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Mumbai Indians take on Rajasthan Royals in the IPL 8 tonight — looking for their first win of the season after losses against Kings XI Punjab and Kolkata Knight Riders. The Royals come into this on the back of two wins, beating Delhi Daredevils and Kings XI. While Deepak Hooda has been the find of the Royals’ season so far, Harbhajan played an exceptional knock in a losing cause against KXIP. Here are their takes on their big innings in their previous matches. Hooda credits Dravid and Royals management for winning knock: Middle-order batsman Deepak Hooda, who starred for Rajasthan Royals in an Indian Premier League (IPL) match against Delhi Daredevils on Sunday, credited the team management and mentor Rahul Dravid for his match-winning knock. In reply to Daredevils’ 184/3, Royals were struggling at 78/4 in the 11th over when Hooda joined opener Ajinkya Rahane in the middle. Rahane scored 47. [caption id=“attachment_1503085” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Shane Watson and Ajinkya Rahane. BCCI[/caption] The Indian Under-19 World Cupper played a very crucial innings of 54 in just 24 deliveries. His knock included four sixes and three fours and that pulled Royals into contention. “Coming in at that position, I just tried to play natural cricket. Rahane told me to first get a partnership before going for big shots and I did exactly that,” the Baroda batsman told reporters. “I want to thank the team management. Dravid told me to hang in there till the last and to believe yourself and it helped me a lot. Rahane and Hooda forged a 52-run partnership for the fifth wicket and took the Royals close to victory. Harbhajan ready to bat at any position: After smashing 64 off just 24 balls against Kings XI Punjab in the Indian Premier League (IPL) on Sunday, Mumbai Indians cricketer Harbhajan Singh said he is ready to bat at any position his team needs him to. Besides his cameo with the bat, the off-spinner earlier finished with impressive bowling figures of 4-0-20-2. But his big hitting later on went in vain as the home team fell short by 18 runs at the Wankhede Stadium. “If the team needs me to bat up the order or at any position, I am there for them. I will go out there and hit a few balls out of the park. Whenever the team requires, I will surely play according to the situation,” Harbhajan said. The spinner praised teammate Jagadeesha Suchith for an all-round performance in his first game for Mumbai Indians. “Suchith is a good prospect for us. He is one of those guys whom not many people have seen. He played against us in the Punjab vs Karnataka Vijay Hazare Trophy final in January 2014. I straight away told Rahul Dravid that this guy is a good spinner and we know he can bat as well,” he said. “He came over and started hitting the ball very well. He is a brilliant player. You will see a lot more of him. His figures show he didn’t bowl well, but actually he bowled well. He didn’t bowl any loose ball.” The seasoned campaigner is happy to have made a strong comeback with the ball after a lacklustre performance against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the tournament opener on Wednesday. Against KKR, he finished with figures of 4-0-38-1. On Sunday night, the 34-year-old put the brakes on the Kings XI batting by getting the wicket of explosive batsman Virender Sehwag (36), who was smashing the ball to all parts of the ground. “I am quite happy the way I bowled. The match against KKR in Kolkata was not that great for me. I didn’t bowl as well as i should have. I am happy I have comeback strongly. This will boost my confidence to go forward in the competition,” Harbhajan said. (IANS)
IPL 8 RR vs MI as it happened: Smith scores classy fifty as Rajasthan win by 7 wickets
Live updates as Mumbai take on Rajasthan in IPL 8.
 "IPL 8 RR vs MI as it happened: Smith scores classy fifty as Rajasthan win by 7 wickets")
Wicket! The big one! Hooda tries to flick, gets caught out and is bowled by a Malinga yorker. RR 113-3 in 15 overs.
Hooda b Malinga 13 (4b 0x4 2×6)
OUT! Rahane hits one straight to long-off this time. The asking rate is now up to 6.98 so one could argue that was not needed — but it was a tempting delivery from Gopal. RR 92-2 in 13.1 overs.
Rahane c Anderson b Gopal 46 (39b 4×4 0x6)
OUT! Vinay Kumar has been superb so far — he’s conceded just one four in two-and-a-half overs — and has now snared Sanju Samson. Samson was starting to look good and timed the ball well so far. This time though, his attempt to hit simply scoops off his bat and into Rohit Sharma’s hands. 28-1 in 4.3.
Samson c Sharma b Vinay Kumar 17 (16b 3×4 0x6)
Wicket! Anderson is bowled after bringing up his fifty with a crashing six over long-on — and the last two balls of the innings cost RR another three runs. Mumbai Indians end at 164-5. They were 45-3 in 10 overs — remarkable lift from Pollard and Anderson.
Anderson b Morris 50 (38b 5×4 3×6)
OUT! But the damage has been done. Pollard goes on a rampage, hitting Southee’s first four balls of the 19th over for 20 runs: 6-4-4-6, before seeing a yorker-length delivery beat him and then sending one straight to long-on. MI are 149-4.
Pollard c Nair b Southee 70 (34b 7×4 5×6)
Not just not out but a run and a free hit. That is how big a crime a front foot no-ball is!
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) April 14, 2015
OUT! The middle stump is uprooted as Praveen Tambe completely foxes Chand — nothing better than to see the middle stump crack for a bowler. Mumbai need a big innings now. 45-3 in 10 overs now.
Chand b Tambe 12 (17b 1×4 0x6)
Another duck – Rohit gone: Wow, it’s all falling apart isn’t it? Rohit edges one and it’s well held by Smith at 1st slip. Stuart Binny is delighted – this is a big wicket and Rohit can’t quite believe he’s failed again. That’s two ducks in a row. 31-2 in 6.3 overs now.
Rohit c Smith b Binny 0 (5b 0x4 0x6)
Most Opening Combination Tried in IPL history:
— Broken Cricket (@BrokenCricket) April 14, 2015
RCB ~ 38 Pairs
MI ~ 33 Pairs#RRvsMI
OUT! Parthiv Patel mishits it straight to mid-off. The shot started off looking like a big one, but Parthiv failed to gauge the pace, and it ends up as a sitter for Morris.
Parthiv c Morris b Kulkarni 16 (11b 2×4 0x6)
RR XI: A Rahane, S Samson, S Smith, K Nair, S Binny, D Hooda, J Faulkner, C Morris, T Southee, D Kulkarni, P Tambe
MI XI: RG Sharma, A Finch, P Patel, U Chand, C Anderson, K Pollard, J Suchitch, V Kumar, S Gopal, L Malinga, P Suyal
Harbhajan - the hit man - unfit for todays match... #ipl
— Innocent Bystander (@InnoBystander) April 14, 2015
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