On a night of mediocre cricket, Mumbai Indians kept their surprise run going to win the biggest financial tournament in non-international cricket. James Franklin was the only man to keep his head in a suicidal MI innings, which helped them to 139, but the Royal Challengers Bangalore once again choked in a big final to lose despite a start of 38 for 0 in four overs. For the vanquished this was a painful repeat of their IPL final in Johannesburg where they froze while chasing 144. The victors, though, can claim they once again won the big moments: through Franklin’s sober innings, through Lasith Malinga’s two sixes amid a collapse, through an extra over given to Malinga that produced a wicket, and through their spinners’ seven overs for 30 runs and five wickets.

Be that as it may, for a majority of the match the teams seemed to be in a contest for ordinary cricket. There were three run-outs, there were unsavoury slogs resulting in exposed stumps, the winning side bowled 10 out of a total of 13 wides, and one of the keepers kept letting through byes. If Franklin’s smart 41 off 29 suggested a sober man in a Paris Hilton party, the Royal Challengers clearly outdid their opponents. Yes the pitch was slow and it took turn, but not enough to justify the bizarre and spectacular collapse, which featured minimal attempts to take singles with the asking rate around seven.

MI didn’t even know there was turn in for them. As Dilshan hit the ground running in the chase, they made a necessary departure from their usual ways of bowling Malinga for only two overs at the top. Dilshan’s 27 until then had come off shots either through the line or through the covers, and he would have known how desperately MI would have wanted a wicket off what then seemed like a last roll of dice. As it turned out, he swung across the line of a full first delivery, losing his off stump.

Kumar Dharmasena then made a potentially match-turning call, after having reprieved Harbhajan Singh when he was plumb before ruling him out when he wasn’t. This involved Harbhajan too, who fired in quick offbreaks in his first over. The last ball of the over, which had conceded just a wide, was tossed up, and Gayle got a big stride in. The offbreak didn’t turn as much as expected, hit him in front of off, and he was ruled out. The ball had a massive distance to travel, and the ball-tracking predicted it would have hit the outside of off stump. Conventional wisdom would have ruled it in the batsman’s favour, and even Gayle lost his cool when he saw the finger come up.

With an unreliable batting order, pampered by the true Bangalore surface and short boundaries, to follow, it was down to the only survivor of the Royal Challengers’ 2009 choke, Virat Kohli, to shepherd the rest through. However, he found himself batting with a trigger-happy Mayank Agarwal, who despite all his attempts at power hitting managed 14 off 19 before holing out to long-off. Even when the desperate Agarwal got out, the Royal Challengers needed a manageable 73 off 57.

Kohli felt the pinch too. Perhaps it was the presence of Malinga in the end, perhaps it was just the shock of having to work hard for the runs after Bangalore, but even he didn’t show the willingness to take the game to the deep end. In the next over he holed out to deep midwicket. Everybody knew it was game over there and then.

The rest were just a blurry procession of catching and stumping practice. A complete contrast to how Franklin managed a strike-rate of close to 150 without a shot hit in anger. There was no dearth of madness around him either. Sarul Kanwar first ran Aiden Bliazzard out before slogging around a full delivery. Ambati Rayudu struggled to find singles in the middle, and a positive 40-run stand with Suryakumar Yadav ended with a run-out.

Franklin soon caught on with the times, stopping and running in his second to complete the third run-out. Kieron Pollard’s massive leading edge travelled as far as long-off, and MI were in a tailspin after looking good for a repeat of their 160 from the semi-final. Although it didn’t look enough at the moment, Malinga’s two sixes in the end turned out to be surplus.

Sidharth Monga is an assistant editor at ESPNcricinfo

Lasith Malinga (4-20) helped Mumbai Indians beat Somerset by 10 runs and set summit clash with Royal Challengers Bangalore in the 2011 Champions League Twenty20.

Malinga took 4 for 20 in his four overs as Mumbai restricted Somerset to 150/7 in their 20 overs.

Mumbai will now face their IPL opponents Bangalore in the Champions League Twenty20 final in the same ground on Sunday.

James Franklin played an important hand in Mumbai’s victory as he struck twice in the penultimate over to put Mumbai Indians on top.

