Royals lose despite Pathan`s fastest ton

Zeecric Bureau/Sudeshna Guha Roy Mumbai: The magnificent century by Yusuf Pathan went in vain as Lasith Malinga’s last over heroics helped Mumbai Indians clinch their opening Indian Premier League encounter against Rajasthan Royals by 4 runs here at Brabourne Stadium on Saturday. More than being an exciting win for Mumbai Indians, it was more of a disappointing loss for Rajasthan Royals as a stupendous 37 balls century by Pathan went futile. Nevertheless, the spectators who came out in large numbers to support their favourite team had the time of the life as the encounter whose fate kept hanging till the last ball. All seemed to be going fine for Mumbai Indians from the very beginning; first they won the toss and deciding to bat and later, some commendable contributions by their batsman helped them to post a magnificent total. Extravagant innings by Saurabh Tiwary and Ambati Rayudu helped Mumbai reach a a mammoth 212/6; this is also the highest score ever posted by Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League.Boundaries and sixes were a regular affair as both, Tiwary (53) and Rayudu (55), reached their respective fifties. The deadly duo played an astounding 110 runs partnership, adding ten spectacular boundaries and four astonishing sixes, to raise their team’s score 180/4 from 70/3. However, the desire to see Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar (17) doing wonders with the bat on Mumbai Indian’s home ground against old foe Shane Warne remained unfulfilled. With short yet significant contributions from Sanath Jayasuriya (23) and Aditya Tare (23), it was mainly the pair of Rayudu and Tiwary who lifted Mumbai Indians to a comfortable score.In the end, Harbhajan Singh was retired hurt with a just ball left in the innings, after being hit on the knee by Shaun Tait. The injury restricted him from bowling in the second innings. The 213-run chase looked a bit difficult for Rajasthan Royals as they lost their first four wickets very early in the game. While the other batsmen kept on losing their wickets at regular intervals, it seemed difficult to the visitors to even reach anywhere near the given target. However, it was the heroics of Yusuf Pathan which brought his team so close to victory and had it not been his unfortunate run-out, Rajasthan Royals would, for sure, have won the match. The Vadodara lad scored a stupendous century off just 37 balls, with the help of nine boundaries and eight sixes that not only earned him the Man of the Match award, but also gave him his maiden IPL century. The game, at one point, seemed to be slipping away from Mumbai Indians’ hands, thanks to Yusuf, and Paras Dogra (after Yusuf’s dismissal). But it was the last over heroics by Lasith Malinga, where he picked two wickets, that finally helped Mumbai clinch their opening IPL match Teams: Rajasthan Royals: Graeme Smith, Naman Ojha(w), Yusuf Pathan, Swapnil Asnodkar, Paras Dogra, Dimitri Mascarenhas, Abhishek Jhunjunwala, Shane Warne(c), Kamran Khan, Shaun Tait, Amit Uniyal Mumbai Indians: Sachin Tendulkar(c), Sanath Jayasuriya, Saurabh Tiwary, Ambati Rayudu, Murtaza Ali, Ryan McLaren, Aditya Tare(w), Rajagopal Sathish, Lasith Malinga, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan Meanwhile, supporters turned out in huge numbers to cheer for their very own Sachin Tendulkar as the Mumbai Indians skipper won the toss and elected to bat first against Rajasthan Royals here at Brabourne Stadium in the second match of the extravagant Indian Premier League. Teams: Rajasthan Royals: Graeme Smith, Naman Ojha(w), Yusuf Pathan, Swapnil Asnodkar, Paras Dogra, Dimitri Mascarenhas, Abhishek Jhunjunwala, Shane Warne(c), Kamran Khan, Shaun Tait, Amit Uniyal Mumbai Indians: Sachin Tendulkar(c), Sanath Jayasuriya, Saurabh Tiwary, Ambati Rayudu, Murtaza Ali, Ryan McLaren, Aditya Tare(w), Rajagopal Sathish, Lasith Malinga, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan