Rohit Sharma remained unbeaten on 51 off 24 deliveries and along with
Dwayne Smith (48 off 25) helped Mumbai chase down Otago's 149/6 off just
13.2 overs with 6 wickets to spare.
Rohit Sharma came up with a brilliant batting performance while Dwayne Smith too did a superb job with the bat to help Mumbai not only beat Perth, but do so in a thumping fashion to seal a spot in the semi-finals. Put in to bat, the Scorchers posted a daunting total of 149/6 thanks to Sam Whiteman, who scored a fine 51 not-out off 32 balls. Nathan Coulter-Nile was the pick of the Mumbai bowlers, finishing with excellent figures of 3/19 from his four overs. The 2011 CL champions had to reach the target in 14.2 overs to better the net run rate of Otago and qualify for the next round. They managed to do so thanks to a blistering knock from Rohit, who scored an unbeaten 51 off just 24 balls while Smith, with his 48 off 25, was equally responsible in powering Mumbai to the semis.
Mumbai faced a gargantuan task when it was their turn to bat, needing to score at more than 10.5 an over to make it to the next round. Smith started off well, smashing a four and a six off Michael Beer in the opening over before managing a boundary off Jason Behrendorff in the next. However, his partner Sachin Tendulkar's dismal tournament continued as he fell for a second-ball duck, flicking Behrendorff straight to Whiteman at deep square-leg. Glenn Maxwell, promoted to number three, hit a couple of boundaries, but he also could not continue for too long as he outside-edged a Behrendorff delivery to Brad Hogg at short third-man to head back on 10.
Meanwhile, Smith continued batting aggressively as he treated the Perth bowlers with disdain. He again hit a four and six off Beer in the fifth over, before spanking Joel Paris for a boundary in the following over to power Mumbai past 50. Rohit joined the party, getting off the mark with a six off Paris, before edging the bowler to the third man fence to take Mumbai to 66/2 after 6. In the over after that, Smith welcomed Brad Hogg with a huge hit over deep mid-wicket, but the Chinaman bowler had the last laugh as the West Indian, who pulled a short delivery to deep square leg, saw Behrendorff take a brilliant catch and departed two short of a well-deserved fifty.
Smith's departure however, did not give Perth any respite as Rohit kept dealing in boundaries and had Pollard for company as they kept Mumbai in the hunt. Rohit deposited Ashton Agar for a maximum over extra cover, Pollard thumped Hogg for a boundary, before the Mumbai skipper slog-swept the spinner for a six in the 9th over to take Mumbai to three-figures. The carnage continued as Rohit flicked Joel Paris to the mid wicket boundary and followed it up with a superb six over long off before scoring yet another boundary to put Mumbai firmly in command at 117/2 at the end of the 10th over.
The hard-hitting Pollard was largely a spectator in a fifty run stand that came off just 28 balls before he too got into the act with a six and a four off Behrendorff in the 12th over. The stylish Rohit then went on to bring up his 26th T20 fifty to take Mumbai closer to a semis berth. While Pollard was not there to see the team through - bowled by Hogg on 23 - the skipper, who led from the front, stayed till the end and watched Ambati Rayudu finish it off in style with consecutive sixes off Agar in the 14th over.
Earlier, the IPL-6 champs needed to restrict Perth to as low a total as possible and they began well by keeping the openers in check. Although they could not pick up early wickets, Harbhajan Singh and Coulter-Nile kept Simon Katich and Agar under a tight leash, not letting the Australian pair score freely. While Agar scored some boundaries during the power-play, there were quite a few dot balls as well and at the end of six overs, Perth's run-rate was less than 5. Agar, who upped the ante with back-to-back boundaries off Rishi Dhawan was given a reprieve when he was on 30 as Dinesh Karthik missed a simple stumping opportunity to deny Maxwell a wicket. The miss was not too costly though as Pragyan Ojha, introduced in the 10th over, struck a couple of blows to leave the Australian side struggling. His first dismissal was that of Agar (35), who was again beaten after coming down the track, but the keeper did not have to do anything on this occasion as the ball went on to strike the stumps. Two deliveries later, Katich (13) too was bowled by the left-arm spinner to leave Perth struggling at 57/2 after 10 overs.
The arrival of Hilton Cartwright and Whiteman boosted the Scorchers' scoring-rate as the pair started off with a flurry of boundaries. Both scored a four each off Ojha in the 12th over before Whiteman hit consecutive boundaries off Maxwell in the next. Pollard, who bowled the 14th over, also conceded a couple of fours while Whiteman deposited Harbhajan over long on for a maximum in the 15th over to power Perth past the 100-run-mark. This was Harbhajan's final over and it turned out to be profitable as he gave away 18, which included two fours off Cartwright's bat apart from the six by Whiteman, and in the process the Australian pair raised the fifty-run stand in quick time.
Coulter-Nile, who was re-introduced in the 16th over, dismissed Cartwright and Ashton Turner off consecutive deliveries. The Australian quick bowled a yorker to castle the stumps and send back Cartwright on 28 off 20, before producing a similar delivery to Turner (0), who also was late in bringing his bat down and saw the stumps disturbed. Coulter-Nile went on to pick up his third wicket in the penultimate over of the innings when Marcus North (3) failed to clear Pollard at long on. Whiteman, meanwhile was scoring the crucial boundaries. After hitting Pollard for a six over fine leg in the 18th over, the left-hander lofted Coulter-Nile straight down the ground for a four. Tom Triffit fell to Dhawan in the final over but they did not stop Whiteman, who hit two boundaries to register his maiden T20 fifty and power Perth to a sizeable total.
