-7 in 12 overs. The Australian pair of Brad Hodge and James Faulkner revived the innings with a 69-run alliance for the eighth wicket.

However, their efforts went in vain as the run rate was beyond their reach. Hodge ended with 40 off 30 balls, while the big-hitting Faulkner scored 31 off 21 balls with the aid of four boundaries and a solitary six.

Harbhajan Singh was the most economical bowler of the Mumbai lot, claiming two wickets in his four-over spell while giving away a mere 13 runs.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 20^th, 2014.

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