For Somerset, Craig Kieswetter scored a fine 62 to lead the run chase. Kieswetter hit a six and seven boundaries in his 46-ball knock as he led the Somerset fightback after early blows.

Harbhajan Singh dismissed James Hildreth (39) in the fourteenth over to break the 83-run third wicket stand between Hildreth and Kieswetter for Somerset.

Somerset lost Roelof van der Merwe (10) and Peter Trego (0) early while chasing 161-run target set by Mumbai.

Mumbai pacer Lasith Malinga do what he does best, to take wickets in his initial overs, as he clean bowled both van der Merwe and Trego in his first two overs to jolt the Somerset run chase.

Electing to bat, Rajagopal Sathish (25 not out) and Suryakumar Yadav (23 not out) played some lofty shots in the end to help Mumbai post 160/5 against Somerset.

The duo added valuable quick 43 runs for the sixth wicket to power Mumbai after they lost wickets at regular intervals in the middle part of their innings.

Sathish hit a six and two boundaries in his 12-ball blitzkrieg while Yadav smashed three fours in his 19-ball knock.

Somerset skipper Alfonso Thomas dismissed dangerous Keiron Pollard (24) as Pollard failed to capitalise on a decent start in which he hit two huge sixes in his 18-ball cameo.

Murali Kartik got the prize wicket of in-form Aiden Blizzard (54) soon after Roelof van der Merwe struck in his first over to dismiss James Franklin (6) in the twelfth over to halt the Mumbai charge.

Blizzard scored a fine fifty with the help of three sixes and five boundaries in his quick 39-ball innings.

Adam Dibble dismissed Ambati Rayudu (19) in the eighth over to reduce Mumbai to 62/2 in 7.5 overs. Rayudu played run-a-ball knock as he added 43 runs for the second wicket with Blizzard after losing Sarul Kanwar (2) early.

Mumbai lost opener Kanwar in the fourth over when Steve Kirby struck to give Somerset an early breakthrough.

Earlier, Mumbai skipper Harbhajan Singh won the toss and decided to bat against Somerset on Saturday.

Mumbai left out Andrew Symonds and brought Suryakumar Yadav in his place.

Teams:

Mumbai Indians: Harbhajan Singh (capt), AN Ahmed, AC Blizzard, YS Chahal, JEC Franklin, S Kanwar, SL Malinga, KA Pollard, AT Rayudu (wk), R Sathish, SA Yadav

Somerset: AC Thomas (capt), JC Buttler, NRD Compton, AJ Dibble, JC Hildreth, M Kartik, C Kieswetter (wk), SP Kirby, AV Suppiah, PD Trego, RE van der Merwe.

Source: Times of India

he got the key wicket of Kieron Pollard, who looked to bludgeon a full ball over midwicket. In the four overs he and Clark bowled from the fifth to the eighth, only five runs were scored.

Much then depended on Andrew Symonds. He has not looked his old effervescent self in this tournament, and he struggled today as well. A charge down the track to swipe Steve O’Keefe ended with the ball crashing into the top of off stump and Mumbai Indians were gasping at 51 or 5 after 12 overs.

Franklin, subjected to some criticism before the game over his position at No. 4 in the line-up, cut out the Hollywood strokes his team-mates attempted, preferring to play straight, highlighted by a perfectly timed on-drive off Moises Henriques for four. Even as he lost partners regularly, he kept poking the ball around, ensuring Mumbai Indians at least avoided the ignominy of finishing their innings with a double-digit score.

NSW weathered the first over of the chase from the chief threat, Lasith Malinga. It was Nechim, though, who made the big breakthroughs, removing both openers, Shane Watson and David Warner, in his first over. With Malinga then dismissing Simon Katich courtesy a trademark swinging yorker, Daniel Smith nicking Nechim behind after attempting a footwork-less slash, and Henriques picking up a duck on being given lbw to a spinning delivery from Yuzvendra Chahal that pitched outside leg, Mumbai were well and truly in it.