Rohit Sharma came up with a brilliant batting performance while Dwayne Smith too did a superb job with the bat to help Mumbai not only beat Perth, but do so in a thumping fashion to seal a spot in the semi-finals. Put in to bat, the Scorchers posted a daunting total of 149/6 thanks to Sam Whiteman, who scored a fine 51 not-out off 32 balls. Nathan Coulter-Nile was the pick of the Mumbai bowlers, finishing with excellent figures of 3/19 from his four overs. The 2011 CL champions had to reach the target in 14.2 overs to better the net run rate of Otago and qualify for the next round. They managed to do so thanks to a blistering knock from Rohit, who scored an unbeaten 51 off just 24 balls while Smith, with his 48 off 25, was equally responsible in powering Mumbai to the semis.
Mumbai faced a gargantuan task when it was their turn to bat, needing to score at more than 10.5 an over to make it to the next round. Smith started off well, smashing a four and a six off Michael Beer in the opening over before managing a boundary off Jason Behrendorff in the next. However, his partner Sachin Tendulkar's dismal tournament continued as he fell for a second-ball duck, flicking Behrendorff straight to Whiteman at deep square-leg. Glenn Maxwell, promoted to number three, hit a couple of boundaries, but he also could not continue for too long as he outside-edged a Behrendorff delivery to Brad Hogg at short third-man to head back on 10.
Meanwhile, Smith continued batting aggressively as he treated the Perth bowlers with disdain. He again hit a four and six off Beer in the fifth over, before spanking Joel Paris for a boundary in the following over to power Mumbai past 50. Rohit joined the party, getting off the mark with a six off Paris, before edging the bowler to the third man fence to take Mumbai to 66/2 after 6. In the over after that, Smith welcomed Brad Hogg with a huge hit over deep mid-wicket, but the Chinaman bowler had the last laugh as the West Indian, who pulled a short delivery to deep square leg, saw Behrendorff take a brilliant catch and departed two short of a well-deserved fifty.
Smith's departure however, did not give Perth any respite as Rohit kept dealing in boundaries and had Pollard for company as they kept Mumbai in the hunt. Rohit deposited Ashton Agar for a maximum over extra cover, Pollard thumped Hogg for a boundary, before the Mumbai skipper slog-swept the spinner for a six in the 9th over to take Mumbai to three-figures. The carnage continued as Rohit flicked Joel Paris to the mid wicket boundary and followed it up with a superb six over long off before scoring yet another boundary to put Mumbai firmly in command at 117/2 at the end of the 10th over.
The hard-hitting Pollard was largely a spectator in a fifty run stand that came off just 28 balls before he too got into the act with a six and a four off Behrendorff in the 12th over. The stylish Rohit then went on to bring up his 26th T20 fifty to take Mumbai closer to a semis berth. While Pollard was not there to see the team through - bowled by Hogg on 23 - the skipper, who led from the front, stayed till the end and watched Ambati Rayudu finish it off in style with consecutive sixes off Agar in the 14th over.
Earlier, the IPL-6 champs needed to restrict Perth to as low a total as possible and they began well by keeping the openers in check. Although they could not pick up early wickets, Harbhajan Singh and Coulter-Nile kept Simon Katich and Agar under a tight leash, not letting the Australian pair score freely. While Agar scored some boundaries during the power-play, there were quite a few dot balls as well and at the end of six overs, Perth's run-rate was less than 5. Agar, who upped the ante with back-to-back boundaries off Rishi Dhawan was given a reprieve when he was on 30 as Dinesh Karthik missed a simple stumping opportunity to deny Maxwell a wicket. The miss was not too costly though as Pragyan Ojha, introduced in the 10th over, struck a couple of blows to leave the Australian side struggling. His first dismissal was that of Agar (35), who was again beaten after coming down the track, but the keeper did not have to do anything on this occasion as the ball went on to strike the stumps. Two deliveries later, Katich (13) too was bowled by the left-arm spinner to leave Perth struggling at 57/2 after 10 overs.
The arrival of Hilton Cartwright and Whiteman boosted the Scorchers' scoring-rate as the pair started off with a flurry of boundaries. Both scored a four each off Ojha in the 12th over before Whiteman hit consecutive boundaries off Maxwell in the next. Pollard, who bowled the 14th over, also conceded a couple of fours while Whiteman deposited Harbhajan over long on for a maximum in the 15th over to power Perth past the 100-run-mark. This was Harbhajan's final over and it turned out to be profitable as he gave away 18, which included two fours off Cartwright's bat apart from the six by Whiteman, and in the process the Australian pair raised the fifty-run stand in quick time.
Coulter-Nile, who was re-introduced in the 16th over, dismissed Cartwright and Ashton Turner off consecutive deliveries. The Australian quick bowled a yorker to castle the stumps and send back Cartwright on 28 off 20, before producing a similar delivery to Turner (0), who also was late in bringing his bat down and saw the stumps disturbed. Coulter-Nile went on to pick up his third wicket in the penultimate over of the innings when Marcus North (3) failed to clear Pollard at long on. Whiteman, meanwhile was scoring the crucial boundaries. After hitting Pollard for a six over fine leg in the 18th over, the left-hander lofted Coulter-Nile straight down the ground for a four. Tom Triffit fell to Dhawan in the final over but they did not stop Whiteman, who hit two boundaries to register his maiden T20 fifty and power Perth to a sizeable total.
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