IPL CRICKET 2010 - Mumbai Indians Vs Kings XI Punjab

IPL CRICKET 2010

Mumbai Indians Vs Kings XI Punjab

CHAWLA, SANGA DO IT FOR KINGS TO MAKE MUMBAI WAIT FOR SEMIS BERTH

Mohali: For a change, kings XI Punjab did not look like a team languishing at the bottom of the table. They put up a spirited performance at the PCA stadium on Friday night to stun pace-setters Mumbai Indians and notch up their first win at home this season.
         Preity Zinta will regret not having visited Haridwar before her team began their campaign in IPL3, On Thursday, she prayed for her team's success at the holy city and her prayers were answered big time, as the players lifted, themselves from the dumps to put up a performance that would have made even the team they trounced proud.
        KXIP made five changes to their line-up and there was palpble difference in the energy on the field, with not too many misfields on view and just a lone catch, that too a tough one, going down.
       KXIP should have won the match hands down, but they lost a couple wickets, that o Kumar Sangakkara and Yuvraj Singh in closing stages to take the match into the final over. Irfan Patha stood fast at the other end to see the team home in tense finish.
       KXIP owed their victory to disciplined bowling effort, with leg-spinner Piyush Chawla and Irfan Pathan leading the way. Chawla cleaned up Sachin Tendulkar at a stage when he threaten to cut loose. The diminutive bowler also sent back in-form batsmen Saurabh Tiwaro amd Ambati Rayudu, to finish with a haul ofof three for 24, The initial breakthrough was provided by Pathan, who was also spot-on today. He castled Shikhar Dhawan with his first ball and returned to claim Rajgopala Sathish and Keiron Pollard. Like Chawla, Pathan too finished with a haul of three wickets.
        As wickets kept tumbling a regular intervls, M
I innings could not get the thrust the were looking for. Love Ablish, who was hammered for 14 in his opening over, bowled a superb final one, conceding just four runs and picking up two wickets, besides a run out of JP Duminy of the final ball of the innings capping a disastrous effort by the MI batsmen.
         After the bowlers were through with their superb effort, it was the turn of the KXIP batsmen to come to the party. Mahel Jayawardene began the chase i whirlwind fashion, and departed in an unfortunate manner, when Tiwary seemed to have dropped the ball before having a total control over it,
         The TV umpier however ruled the batsman out. The dismissal did not make much of a difference to the chase as Sangakkara, Yuvraj Singh and Pathan batted fluently to prevent MI from making a comeback.
         This was MI's second defeat on the trot and though they remain at the top of the points table they will have to wait a while to finally secure a berth in the semi-final.