PWI vs MI as it happened: Bowlers, Rohit give Mumbai easy win over Pune

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1914 IST

OUT! Rohit has sliced a full delivery straight to short third man. He is furious with himself but he has to go. MI are 112/5.

Sharma c Dinda b Richardson 37 (41b 3x4 0x6).

With all the fielders up, Harbhajan crashes Richardson over cover for four to end the match.

Yuvraj wrestles Harbhajan to the floor and pretends to pound on him. Even the umpires get in the act, and walk over and pretend to ask the two of them to cut it out. Yuvraj doesn’t seem to be taking the losing too badly.

1909 IST

Dinda continues with the short stuff. Continues to go for runs. Maxwell gets four off the glove. Then hammers him for SIX over deep midwicket. Want to lose a match quickly? Give Dinda the ball. 12 from the over. MI are now tied with PWI on 112 with two overs to go.

1904 IST

Glenn Maxwell is the new batsman. Mendis is the bowler. Rohit glides him fine and Dinda, at short third man, dives over the ball and lets it run away for four. Lots of effort. Little result. That’s Dinda for you.

Maxwell brings up Mumbai’s 100 with a single to mid-on. After 17, MI are 100/4. Thirteen needed from the last 3 overs.

1859 IST

Dinda comes back and Rayudu promptly crashes him through point for four. Dinda resorts to the yorker and Raydu plays an exquisite clip through midwicket for another four. That rocketed off the bat.

OUT! Rayudu moves inside the line and goes for the pull off a half-tracker but hits it straight to square leg. Could have put that anywhere. Chose the fielder.

Rayudu c Mathews b Dinda 26 (23b 2x4 1x6)

After 16, MI are 93/4. They need 20 from the last four overs.

Tee wicket aside (it was a terrible delivery), haven’t Pune learned that Dinda is not the man for the death overs? Why not bowl him out early or keep him for the middle overs?

Mumbai should make it without too much ado. Not the best pitch to bat on, but Pune were at least 25 runs too few...

— Cricketwallah (@cricketwallah) May 11, 2013

1853 IST

Rayudu has enough of playing tuk-tuk cricket. Goes down the wicket and clears long-off. That eases things considerably. Ten from the over. After 15, MI are 83/3.

1849 IST

Richardson comes back for his third over. Pune need wickets now. Six from the over. After 14, MI are 73/3. They need exactly 40 from the last six overs.

1845 IST

Rohit and Rayudu not taking any chances here. Dealing mostly in singles. Four of them from Yuvraj’s over. After 13, MI are 67/3

1842 IST

Bhuvi Kumar returns. Rohit guides him fine to third man for four. The rest of the over is a succession of singles. Eight from it. After 12, MI are 63/2, with Rohit on 22 and Rayudu on 6.

1838 IST

Parvez Rasool has the ball for the first time today. Keeps the ball fairly flat. None of the loop he has in the longer versio. Five singes from the over. After 11, MI are 55/2.

1834 IST

Yuvraj continues after the strategic time out. Rohit punches him past backward point for four. After 10, MI are 50/3, with Rohit on 13 and Rayudu on 2.

1830 IST

Another good over from Mendis. Five from it. MI are 45/3, with Rohit on 8 and Rayudu on 2. They have made this chase much harder than it needed to be. Silly shots from Tendulkar and Karthik.

1824 IST

OUT! Karthik perishes trying to play the slog-sweep off Yuvi. Gets an outside edge that flies to long-off. MI in a bit of trouble at 39/3 after 7.2 overs.

Karthik c Pandey b Yuvraj Singh 17 (25b 1x4 1x6)

1822 IST

Mendis races through his next over. Just one from it. After 7, MI are 38/2. This is not quite the cakewalk Mumbai expected so far. Pune were actually ahead at this stage, having been 46/2.

1819 IST

Mumbai’s two best batsmen at the crease now. Richardson tries the bouncer and Karthik is late on the pull but the top edge still goes for six over fine-leg. Karthik adds to Richardson’s troubles but crashing him through the offside for four. 11 from the over. After 6, MI are 37/2.

1814 IST

The former mystery bowler Ajantha Mendis comes on.

OUT! Tendulkar has chipped Mendis to long-on. Caught it low on the bat and the bat face closed too. The long-on fielder ran in to take in comfortably. This was the perfect occasion for him to bat through the innings but it hasn’t worked out that way.

Tendulkar c Pandey b Mendis 15 (13b 3x4 0x6).

After 5 overs, MI are 26/2.

1810 IST

Kane Richardson gets an early bowl. Tendulkar expertly gets inside the line and helps the ball between the keeper and short fine leg for four to end the over. After 4, MI are 24/1.

What is the point of Pune besides vada pav?

— Sidin (@sidin) May 11, 2013

1805 IST

Dinda can’t resist the bouncer, even on a pitch as slow as this one, and Tendulkar happily accepts the gift, helping it over the keeper for the first four of the innings. Tendulkar ends the over by heaving Dinda over midwicket for another four. After 3 overs, MI are 17/1.

1800 IST

A couple of wides from Bhuvi Kumar but the last delivery - slower leg cutter - deceived Tendulkar as he pocked outside off. After 2, MI are 8/1.

We need to keep the wickets safe but also need to finish this game quickly because in such a close Playoffs chase, RunRate matters @mipaltan

— Tina Tengra 🙅🏻‍♀️ (@tinatengra07) May 11, 2013

1755 IST

Sachin Tendulkar and Dwayne Smith are the openers.

OUT! Dinda produces a beauty to uproot Dwayne Smith’s offstump first ball. Swung in, then seamed away. Unplayable. MI are 0/1 after one delivery. Stunning start.

DR Smith b Dinda 0 (1b 0x4 0x6) SR: 0.00

After 1 over, MI are 4/1.

1736 IST

Abu Nechim bowls the final over.

OUT! Nayar holes out to long-off trying to force the pace. PWI are 109/7 with three balls to go.

AM Nayar c Harbhajan Singh b Ahmed 11 (14b 0x4 0x6) .

OUT! Dwayne Smith has taken a blinder on the ropes to send back Bhuvi Kumar off the last ball. Smashed towards long-off and Smith imitates Pollard by rising in the air and grabbing the ball one-handed.

Pune Warriors finish with 112/8. Abu Nechim finishes with 2 for 27. Pune failed to hit a boundary since Yuvraj hit Ojha for two sixes in the 11th over. Their batting line-up on paper seems solid but it just hasn’t fired for them.

#mi have created an opportunity to give a go to batsmen who haven't had much time in the middle. should bat maxwell and rayudu

— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) May 11, 2013

1730 IST

Malinga completes his four overs and finishes with 2 for 27. After 19 overs, PWI are 107/6.

1725 IST

Johnson teases Richardson with a couple that move away.

OUT! The frustration has told on Richardson. Attempts a flat-batted pull but was cramped for room and Harbhajan takes an easy catch at long-on.

KW Richardson c Harbhajan Singh b Johnson 8 (16b 0x4 0x6)

Nayar takes a quick single to bring up PWI’s 100. After 18 overs, PWI are 101/6. Johnson finishes with 2 for 8. Another excellent performance by him. 1719 IST

Malinga comes back for his third over. Five from it. After 17, PWI are 99/5.

1715 IST

Glenn Maxwell gets a bowl. Time for the $1 million man to earn his keep.

DROPPED! Richardson thumps one straight back to him. Gets two hands to it but can’t hang on. Normally a good fielder. After 16, PWI are 94/5.

1710 IST

Mitchell Johnson returns. Nayar and Richardson are the batsmen now. Johnson makes Richardson look a bit silly with one that cut away and bounced. After 15 overs, PWI are 88/5.

1705 IST

Harbhajan into his final over.

OUT! Angelo Mathews is run out. Tendulkar knocks down the stumps from short third man with Mathews well short. The batsman then crashes into Harbhajan, who somehow keeps the both of them from toppling over.

Mathews run out 0 (2b 0x4 0x6)

OUT! Yuvraj misses the offbreak and is struck on the back pad. Harbhajan appeals and appeals and eventually the umpire raises his finger.

Yuvraj Singh lbw b Harbhajan Singh 33 (29b 1x4 2x6)

PWI are now 85/5 after 14 overs. Harbhajan finishes with 1 for 14 from his four overs.

1656 IST

Malinga is back after Yuvi’s assault on Ojha. Given Yuvi’s ability to play the spinners, pace is probably the way to go.

OUT! Pandey has thrown away his wicket. Swings a full toss from Malinga straight to square leg.

Pandey c Rayudu b Malinga 29 (29b 1x4 1x6).

After 13 overs, PWI are 84/3.

1651 IST

Yuvraj and Pandey growing in confidence. They keep Harbhajan off balance with quick singles and twos. 7 from the over. The 50-partnership also comes up in the over. After 12, PWI are 78/2.

1648 IST

Did I say something about boundary balls? Yuvraj goes down on one knee and slog sweeps Ojha for consecutive sixes. The first sailed over deep midwicket, the second was deposited over square leg. After 11 overs, PWI are 71/2.

1644 IST

Another quiet over. The spinners have cut out the boundary balls since Pandey hit Ojha for six. After 10 overs, PWI are 58/2 with Yuvraj on 11 and Pandey on 24.

1638 IST

Much better from Ojha this time around. Just four from it. PWI 54/2 after 9 overs. Nothing much happening at the moment.

1635 IST

Harbhajan from the other end. A single by Pandey off the last ball brings up Pune’s 50. After 8, PWI are 50/2.