Steven Smith and Rohrer then stabilised the innings and slowly took the game away from Mumbai. With the spinners operating, the batsmen used their feet well to punch the ball for singles. It wasn’t till the 13th over of the chase that the first six of the match was struck, Smith clouting Chahal over midwicket. A Franklin long hop was helped to fine leg for four, a wide Malinga yorker was chopped past point for four more before a bunch of boundaries from Smith settled the match in the 17th over.

Siddarth Ravindran is a sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo

Two men at different ends of the Twenty20 spectrum powered Mumbai Indians to their best batting performance in the tournament after which heavy rain wiped out the match. One of the biggest names in the format, Kieron Pollard, and a debutant, Sarul Kanwar, went on a six-hitting spree as Mumbai put up a strong 176 against Cape Cobras.

Aiden Blizzard was expected to be the fire starter at the top of the order for Mumbai, instead it was the little known Kanwar who provided the pyrotechnics. Kanwar, a 23-year-old Punjab opener with only one season of domestic cricket behind him, showed no fear in his first big game, clouting the Cobras fast bowlers.

The first shot to make people sit up was a clean swing that sent Charl Langeveldt over the midwicket boundary in the second over. Langeveldt was taken for a four and a six square on the leg side in his next over, and JP Duminy disappeared for 17 in the fifth, before Kanwar showed he can hit straight as well by thumping Vernon Philander over long-off. After five sixes and three fours, he nearly got to his half-century with a stylish hit over deep extra cover but the shot lacked a few yards and was caught.

Kanwar’s effort solved Mumbai’s headache at the top of the order, and they will also be pleased with the return to form of one of their middle-order stars, Pollard. With Blizzard and Ambati Rayudu falling soon after Kanwar, Mumbai were in danger of losing their way before Pollard intervened. He warmed up with two monstrous straight sixes off JP Duminy, before backing it up with a couple of fours behind square leg. James Franklin joined in by launching Robin Peterson for two more sixes. By the time Pollard completed Langeveldt’s horror day by scoring 18 in the 16th over, Mumbai had surged to 143 for 3.

Cobras managed to pull it back a bit in the final overs, with Justin Kemp giving away only two runs in the 17th, but some more boundaries from Andrew Symonds pushed Mumbai to 176. Even as the Mumbai innings wound to an end, the rains arrived and stayed for several hours, forcing the team to split points.

Siddarth Ravindran is a sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo

Mumbai Indians beat Trinidad & Tobago by one wicket in a thrilling match in their CL T20 encounter at the M Chinnaswamy stadium in Bangalore on Monday.

Chasing a score of only 99 runs, Mumbai Indians sealed the match in the last ball with only one wicket in hand.

Mumbai are now on top of Group A with 4 points. Heart-break though for the exciting boys from the Carribean Islands. At the end of a riveting T20 match at the M Chinnaswamy stadium, it was not bat or ball that decided the winner, but it was just one moment of madness that cost T&T the game.

A cruel finish for T&T and ecstasy for Mumbai Indians as the Champions League T20 has sprang into life after a few exciting finishes.

Rampaul took his third wicket when he clean bowled Andrew Symonds for a first ball duck.

Rampaul first had Tirumalsetti Suman caught by Sherwin Ganga at mid-off and three balls later had James Franklin caught by Samuel Badree at first slip.

Mumbai Indians got off to a bad start as Badree had Aiden Blizzard caught by Lendl Simmons in the third over.

To inflict more owes to the Mumbai side spinner Sunil Narine dismissed fellow countryman Kieron Pollard for only 9 runs. Pollard set himself up for the mighty pull of the Narine short ball that spun back in, got an inside edge onto his pads and then to the leg stump.

Earlier, captain Harbhajan Singh took three wickets in three overs and Lasith Malinga took two wickets as Mumbai Indians bundled out Trinidad & Tobago for 98 runs in 16.2 overs.

Harbhajan took his third wicket when he trapped Sherwin Ganga plumb in front of the wicket.

Trinidad & Tobago lost five wickets in seven overs after a fine start.

Harbhajan dismissed Denesh Ramdin and Darren Bravo in consecutive overs to reduce T&T to 64/5.

Harbhajan took a good return catch to dismiss Ramdin and in his next over clean bowled Bravo.

