Punjab stun Mumbai

Pune wallop Deccan

Pune Warriors bowler Mitchell Marsh (L) celebrates the wicket of Sunny Sohal of Deccan Chargers during their IPL encounter at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad yesterday.

Mitchell Marsh grabbed four wickets and Sourav Ganguly hit an unbeaten 32 on comeback as Pune Warriors beat Deccan Chargers by six wickets in the Indian Premier League at Hyderabad yesterday.

Elsewhere, slow left-armer Bhargav Bhatt turned in a Man-of-the-match performance as tenth-placed Kings XI Punjab affected the tournament's first big upset by upending the juggernaut of the top-placed Mumbai Indians in Mohali.

Put in to bat first, Punjab reached a competitive 163 for 8 on the back of handy contributions from Shaun Marsh (43) and Dinesh Karthik (31). After a relatively strong showing by the top four, familiar batting woes surfaced as the lower middle order batsmen surrendered a bit of the momentum in the dying stages of the first innings. Medium pacer Munaf Patel picked up a five-wicket haul as Mumbai put the skids on Punjab's late-overs charge.

Punjab's bowlers then dismantled the vaunted Mumbai batting line-up for a paltry 87 all out in less than 13 overs, a significant reversal for a side boasting the talents of Sachin Tendulkar, Rohit Sharma, Andrew Symonds and Kieron Pollard. Tendulkar was first to go, caught at point off pacer Praveen Kumar for 6, and it all went downhill from there.

After the top order collapse that saw Mumbai slip to 54 for five, Bhatt grabbed his opportunity to wrap up the tail, picking up the last four wickets as Mumbai slid to an embarrassing defeat. Even with this reversal, Mumbai stay in top position, while the convincing victory moves Punjab up one position to ninth.

In the day's earlier match, Australian paceman Marsh, 19, finished with 4-25 as Pune restricted Deccan to 136-8 before achieving the target with 10 balls to spare for their fourth win in 11 matches of the Twenty20 tournament.

Former India captain Ganguly, who went unsold at the player auction before being signed up by Pune as a replacement for injured seamer Ashish Nehra, looked impressive during his 32-ball knock, hitting one six and three fours.

Opener Manish Pandey top-scored for Pune with 49, while New Zealander Jesse Ryder smashed a 20-ball 35 with the help of two sixes and five fours.

Both the teams are virtually out of contention for a place in the semifinals, with Pune having secured eight points and Deccan six.

Marsh, son of former Australian opener Geoff Marsh and younger brother of batsman Shaun, and left-arm spinner Yuvraj Singh were instrumental in restricting Deccan to a modest total.

Deccan made a strong start after electing to bat when Ravi Teja (30) and Shikhar Dhawan (24) put on 51 for the opening wicket before skipper Yuvraj struck with his fourth delivery.

The spinner broke the stand when he bowled Dhawan before finishing with 2-17 off four overs.

Marsh also got a wicket in his opening over when he bowled Teja before dismissing South African JP Duminy (30), Sunny Sohal and Amit Mishra in the space of five balls in his fourth and last over.

SCORES IN BRIEF

DECCAN CHARGERS: 136-8 in 20 overs (Duminy 30, Teja 30, Dhawan 24; Marsh 4-25, Yuvraj 2-17)

PUNE WARRIORS: 137-4 in 18.2 overs (Pandey 49, Ryder 35, Ganguly 32 not out; Christian 2-21)

Result: Pune Warriors won by six wickets.

Man-of-the-match: Mitchell Marsh.

KINGS XI PUNJAB: 163 for 8 in 20 overs (Marsh 43, Karthik 31, Gilchrist 28; Patel 5-21)

MUMBAI INDIANS: 87 all out in 12.5 overs (Pollard 17, Blizzard 15; Bhatt 4-22, Praveen 2-19)

Result: Kings XI Punjab won by 76 runs.

Man-of-the-match: Bhargav Bhatt

Big win for Mumbai

Big win for Mumbai

Mumbai Indians captain Sachin Tendulkar plays the ball down the ground while Pune Warriors India wicketkeeper Tim Paine looks on during their IPL match at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.

Mumbai Indians rode on a clinical effort by their bowlers to hand a seven-wicket thrashing to Pune Warriors in the Indian Premier League on Wednesday.

Munaf Patel grabbed three wickets for eight runs while Ali Murtaza and Abu Nechim took two apiece to bowl out Pune for a paltry 118 in 17.2 overs before Mumbai overhauled the target off the last ball at the Wankhede Stadium.

Skipper Sachin Tendulkar scored a fine 35 off 39 balls and shared 74 runs for the second wicket with Ambati Rayudu (37) to set the platform for the chase.

Australian all-rounder Andre Symonds (16 not out) hit two fours in the 18th over and Rohit Sharma (20 not out) brought off the winning runs with a six to give Mumbai their third victory in four matches.