1631 IST

Now that the Powerplay is over, it is time for spin in the form of Ojha. Pandey goes down on one knee and swipes him over deep midwicket for a big six. It was deep into the crowd. Too straight from Ojha that time. Ten off the over. After 7, PWI are 46/2.

1627 IST

Manish Pandey gives Nechim the charge a few times. Doesn’t get four over mid-on but manages to get enough bat on it the second time to him over mid-off for four. Yuvraj, who is running almost at square leg, bumps into Harbhajan, then playfully takes his bat and mimics hitting Bhajji with it. Bhajji then staggers around for a few seconds.

After 6 overs, PWI are 36/2, with Yuvraj on 4 and Pandey on 10.

1623 IST

Malinga replaces Johnson. A no-ball gives Uthappa a free hit, which he slices past cover for four. The no-ball delivery hit him in front of the stumps and he was licky to escape. .

OUT! Uthappa misses another full toss from Malinga and this time there is no no-ball call to save him. Replays suggest the ball may have swung down legside though. A close call either way.

Uthappa lbw b Malinga 11 (13b 1x4 0x6).

Yuvraj comes in and tucks his first ball away for four. After 5 overs, PWI are 29/2.

1617 IST

Manish Pandey is the new batsmen. Better over from Nechim this time. Just four from it. After 4, PWI are 18/1.

1613 IST

OUT! Finch has chipped Johnson straight to short cover. It was just short of a length and Finch perhaps played a bit early. That was an easy catch. PWI are 14/1 after 3 overs.

Finch c Smith b Johnson 10 (11b 2x4 0x6)

1608 IST

Abu Nechim gets the new ball alongside Johnson. Kept pitching the ball up and got too straight, so Finch helped himself to four over midwicket. A thick inside edge leads to four more off the last ball. Went too straight for fine leg to cut off. After 2, PWI are 12/0.

1603 IST

Johnson keeps it tight. Swings the ball back into Finch and Uthappa, with a couple holding their line. Just one run from the over.

1551 IST

Here are the playing XIs. Glenn Maxwell makes his long awaited debut for MI in place of Kieron Pollard, who is not well. Abu Nechim is getting a game too.

MI XI: DR Smith, S Tendulkar, D Karthik, RG Sharma, G Maxwell, A Rayudu, H Singh, M Johnson, L Malinga, P Ojha, A Nechim.

The Warriors have made five changes, bringing back Abhishek Nayar, Manish Pandey, Kane Richardson, Ashok Dinda and Ajantha Mendis.

PWI XI: R Uthappa, A Finch, Y Singh, M Pandey, A Mathews, A Nayar, A Mendis, B Kumar, P Rasool, K Richardson, A Dinda

good to see maxwell get a game for #mi. need the 2 points from this game to feel a little more secure. but teams will be targeting 1 & 2

— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) May 11, 2013

1535 IST

Pune Warriors have won the toss and will bat first.

Aaron Finch says Pune’s plans have been pretty good but they haven’t executed when the crunch has come around. He also admits it is hard for the players to keep their motivation but they continue to train hard.

Rohit says Mumbai’s bowlers have been very good in the last few games. He reckons the pitch will be low and slow.

Preview Pune suffered their eighth straight loss against Kolkata Knight Riders in their previous game, when they were beaten by 46 runs. It would again be a daunting task for Aaron Finch’s boys against state rivals Mumbai, who would look to close-in on a play-off berth.

Languishing at the bottom of the table, Pune have won just two of their 13 games, while Mumbai Indians are third in the league table with eight wins in 12 matches. The Warriors have been woefully out of sorts in all departments of the game. Having restricted holders Kolkata Knight Riders to 152, Pune failed to chase down the target and managed to score just 106.

The batting is yet to fire in unison and only the openers have scored some runs at the top. Barring opener Finch’s three half-centuries and Uthappa’s couple of half-centuries this season, no other Pune batsman, which also includes the likes of Yuvraj Singh, has scored a fifty so far.

Yuvraj has managed just 172 runs from his 10 games, while dangerous batsman Steve Smith has returned to Australia due to a back injury.

The Rohit Sharma-led Mumbai Indians, on the other hand, are high on confidence after defeating table-toppers Chennai Super Kings (60 runs) and defending Champions Kolkata Knight Riders (65 runs) in their last two games.

Mumbai’s batting, however, has not exploded in all its glory so far, with senior batsman Sachin Tendulkar failing to convert his starts into big scores. His opening partner, West Indian Dwayne Smith, has been in good touch, aggregating 263 runs in eight matches, with two half centuries in his kitty.

The middle-order has been the strength for Mumbai Indians, with wicket-keeper batsman Dinesh Karthik and Rohit being the leading run-scorers for the team. The Mumbai captain has registered four half-centuries and scored 430 runs in 12 matches at an average of 53.75, while the keeper-bat has logged 388 runs in 12 games.

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