Rajagopal Sathish took a superb diving catch at long-off to dismiss T&T captain Daren Ganga off James Franklin.

T&T lost their second wicket when Lendl Simmons made the basic mistake of not grounding his bat in the crease and was run out.

Simmons hit a six and 2 fours in his 18-ball 21 before getting run out as his foot was on the line but he didn’t ground the bat when the bails were removed by Mumbai wicket-keeper Ambati Rayudu.

Lasith Malinga gave Mumbai the first breakthrough when he clean bowled Adrian Barath off a slower ball in the third over.

The breakthrough came after T&T captain Ganga won the toss and chose to bat.

Trinidad & Tobago are unchanged from the last match and Mumbai Indians have replaced the injured Davy Jacobs with James Franklin.

Teams:

Mumbai Indians: Harbhajan Singh (Capt.), Aiden Blizzard, Tirumalsetti Suman, Ambati Rayudu, Andrew Symonds, Kieron Pollard, Rajagopal Sathish, James Franklin, Lasith Malinga, Abu Nechim Ahmed, Yuzvendra Chahal.

Trinidad & Tobago: Daren Ganga (Capt.), Lendl Simmons, Adrian Barath, Darren Bravo, Denesh Ramdin, Jason Mohammed, Sherwin Ganga, Kevon Cooper, Samuel Badree, Sunil Narine, Ravi Rampaul.

Source: Times of India

Lasith Malinga looked stunned when Mike Hussey swept his fast yorker to the boundary. But by the end of the evening, it was Malinga’s turn to leave Chennai Super Kings shattered.

What he couldn’t do with the ball, Malinga ( 37 off 18 balls) did with the bat when CSK had all but wrapped it up. Coming in at No. 9, he hit left-arm spinner Shadab Jakati for two consecutive sixes in the 17th over and even Mr Cool MS Dhoni panicked.

He missed a stumping and when Malinga’s edge off Bollinger went to the third-man boundary in the 18th, the match had turned on its head. Mumbai Indians needed 11 off the last over and with Doug Bollinger bowling, the IPL champions still fancied their chances.

But Malinga was in the zone and when Harbhajan hit the crucial boundary with two balls to go, it was all over for CSK. Harbhajan kept his head and finished the job in 19.5 overs, which gave Mumbai Indians one of their best wins ever.

Chasing 159 for victory, the Mumbai Indians started with a flourish with Sachin Tendulkar, sitting in the dressing-room, looking really happy. Davy Jacobs and Aiden Blizzard were going great guns, but the moment Dhoni brought his spinners on, things started falling into place for CSK.

Ashwin had Jacobs stumped down the legs while Raina got the wickets of Blizzard and Suman with subtle variations of flight that left Mumbai Indians in the doldrums.

Local boy R Sathish looked to take the fight to CSK, but Ashwin’s carrom ball had him plumb in front. When Kieron Pollard left, even the biggest Mumbai fan didn’t expect a win, but Malinga had other ideas.

Earlier, Hussey was in a league of his own. He has been playing for CSK for the last three seasons and knows all about the conditions. He knows that the pitch is slow (despite being relaid) and the best way is to wait for the ball instead of committing early.

Source: Times of India

Royal Challengers set up a final clash with Chennai Super Kings after beating Mumbai Indians by 43 runs in the second qualifying final of IPL 4 at MA Chidambaram stadium in Chennai on Friday.

Chasing a mammoth victory target of 186 runs, Mumbai managed 143/8 in their 20 overs.

Daniel Vettori scalped Rohit Sharma, Ambati Rayudu and Kieron Pollard in his successive overs.

Vettori first had Rohit caught by Luke Pomersbach at sweeper cover and one ball later trapped Rayudu plumb in front of the wicket for a first ball duck.

Abhimanyu Mithun took a superb one-handed catch at long-on to dismiss Pollard in Vettori’s next over.

Zaheer Khan then clean bowled James Franklin to reduce Mumbai to 99/7 and ending all their hopes of a fightback.

Left-arm spinner Jamaluddin Syed Mohammad had captain Sachin Tendulkar stumped by AB de Villiers to reduce Mumbai to 68/3 in 8 overs.

