Mumbai Indians 152 for 4 (Rohit 51*, Smith 48) beat Perth Scorchers 149 for 6 (Whiteman 51*, Coulter-Nile 3-19) by six wickets
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Mumbai Indians boast of some of the biggest hitters in T20 cricket in
their line-up and they fired in unison to storm into the semi-final of
the Champions League, achieving their target in just 13.2 overs. The
target was 150, but in order to topple Otago on net run rate, they
needed to achieve it within 14.2 overs. The strategy was clear and Dwayne Smith and Rohit Sharma
made it look ridiculously simple against a Perth Scorchers attack that
failed to contain a determined top order. It meant that the semi-final
line-up had three IPL teams in it.
The scenarios were clearly spelt out for Mumbai ahead of the game as to
what they required to keep Otago out of the semi-final race. It's common
for captains to prefer to chase in such situations and Rohit decided to
do just that. The required rate for qualification was over ten an over
and Mumbai approached it as a 14-over game.
Sachin Tendulkar wasn't in the best of form but he was sent to open
anyway. There was the possibility that this would be his last T20 match
in the event of them failing to qualify. He fell for a second-ball duck,
flicking to deep square leg and there was a hush around the Kotla as he
walked back. Smith provided the big hits starting from the second ball
of the innings, which he slogged over mid-on before dispatching another
over the rope at long-on.
Scorchers had three left-arm spinners in their line-up, including the
experienced Brad Hogg, but their one-dimensional spin attack was
demolished by a rampaging Smith. Flighted deliveries were slogged and
smashed over the covers and anything dropped short was pulled over the
leg side at breakneck speed. The flatter and quicker deliveries kept him
quiet on occasion but Scorchers were guilty of bowling the wrong
lengths.
The left-arm seamers, Joel Paris and Jason Behrendorff, came in for
similar punishment. Paris' first over leaked 19, with an effortless six
by Rohit over fine leg followed by an outside edge past the
wicketkeeper. Hogg bowled two long hops, the first of which was smashed
by Smith over deep midwicket. The second was pulled flatter, but
Behrendorff timed his jump to perfection at deep square leg to pull off a
sharp catch to send back Smith for 48.
Another hush enveloped the ground as Smith walked back but Rohit was in
sublime form at the other end. He ensured the run rate stayed around ten
an over, slogging the spinners and launching Paris several rows over
long-off to speed towards his fifty. At the end of ten overs, Mumbai
raced to 117 for 3 and held the edge. Kieron Pollard had moved to a
relatively pedestrian 12 off 12 balls but two solid blows in an over off
Behrendorff eased any pressure that may have crept up. Tension started
to build in the dugout when Pollard was bowled in the 13th over with
Mumbai still needing 13 off 11. Ambati Rayudu sealed the win with
consecutive sixes and Mumbai qualified with an over to spare.
Scorchers were already knocked out of the competition but their batsmen
did their bit to make it difficult for Mumbai. Two half-century stands
pushed Scorchers to what looked like a competitive 149 on a typically
slow Kotla track. The openers Ashton Agar and Simon Katich added 55,
helped by some ordinary fielding and catching by Mumbai. Sam Whiteman,
making his T20 debut, and Hilton Cartwright added a half-century stand
in just 30 balls after Mumbai pulled things back with quick wickets.
Given the slowness of the pitch, 149 looked respectable but Scorchers
didn't have the bowling to keep Mumbai down.
Kanishkaa Balachandran is a senior sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo
Feeds: Kanishkaa Balachandran
© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.
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