Chennai, Apr 7: When three top line bowlers strike in their opening over, and two others in their second in this blink-and-you-miss format, one can safely assume that the combined effort, more often than not, will hand their team the winning advantage.
It certainly appeared so for two-time champion Chennai in their opening match at Chepauk on Saturday, until West Indian Kieron Pollardturned it around for Mumbai with abreathtaking 57 not out (38 balls; 4x4, 5x6) to lift his team to a fighting 148-6.
Batting-heavy Chennai struggled early on with their chase as they managed just 36 for the loss of two wickets in the Powerplay period of the first six overs, and were never quite in the hunt until MS Dhoniturned the contest on its head with a stunning 26-ball 51 (5x4, 3x6).
Chennai needed 12 from the final over by pacer Munaf Patel when off the first ball when Pollard got into the act again, pulling off a mind-boggling catch on the midwicket fence to dismiss Dhoni as Chennai lost by nine runs after finishing at 139-9.
Chennai must have felt the absence of South Africa allrounder Albie Morkel , but the new ball pair of Dirk Nannes and Ankit Rajpoot couldn't have got off to a better start on their debut for Chennai after sending back Sachin Tendulkar (0) and Ricky Ponting (6) in their for first and second overs respectively.
Dwayne Bravo then struck in successive overs to dismiss Rohit Sharma (8) and the in-formDinesh Karthik (37) to derail star-studded Mumbai, which had lost a cliffhanger to Bangalore on Thursday.
Australian pacer Ben Laughlin had Ambati Rayudu caught at third man to leave Mumbai struggling at 75-5, and it appeared to be curtains when India spinner Ashwin had Dwayne Smithcaught by Bravo in his first over.
Only, it is never quite over as long as Pollard is around, as the big-hitting West Indian smashed five sixes and four boundaries in his 38-ball knock and put on 65 off 48 balls for the unbroken seventh wicket with Harbhajan Singh.
India spinner Ravindra Jadeja let go off a difficult caught and bowled opportunity that Pollard offered on 18 and the effortless striker that Pollard is, hit Ashwin and Bravo for two sixes each and one off Jadeja as he helped Mumbai add 52 runs in the last five overs without losing a wicket.
Mumbai were without their pace ace Lasith Malinga, but pacers Mitch Johnson and Munaf Patel struck early blows before off-spinner Harbhajan Singh clean bowled Hussey for 20.
Left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha struck in quick succession to dismiss Bravo and Badrinath.
Kevon Cooper's brilliant last over helps Rajasthan clinch thriller
After a spectacular start in 2012, when he picked up seven wickets in his first two matches, Cooper fell off the radar when he was sidelined with a fractured right knee. On Saturday, he pulled a rabbit out of the hat by bowling a dream last over as Rajasthan secured an unlikely five-run win at the Feroz Shah Kotla.
Given the task of bowling the final over where Delhi needed just nine runs to win, Cooper dismissed Botha (2) with his third ball and with six to win off two balls, sent back his West Indies counterpart Andre Russell (7).
Delhi almost had the match in the bag with David Warner leading the stiff 166-run chase. Warner had the Kotla crowd swooning to his tune with his 56-ball 77 (1x6, 9x4) but his run out changed things as Delhi succumbed to their second defeat of the tournament.
The needless run out of Warner with just 13 runs to win came back to haunt Delhi.
It was a chanceless knock apart from a drop by Rahul Dravid at gully off Sreesanth when on two. Dravid was off the field for the rest of the innings after having landed awkwardly trying to take the catch. Warner opened up after his skipper Mahela Jayawardene's departure (19; 16b, 1x4) reaching his seventh fifty in the league off just 41 balls.
Earlier, Rajasthan skipper Rahul Dravid started off in the same vein as last year in his sixth season of the tournament. His methods might have been a bit crude and not quite out of the manual but results were effective nonetheless as his 51-ball 65 (2x6, 6x4) set the platform for animpressive 165/7 after Rajasthan elected to bat first.
On the day, all the calculated risks paid off as Dravid as he raced to his eighth fifty in the tournament off just 40 balls. It was his third-wicket partnership with Stuart Binny (40; 20b, 3x6, 2x4) which produced 55 runs in just 28 balls that gave Rajasthan a major push.
The target could have been for the home side, who had Umesh Yadav to thank for stopping the slide. The Nagpur paceman, returning from a back injury, looked much more impressive in his second match of the tournament, scalping 4/24 in his four overs.
Yadav mixed up his pace well, cranking it up to 147kph to keep the batsmen in check on a batting paradise. His twin strikes in the 19th over of the innings -- when he dismissed Dravid and Brad Hodge (5) off successive deliveries -- gave Delhi some relief. Ashish Nehra (2/35) complemented Yadav by bowling an excellent last over, picking up two wickets.
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