Tendulkar charged down the pitch but was beaten by the delivery that turned sharply and the Master was in no position to negotiate the sharp turn and AB de Villiers removed the bails in a flash.

Tendulkar hit 7 fours in his 24-ball 40 before falling to Syed.

Sreenath Aravind dismissed Aiden Blizzard and Harbhajan Singh in his successive overs as Mumbai got off to a poor start.

Aravind first had Blizzard caught by Mayank Agarwal at long-on and in his next over had Harbhajan caught by Luke Pomersbach at deep mid-wicket.

Blizzard hit 2 fours in his 11-ball 10 while pinch-hitter Harbhajan hit a six and a four in his 7-ball 13.

Earlier, Chris Gayle’s 47-ball 89 and Mayank Agarwal’s 31-ball 41 powered Bangalore to 185/4.

AB de Villiers hit a six in his unbeaten 15-ball 21.

Gayle smashed 89 runs off 47 balls before Munaf Patel had him caught by James Franklin at long-on.

Gayle’s blitzkrieg knock was studded with 5 sixes and 9 fours ad he was lloking good for more before Munaf struck in the 15th over.

Bangalore lost their third wicket in the next over when Virat Kohli edged a Abu Nechim delivery onto his stumps.

Munaf struck again in his next over when Lasith Malinga took a superb diving catch at short third-man to dismiss Luke Pomersbach.

Gayle reached his half-century off 27 balls and was ably aided by his opening partner Mayank Agarwal as the two brought up Bangalore’s 100 in the ninth over after brining up the 50 in the fourth over.

All plans to contain the Bangalore openers failed as Mumbai captain Sachin Tendulkar deployed as many as six bowlers in the first nine overs.

Bangalore lost their first wicket when Kieron Pollard had Agarwal caught by Rohit Sharma at long-on.

Agarwal hit 2 sixes and 2 fours in his 31-ball 41 and put up a 113-run opening stand with Gayle.

The carnage started after Tendulkar won the toss and chose to bowl.

Mumbai brought in Abu Nechim and Rajagopal Satish in favour of T Suman and Dhawal Kulkarni.

Bangalore replaced Mohammad Kaif with Jamaluddin Syed Mohammad.

Teams:

Mumbai Indians: Sachin Tendulkar (Capt.), Aiden Blizzard, Ambati Rayudu, Rohit Sharma, Kieron Pollard, James Franklin, Rajagopal Satish, Harbhajan Singh, Munaf Patel, Lasith Malinga, Abu Nechim.

Royal Challengers Bangalore: Daniel Vettori (Capt.), Chris Gayle, Mayank Agarwal, Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers, Saurabh Tiwary, Luke Pomersbach, Sreenath Aravind, Abhimanyu Mithun, Zaheer Khan, Jamaluddin Syed Mohammad.

Source: Times of India

Kolkata Knight Riders began nervously, Mumbai Indians finished similarly, but it was Mumbai who booked a place in the Champions League T20 and in the semi-final equivalent of IPL 2009. What will irk Kolkata is that they were the better side for 39 overs in the previous match between these sides, but one bad over then set up this rematch in the quarter-final equivalent. Mumbai did enough to make use on the second chance.

Kolkata’s top order came out trying too hard for a big start, losing four wickets for 20, and Ryan ten Doeschate’s 70 was not recovery enough on a good Wankhede track with short boundaries. A blazing start from Aiden Blizzard and Sachin Tendulkar seemed to have put to rest Mumbai’s habit of muddled chases, but they choked again. For the second night in a row, though, James Franklin took Mumbai home with a much less miraculous but much more assured 29, with much more on the line.

Munaf Patel bowled smartly to capitalise on Kolkata’s palpable nervous energy, taking three wickets, including those of Jacques Kallis and Yusuf Pathan. It was a subtle change-up immediately after being driven for four that sent Kallis back. The wicket-taking delivery was pitched in the similar area, but was bowled with a scrambled seam and hence a touch slower. The slice settled with a diving Tendulkar.

