Tendulkar powers Mumbai to the top

Sachin Tendulkar was the rudder, Shikhar Dhawan provided propulsion. They combined for a 92-run opening partnership which charted Mumbai Indians' course for success at the Brabourne Stadium. The victory helped the hosts steam past Royal Challengers Bangalore and take top spot in the league with a game in hand. The absence of major setbacks during the pursuit of a formidable target, on a day their usually efficient bowling attack failed, emphasized Mumbai's status as one of the tournament favourites.

Chennai Super Kings also had several things going for them as they sought to nip their budding losing streak: MS Dhoni had returned, Matthew Hayden bludgeoned Zaheer Khan to seize the initiative, and Suresh Raina and S Badrinath forged a partnership of 142, the second best of the IPL. However, their bowling attack is perhaps the competition's weakest and Dhoni had too many chinks to find cover for against a ruthless batting line-up. Muttiah Muralitharan apart, none of the others caused a flutter, and Mumbai cruised home with an over to spare.

20 overs Chennai Super Kings 180 for 2 (Raina 83*, Badrinath 55*) v Mumbai Indians

Sachin Tendulkar was the rudder, Shikhar Dhawan provided propulsion. They combined for a 92-run opening partnership which charted Mumbai Indians' course for success at the Brabourne Stadium. The victory helped the hosts steam past Royal Challengers Bangalore and take top spot in the league with a game in hand. The absence of major setbacks during the pursuit of a formidable target, on a day their usually efficient bowling attack failed, emphasized Mumbai's status as one of the tournament favourites.

Chennai Super Kings also had several things going for them as they sought to nip their budding losing streak: MS Dhoni had returned, Matthew Hayden bludgeoned Zaheer Khan to seize the initiative, and Suresh Raina and S Badrinath forged a partnership of 142, the second best of the IPL. However, their bowling attack is perhaps the competition's weakest and Dhoni had too many chinks to find cover for against a ruthless batting line-up. Muttiah Muralitharan apart, none of the others caused a flutter, and Mumbai cruised home with an over to spare.

20 overs Chennai Super Kings 180 for 2 (Raina 83*, Badrinath 55*) v Mumbai Indians

Parthiv Patel followed soon after, bowled off his pads by a McLaren yorker, which brought together Raina and Badrinath. The game was there for either team to take and it was Raina who grasped it, swatting Bravo's first ball over the long-leg boundary and punching his second through extra cover for four. Those blows lifted Chennai to 51 for 2 after the Powerplay and set the tone for the next few overs, during which Raina would dominate and Badrinath accumulate.

Raina was severe on Bravo, chipping him over the slips before dealing him another six and four a few deliveries later, pulling over midwicket and steering to third man. Tendulkar, who had been saving Malinga's skills for the home stretch, brought him on in the 11th over and a mix of slower balls - full and short - followed. When Malinga slipped in a quick bouncer, Badrinath, who had been scoring at about a run-a-ball, top-edged a hook over the wicketkeeper. His fluency grew and soon he was adjusting to the changes in Malinga's pace and finding the boundary convincingly.

Raina brought up his half-century off 32 balls, Badrinath lofted Zaheer over his head to reach 50 off 41. They added 142, the second highest stand of the IPL, but towards the end were unable to find the fifth gear. Chennai had plenty of wickets in hand and looked set for 200-plus, but Malinga returned and conceded only seven off the final over to keep them to well below that. Chennai, however, will be satisfied with 180 after the batting failures in the last two games. And they didn't even need the firepower of Dhoni and Albie Morkel.

Score Board :

Chennai Super Kings innings (20 overs maximum)         R      B      4s      6s      SR  

  
PA Patel                          b McLaren                            8     12       1       0      66.66    
ML Hayden                lbw b Harbhajan Singh              20     12      4       0     166.66    
SK Raina                          not out                                83     52      7       3     159.61    
S Badrinath                         not out                              55     45      6       0     122.22    
   
 Extras                        (lb 4, w 9, nb 1)                        14                    
 Total                     (2 wickets; 20 overs)                   180        (9.00 runs per over)

Did not bat MS Dhoni*†, JA Morkel, NLTC Perera, Joginder Sharma, L Balaji, M Muralitharan, SB Jakati
Fall of wickets1-32 (Hayden, 3.2 ov), 2-38 (Patel, 4.6 ov)
   
   
Mumbai Indians innings (target: 181 runs from 20 overs)     R      B     4s    6s     SR
   
S Dhawan                  c Raina b Jakati                              56      34     5      3    164.70    
SR Tendulkar*           c †Dhoni b Balaji                           72      52     8      1    138.46    
SS Tiwary                   lbw b Muralitharan                          2       3      0      0     66.66    
R Sathish                   b Joginder Sharma                            5       9      0      0     55.55    
KA Pollard              b Muralitharan                                  20       9      3      1    222.22    
DJ Bravo                       not out                                       14       7       1      1    200.00    
R McLaren                        not out                                     1       1       0      0    100.00    
   
 Extras              (lb 4, w 9, nb 1)                                       14                    
 Total            (5 wickets; 19 overs)                                  184         (9.68 runs per over)

Did not bat AP Tare†, Harbhajan Singh, Z Khan, SL Malinga
Fall of wickets1-92 (Dhawan, 8.5 ov), 2-96 (Tiwary, 9.3 ov), 3-120 (Sathish, 13.2 ov), 4-159 (Pollard, 16.4 ov), 5-172 (Tendulkar, 18.2 ov)