Sachin Tendulkar simply cannot stop the run flow. And it has meant not only the Rajasthan Royals suffering a shock defeat at home but also, that the Mumbai Indians become the first team to qualify for the 2010 IPL 3 semi finals.
Tendulkar’s well stroked unbeaten knock for eighty-nine runs turned the tide in the MI’s favour after the Rajasthan Royals rocked the boat for the visitors with Shane Watson proving too lethal, picking up three wickets to reduce Mumbai to three down for thirty.
And it was no walk in the park as Tendulkar and JP Duminy tried to resurrect their campaign, keeping it quiet until the fifteenth over after which the Mumbai Indians unleashed their power to reach a colossal total of 175. Instrumental in the acceleration was none other than Tendulkar himself but Kieron Pollard also played his part in the thirteen ball twenty-six that decimated all the work that the Royals put in for the better part of the innings, a fact Shane Warne would come to rue later.
From thinking they would chase a modest total, the Royals hiccuped at the challenge. Three inexplicable run outs, much like the Delhi Daredevils earlier in the day, contributed to their downfall. Shane Watson became a victim of Faiz Fazal’s lack of thinking but it came after Zaheer Khan struck a vital blows, dismissing Naman Ojha for a duck.
From three down for eleven to seven down for eighty-seven by the fifteenth over, the Rajasthan Royals were not given an opportunity to regain lost ground. Even though the tail order tried to wag their tail out of the situation, the task was well beyond their best, as Mumbai moved into the semi finals with a win by thirty-seven runs.
2010 IPL 3 Match 44: Spoilsport KXIP Ruin Daredevils’ Home Skirmish
2010 IPL 3 Match 43: Royal Challengers Thump Knight Riders in Tense Encounter
2010 IPL 3 Match 42: Chennai Turn up Insipid in Battle Against Chargers; Suman Shines
2010 IPL 3 Match 41: Red Hot KXIP Give Mumbai Indians a Nasty Surprise
2010 IPL 3 Match 40: Chargers Find a Majestic Win Against RCB; Live to Fight Another Day
IPL 3 Match 39: Daredevils Lose Nerve and Slip Against Spot-On Knight Riders
2010 IPL 3 Match 38: Under performing KXIP Beaten by Overpowering Lumb; Sreesanth Loses It
2010 IPL 3 Match 37: Chennai Rock as MI Fail Once Tendulkar Succumbs to the Heat
2010 IPL 3 Match 36: Deccan Chargers Fail to Ignite Again
2010 IPL 3 Match 35: Collingwood Shines Brighter for Daredevils In Battle Royale
Follow the action trail for all of the IPL 3 season:
2010 IPL 3 Schedule of Matches, IPL3 Points Tally, IPL 3 Team Squads, News in the Run Up
2010 IPL 3 Match 34: Mahela Helps KXIP Register their Second IPL 3 Win, Overpowering Gayle
