Mumbai Indians beat Rajasthan Royals by 4 runs despite Yusuf Pathan ton

The Cricket Club of India was set alight by the fireworks of Yusuf Pathan, who almost made impossible possible with a super human effort by slamming an unimaginable 37-ball 100 against Mumbai Indians here on Saturday.

It, however, came in a losing cause as Rajasthan Royals fell short of their target by four runs. But Pathan made Mumbai’s massive total of 212 look small in the second match of the Indian Premier League.

Coming in at No.5, Pathan changed the complexion of the game with his boundary-hitting spree. It looked as if he had come with a mission as the required rate, which at one stage was 14.75, came hurtling down after every over. The massive target looked eminently achievable.

Pathan’s innings, however, was not blind hitting. He was clear, clever and in control of the chase. His runs came mostly over long off and long on. Ali Murtuza (11th over) and R Sathish (12th over) were at the receiving end of his fury as they were hit for 19 and 26 runs respectively. He completed his maiden IPL hundred in style by hitting Sanath Jayasuriya over long on for a massive six.

He was involved in an adventurous 107-run partnership, which came off just 47 balls, for the fifth wicket with Paras Dogra, who was smart in his batting, giving Pathan the maximum possible strike. Pathan’s onslaught showed that Mumbai Indians’ attack lacked bite in the absence of Harbhajan Singh, who was injured by a Shaun Tait delivery.

When Rajasthan Royals looked set to overhaul the Mumbai total, Sathish dealt a severe blow on the Jaipur team with his sharp reflexes and presence of mind. He ran Pathan out at the non-striker’s end in his bowling with a smart piece of fielding. It was the only way Pathan could be dismissed on Saturday. He did not put a foot wrong.

Once Pathan was out, Dogra took charge and slammed Sathish for two consecutive sixes followed by back-to-back hits to the fences. However, his innings came to an end by a special effort from Lasith Malinga that got him run out, spoiling Royals’ chances of what could have been an unthinkable victory.

The Jaipur side needed 12 off the last over. It was eminently achievable but Malinga bowled a tight line and length. He committed a cardinal sin of bowling a wide in the tense situation but other six balls of the 40th over of the day were bang on target. Royals managed only seven runs and could not hit a single boundary.

Earlier, Mumbai Indians got off to a superb start, courtesy Jayasuriya and Sachin Tendulkar. After their dismissal, youngsters Saurabh Tiwary (53) and new recruit Ambati Rayudu (55) showed gumption with some gutsy batting. The duo batted admirably and stitched together a 110-run partnership for the fourth wicket.

Rayudu showed that he still has the spark in him to excel at the highest level. Tiwary, who did not get too many opportunities last season, showed a strong character and batted with responsibility when the chips were down.