Gautam Gambhir, Sreevats Goswami and Manoj Tiwary concentrated just on the boundaries, in the process failing to place the good balls for singles. The dot balls mounted, and all three fell to shots they would normally not play. ten Deoschate played sensibly, though, looking for singles and punishing the bad ones. That calm rubbed off to Yusuf, their 60-run stand took the run-rate past six an over, and a big finish could not have been ruled out.

Munaf, though, returned to interrupt the comeback with more clever bowling. Convinced that the short ball would trouble Yusuf, he let his Baroda team-mate have some. The first one took a top edge for four, the second went for a single along the ground, and the third one was mistimed over midwicket. Munaf persisted, and with his fourth bouncer of the over, he sent his man back.

Ambati Rayudu, a part-time keeper, proceeded to miss ten Doeschate and Shakib Al Hasan in the next two overs. ten Doeschate went on to score the highest for a No. 6 this IPL, Kolkata got 60 in the last six, but they were still at start still meant Kolkata were a blazing start away from elimination. Blizzrad and Tendulkar provided just that. Blizzard relished the pace of Brett Lee, Tendulkar took care of the spin of Iqbal Abdulla and Yusuf Pathan. A lot of class and a lot of power merged effectively to bring up the fifty in the fifth over. There was remote semblance of redemption for Lee when he came back to remove Blizzard, but not before the batsman had hit him for four and six in that over.

Then Mumbai stumbled. Rohit Sharma ran himself out, Tendulkar fell to a sharp bouncer, and Rayudu seemed to have been sawn off. From 81 for 0 in the eighth over, Mumbai had been reduced to 103 for 4 in the 13th. A mini partnership happened, but Shakib trapped Pollard to make it 123 for 5. T Suman couldn’t handle the nerves and holed out to long-off.

The asking rate now crossed a run a ball for the last two overs, but a top edge off Lee’s first ball brought it back to 11 off 11. L Balaji, who failed to defend 21 in the last match, didn’t get a shot at redemption. The last over went to Shakib – his figures 3-0-17-2 until then – who needed to defend seven. Harbhajan lofted the second ball over midwicket, and let out a roar.

Sidharth Monga is an assistant editor at ESPNcricinfo

Kolkata Knight Riders had their Champions League debut all but booked when they began the last over with 21 to defend. Three edged boundaries off L Balaji and two missed yorkers later, James Franklin and Ambati Rayudu had seen Mumbai Indians to a highly unlikely win, breaking their three-match losing streak. The win set up a repeat clash between the two teams in the eliminator, an equivalent of a quarter-final.

In all the chaos of the last over, which stunned the full house at Eden Gardens, Chennai Super Kings emerged the biggest gainers. Had Kolkata won the game, which they should have despite all those edges, Chennai would have finished third, and would have had to win two games in order to make the final. Now they need win only one of the two.

Mumbai gained too: they needed to finish the chase off in 5.1 overs to make it to the top two, but by beating Kolkata they could have ensured a psychological advantage in their eliminator. For the best part of their 19 overs of batting, Mumbai scarcely looked like a team that could do so. Iqbal Abdulla removed T Suman in the second over, the pinch-hitter Harbhajan Singh managed 30 off 29, and Rajat Bhatia’s leg-rollers broke the batting order’s back with thee wickets in three overs.

At 96 for 4 in the 13th over, it seemed too much was left for Kieron Pollard and Franklin. Pollard lived up to that expectation, but Franklin kept the fight up mostly with well-placed couples. A six and a four in between meant Mumbai were not completely out of it even when Balaji ripped Pollard’s leg stump out with 40 required off 15.

If this was robbery in broad floodlights, Kolkata weren’t the most vigilant victims either. As much as the edged boundaries in the last over, Kolkata will also look back at little moments towards the end that proved to be decisive. Balaji bowled a wide with one ball left in the 18th over, and Ambati Rayudu lofted the compensation delivery over extra cover for a six. It wouldn’t be Rayudu’s last six of the night.

The last ball of the 19th over hit Rayudu in the pad and rolled towards the keeper. The batsmen had all but stolen a leg-bye when wicketkeeper Shreevats Goswami went for a direct hit, and conceded an overthrow. That kept Franklin – 28 off 18 now – on strike for the last over. L Balaji went for a wide yorker first ball, and a thick edge off the low full toss went between the keeper and the short third man. A slower bouncer followed, and the tope edge cleared the keeper again. Thirteen off four now looked so much more gettable.

