IPL 2012: Dwayne Smith Blasts Mumbai To Incredible Win

IPL 2012: Dwayne Smith Blasts Mumbai To Incredible Win

Dwayne Smith hit the last three balls of the match for 14 to pull off an incredible win for Mumbai

©REUTERS / Action Images

Mumbai Indians 174-8 (Tendulkar 74) beat
Chennai Super Kings 173-8 (Malinga 3-25) by 2 wickets
Indian Premier League 2012, Mumbai
Scorecard

Mumbai Indians beat Chennai Super Kings by two wickets in a nerve-wracking Indian Premier League 2012 thriller in Mumbai.

The win consolidates Mumbai's positions at number three in the points table, while Chennai are still in fourth but very much within reach of the other teams.

Mumbai won the toss and elected to field first. Murali Vijay shrugged off his bad form and gave Chennai a quick start. It would have been better had Francois du Plessis continued his good run. But he was run out, again, for nine runs.

Vijay smacked 41 runs off only 29 balls, including four fours and three sixes but the two wickets fell in quick succession leaving them at 52 for two.

Suresh Raina and Dwayne Bravo then came together, adding 62 runs for the third wicket and setting up a base for a tall total. Raina made 36 off 21 balls, including three fours and two sixes, and was out in the 15th over, trying to speed up things.

Bravo and Mahendra Singh Dhoni took the score past 150 and then helped set up 174 as the final target. Dhoni scored 25 off only 15 balls with two fours and one six, while Bravo was the top scorer with 40 runs off 33 balls. He struck four fours and one six as Chennai finished at 173 for eight.

For Mumbai, RP Singh and Lasith Malinga took three wickets each, the latter overtaking Morne Morkel in the race for Purple Cap.

Mumbai Indians didn't start too well, as Ben Hilfenhaus bowled a maiden over first up and then lost James Franklin for just the one run in the third over.

But Sachin Tendulkar and Rohit Sharma stood tall, putting on 126 runs for the second wicket. They played glorious strokes all over the park as both batsmen completed their half-centuries Tendulkar made 74 runs off 44 balls, with 11 fours and one six. Sharma scored 60 off 46 balls, hitting six fours and two sixes.

It seemed that they would take Mumbai across the finish line when Tendulkar was out caught by du Plessis. It was the turning point of the game as Mumbai started losing wickets and they fell in a heap. From 134 for two in the 16th over they were reduced to 151 for six in the 19th over.

Wickets number six, seven and eight all fell for ducks as Harbhajan Singh, Robin Peterson and Malinga watched Mumbai sink.

But there was hope as long as new recruit Dwayne Smith was at the crease. Brought in for the injured Mitchell Johnson, he paid his dues in his first match itself, smacking 24 off nine balls. 14 of those runs came off the last three balls of the match as Hilfenhaus conceded a nearly-sealed victory in one of the most awe-inspiring turnarounds in IPL history.
 
© Cricket World 2012