Dale Steyn raised hell in four overs on a greenish pitch at the Wankhede Stadium. But the odds of him helping Deccan Chargers defend their small score of 100 were miniscule. The chase wasn’t straightforward. Mumbai needed 18.1 overs to achieve this small target with the ball darting around in pace-friendly conditions here.
It was a match between the two best pacers in the competition: Steyn and Lasith Malinga. Malinga took 4-16, winning this one, having benefitted to a degree by Harbhajan Singh winning the toss and inserting Deccan.
Steyn took 2-10, beating Mumbai Indians opener Richard Levi first ball with his trademark delivery. It was angled into the right-hander at high pace, but swung past his bat just enough to smash the top of the stumps.
It was the first ball of Mumbai’s innings. Steyn celebrated the wicket with a yawn. He had put Levi through hell in their previous encounter. Through the rest of the over, he had Rohit Sharma playing and missing around the off-stump, with all the certainty of a blind man attempting to cross a road during rush hour.
Sachin Tendulkar had to walk across to Rohit to calm him down. Tendulkar asked Rohit to leave those deliveries alone. Rohit obliged, settling down to play a slow but match-winning innings of 42, the highest score of the day.
Steyn returned to dismiss Dinesh Karthi (caught behind), and should have had James Franklin whow as dropped at third-man by Amit Mishra. Rohit played a rash shot to get out to JP Duminy, but his innings had done enough to ensure a Mumbai win.
Steyn took 2-10, beating Mumbai Indians opener Richard Levi first ball with his trademark delivery. It was angled into the right-hander at high pace, but swung past his bat just enough to smash the top of the stumps.
It was the first ball of Mumbai’s innings. Steyn celebrated the wicket with a yawn. He had put Levi through hell in their previous encounter. Through the rest of the over, he had Rohit Sharma playing and missing around the off-stump, with all the certainty of a blind man attempting to cross a road during rush hour.
Sachin Tendulkar had to walk across to Rohit to calm him down. Tendulkar asked Rohit to leave those deliveries alone. Rohit obliged, settling down to play a slow but match-winning innings of 42, the highest score of the day.
Steyn returned to dismiss Dinesh Karthi (caught behind), and should have had James Franklin whow as dropped at third-man by Amit Mishra. Rohit played a rash shot to get out to JP Duminy, but his innings had done enough to ensure a Mumbai win.
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