Balaji went back to the wide-yorker plan, and Franklin smacked the next low full toss past extra cover for four. Under pressure and in the face of some ill luck, Balaji was just not landing them right. The next ball was a low, wide full toss again, and another thick edge beat third man to make it five of two. The next low full toss found extra cover, and brought Kolkata some relief. However, just then Balaji chose to bowl the worst delivery of the over – a high full toss on the pads – and Rayudu helped himself to his second, and decisive, six.

The stunned Eden gardens crowd could scarcely believe what they were seeing after they had cheered their team all night to what looked like a comfortable win. Most of it was thanks to Jacques Kallis who batted solidly at first and rapaciously towards the end. Along the way he was helped by breezy 30s from Manoj Tiwary and Yusuf Pathan, but it was Kallis who provided the innings the final impetus with 19 off the last five balls he faced. It was fitting then that the man who minimised the damage with the wickets of Kallis and Yusuf was none other than Franklin.

Sidharth Monga is an assistant editor at ESPNcricinfo

The prospect of a final face-off between Sachin Tendulkar and Shane Warne had dominated the build-up to this clash, but on the field it was overshadowed by an imposing performance from Shane Watson. Not only did he deliver a fitting farewell for his captain from competitive cricket, but left Mumbai Indians under serious pressure of keeping their qualification chances alive following a third straight defeat. For someone who had struggled to capitalise on starts this tournament, Watson compensated with a splendid all-round effort, serving a painful reminder to Mumbai of what they should have achieved on a good pitch with each of his crushing blows into the heart of a packed Wankhede crowd.

The Tendulkar-Warne contest should have been a non-event as left-arm spinner Ankeet Chavan twice had Tendulkar trapped in front, including one off the first ball, only for the umpire Paul Reiffel to think otherwise. Backed up by his disciplined bowling at one end, Watson dismissed T Suman and Ambati Rayudu in successive overs from the other, depriving the hosts of the attacking start they would have hoped for after choosing to bat. And just as Kieron Pollard had warmed up at the death after muscling a couple of boundaries, Watson cleaned him up to restrict Mumbai to a below-par total, one that was given some respectability by a classy half-century from Rohit Sharma.

It didn’t take long for Watson to set about punishing Mumbai, as he smote Harbhajan Singh for two massive sixes over midwicket in the second over of the chase. He followed that up by drilling Lasith Malinga past mid-off in an over that perhaps produced his only moment of discomfort. Malinga responded venomously, knocking back Watson’s chin with a bouncer – it escaped the grill, there would have been some pain but he didn’t show it. His own response? A memorable counterattack, pulling Malinga each time he dropped short, his next seven balls producing three fours and a flat six and stunned crowd not used to seeing their star-studded home team being overwhelmed in that manner.

A sense of resignation was felt in the crowd, if not among the players, when Watson smacked Harbhajan for three consecutive fours in his comeback over, while Rahul Dravid, happy to play the supporting role, showed his own class with some delightful boundaries off Pollard and Munaf Patel. The pair remained unbeaten, Rajasthan romped home, marking a satisfactory end after their turmoil-filled build-up to the tournament.

Rohit had won praise from Warne as one of the most exciting talents in Indian cricket, and he undoubtedly would have impressed his opposing captain with his performance today. He quickly took the lead in the stand with Tendulkar, his stand-out shot being imposing drive against Warne through extra cover, matched by a delightful punch in the same region off Johan Botha who couldn’t restrain Rohit despite chasing him as he made room.

Rohit used his feet well to spin, stepped up in the late overs after Tendulkar’s duel with Warne was cut short by an upper cut off Amit Singh though Warne wasn’t finishing his spell without a cheer. His final victory with the ball was the stumping of Rohit, stunned by the turn and losing his bat to square leg after a wild swing gone bad. At the end of the game, Warne was still smiling after Mumbai stayed baffled.

Siddhartha Talya is a sub editor at ESPNcricinfo