Pune suffered their second defeat from the same number of games.

IPL debutants Pune failed to last their 20 overs despite a 45-run knock by middle-order batsman Robin Uthappa.

Pune were rocked by early dismissals after skipper Yuvraj Singh won the toss and elected to bat, losing four wickets in eight balls with just 17 runs on board.

Nechim had opener Jesse Ryder of New Zealand caught by Tendulkar for 12 before Mithun Manhas edged one behind the wicket to Rayudu in the same over.

Patel picked two wickets in three balls in the next over, clipping the off-stump of Australian Tim Paine and inducing a fine edge off India's World Cup hero Yuvraj before he could even open his account.

Left-arm spinner Murtaza removed Mohnish Mishra as he tried to play a reckless shot over the long-on fence, Pune slumping to 52-5 in the ninth over.

Uthappa perished to a blinder of a catch by burly West Indian Kieron Pollard, who swooped down to pluck the ball from the air inches above the ground.

SCORES IN BRIEF

PUNE WARRIORS: 118 all out in 17.2 overs (Uthappa 45; Patel 3-8, Nechim 2-13, Murtaza 2-18, Malinga 2-28)

MUMBAI INDIANS: 124-3 in 20 overs (Rayudu 37, Tendulkar 35)

Result: Mumbai Indians won by seven wickets.

Man-of-the-match: Munaf Patel

Sachin Tendulkar

India batting superstar Sachin Tendulkar said Monday he had no plans to retire after his World Cup triumph, but said the team would miss outgoing coach Gary Kirsten.
India regained the World Cup after 28 years with a six-wicket victory over Sri Lanka in the in Mumbai on Saturday under former South African batsman Kirsten.
"Personally, I would say Gary [Kirsten] should continue but he has family commitments," Tendulkar told the NDTV.
"I respect his decision. We will miss him a lot. It's been a pleasure to work with him. He's probably worked harder than anyone else."
India not only secured the number-one ranking in Tests and number two in one-day internationals under Kirsten, but also became a formidable force both at home and away.
Tendulkar, the world's leading run-scorer in both Tests (14,692) and one-day internationals (18,111), became a World Cup winner for the first time on his sixth and probably last appearance in the tournament.
He said winning the World Cup was his biggest cricketing moment and wished he could have shared it with his father.
"I miss my father. He would be proud. My kids being there for the victory lap made it even more special," said Tendulkar, whose father died during the 1999 World Cup, adding that he had no plans to retire.
"I can't believe we're the world champions. I am enjoying cricket too much to retire from any form of the game," said Tendulkar, who will turn 38 this month.
The master batsman rated Mahendra Singh Dhoni as the "best captain" for leading the team shrewdly in the high-pressure tournament.
"He [Dhoni] reads the situation well, is open to ideas and above all he stays calm and doesn't show frustration," Tendulkar said.
It was the second major title India had won under Dhoni after the World Twenty20 Championships in South Africa in 2007.
Tendulkar said India had peaked at the right time.
"In the knockout stage, we peaked at the right time. We batted, fielded and bowled well. You see effort from all players. Performance no one can guarantee, but effort you can guarantee," said Tendulkar.
India batting superstar Sachin Tendulkar said Monday he had no plans to retire after his World Cup triumph, but said the team would miss outgoing coach Gary Kirsten.
India regained the World Cup after 28 years with a six-wicket victory over Sri Lanka in the final in Mumbai on Saturday under former South African batsman Kirsten.
"Personally, I would say Gary [Kirsten] should continue but he has family commitments," Tendulkar told the NDTV.
"I respect his decision. We will miss him a lot. It's been a pleasure to work with him. He's probably worked harder than anyone else."
India not only secured the number-one ranking in Tests and number two in one-day internationals under Kirsten, but also became a formidable force both at home and away.
Tendulkar, the world's leading run-scorer in both Tests (14,692) and one-day internationals (18,111), became a World Cup winner for the first time on his sixth and probably last appearance in the tournament.
He said winning the World Cup was his biggest cricketing moment and wished he could have shared it with his father.
"I miss my father. He would be proud. My kids being there for the victory lap made it even more special," said Tendulkar, whose father died during the 1999 World Cup, adding that he had no plans to retire.
"I can't believe we're the world champions. I am enjoying cricket too much to retire from any form of the game," said Tendulkar, who will turn 38 this month.
The master batsman rated Mahendra Singh Dhoni as the "best captain" for leading the team shrewdly in the high-pressure tournament.
"He [Dhoni] reads the situation well, is open to ideas and above all he stays calm and doesn't show frustration," Tendulkar said.
It was the second major title India had won under Dhoni after the World Twenty20 Championships in South Africa in 2007.
Tendulkar said India had peaked at the right time.
"In the knockout stage, we peaked at the right time. We batted, fielded and bowled well. You see effort from all players. Performance no one can guarantee, but effort you can guarantee," said Tendulkar.