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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
FP Sports
• April 14, 2015, 23:49:35 IST
Live updates as Mumbai take on Rajasthan in IPL 8.
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April 14, 2015, 23:49:35 (IST)
Rajasthan Royals beat Mumbai Indians by 7 wickets – and five balls to spare
April 14, 2015, 23:47:25 (IST)
That’s it! Steve Smith shows that you don’t need power to hit the big shots. He times a six over the leg side off Suyal’s last ball in the 18th over and then cracks two fours off Malinga’s 19th over — perfectly timed through the offside before running a quick single with Faulkner to end the match with five balls to spare. It’s just unbelievable how he does these things with such a cool head. He finishes the match with 79 runs off 53 balls (eight fours and a six).
April 14, 2015, 23:30:33 (IST)
Four Four Four! Smith unleashes a barrage of boundaries and Malinga can do nothing about it.The first one is cracked through the leg side but the second is pure technique — opening the face of his bat at the last moment to beat the man at point and bring his fifty up. He gets a bonus third with a thick outside edge. RR 141-2 in 17 overs.
April 14, 2015, 23:25:28 (IST)
Eventful over as Smith scores a lucky edged four through third man and then Suyal delivers back-to-back no balls, the second of which was a beamer — he also receives a warning for it but then redeems himself a little by bowling a tight ball for the free hit which went for just one. RR 126-3 in 16.
April 14, 2015, 23:20:59 (IST)
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)
April 14, 2015, 23:06:11 (IST)
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)
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April 14, 2015, 22:57:43 (IST)
Dropped! Rahane survives! He hits a shot in the air and Unmukt Chand dives forward at deep midwicket — and the ball slips out of his hands. It had carried. RR 85-1 in 12.
April 14, 2015, 22:46:16 (IST)
Two overs gone — four in each, and both off the bat of Rahane through opposite sides of the pitch. The first one is a confident hit over covers and the second a cracking pull — he’s looking in fine touch, and Dravid looks proud in the dugout. 65-1 in nine overs now.
April 14, 2015, 22:37:21 (IST)
Much like the MI innings, this one is going on at its own brisk pace — no risks or unnecessary shots yet — and more so now with Smith in the fold. The Aussie has cracked a boundary through midwicket but apart from that, it’s been quick running and getting set for these two. Rahane and Smith in the middle — we expect to see some drives and flicks. RR 49-1 in seven overs.
April 14, 2015, 22:26:11 (IST)
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)
April 14, 2015, 22:14:12 (IST)
Apart from a lot of rhymes – like ‘aaye Pavan Suyaal, kya hai khayaal?’ — MI’s second over goes for 11 runs, with two glorious fours for Sanju Samson — the first one of which was superbly hit through tight gaps in the offside. RR 12-0 in two.
April 14, 2015, 21:51:06 (IST)
Rajasthan Royals need 165 runs to beat Mumbai Indians
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April 14, 2015, 21:50:44 (IST)
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)
April 14, 2015, 21:43:51 (IST)
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)
April 14, 2015, 21:33:56 (IST)
6-4-1-4-1-0-4-6-0-4-1-2: Anderson and Pollard have really revved it up now — Pollard is scoring at a strike rate of more than 165 and Anderson at more than 100. It’s easy to see why the Rajasthan dugout has a lot of people biting their nails. 115-3 in 17 now.
April 14, 2015, 21:21:33 (IST)
April 14, 2015, 21:21:25 (IST)
Anderson out but not out: Kulkarni is celebrating as Anderson hits one straight to long-off — but the umpires are not sure about the delivery and replays show that his foot was a shade ahead of the line. Anderson survives — just the one run from the free hit. MI 88-3 in 15 overs.
April 14, 2015, 21:14:17 (IST)
Two brilliant overs for Mumbai Indians — two fours in the 13th and two sixes in the 14th, divided equally between Pollard and Anderson. Steve Smith mutters ‘bad ball’ as Faulkner gets hammered by Anderson over long-off for six — he senses the momentum shifting. 74-3 now.
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April 14, 2015, 21:07:16 (IST)
Two more overs gone but the only improvement Mumbai have seen is that of not losing any more wickets. Only seven runs come in 12 extremely tight deliveries from Morris and Tambe. Anderson manages to divert one to the ropes in the last ball off Tambe’s over — but the 43-year-old will be pleased so far with his figures (1/12 in two). It’s 52-3 now.
April 14, 2015, 20:55:48 (IST)
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)
April 14, 2015, 20:47:32 (IST)
Hooda makes fine start: Hooda makes a fine start to this match — this time with the ball — his flighted offspin hard to catch and he maintains a good discipline in line to give away just three runs. 38-2 in 8 overs.
April 14, 2015, 20:46:28 (IST)
April 14, 2015, 20:41:55 (IST)
April 14, 2015, 20:40:22 (IST)
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)
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April 14, 2015, 20:37:52 (IST)
Dot-dot-dot-dot-four-dot: Southee bowls a fantastic over – its near perfectness ruined by a well played cut from Chand which beat point for four. Rajasthan have capitalised on the injury of Finch and the wicket of Parthiv. 31-1 in six overs.
April 14, 2015, 20:35:22 (IST)
April 14, 2015, 20:32:43 (IST)
April 14, 2015, 20:31:47 (IST)
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)
April 14, 2015, 20:26:01 (IST)
Finch retired hurt: Finch goes for a quick single and pulls up at the end of it – he can’t even put his foot down at the moment and walks away, struggling. MI 24-0 in 3.3 overs.
April 14, 2015, 20:22:09 (IST)
Three overs gone — Finch has added another four to his kitty with a solid punch through square and Parthiv also gets one, taking full advantage of a wayward Chris Morris delivery down the leg-side and flicking it past fine-leg. He gets a classier boundary in the next over though — cutting sharply off Dhawal Kulkarni’s first delivery tonight. 22-0 in 3 overs.
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April 14, 2015, 20:15:32 (IST)
Finch stars off in a cracking manner – thumping a drive through the covers for the first four of MI’s innings and this match. Southee goes for only six in the first over though… but that was a lovely shot.
April 14, 2015, 20:15:18 (IST)
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
April 14, 2015, 19:44:26 (IST)
April 14, 2015, 19:42:10 (IST)
Steve Smith leading Rajasthan Royals again — Shane Watson misses out. As for Mumbai Indians, Harbhajan Singh is out with a sore neck.
April 14, 2015, 19:40:54 (IST)
Mumbai Indians win the toss and will BAT FIRST
April 14, 2015, 19:40:23 (IST)
“It’s a game we need to win — we’ve done a lot of homework after the last two losses,” says Rohit Sharma before the toss. He also laughs off a suggestion from Murali Kartik on dropping to the middle order.
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End of Liveblog