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Pollock unable to stop Kings
25/04/2008 21:34 - (SA)
Mohali - Shaun Pollock tried his best to rescue a crocked innings but the Mumbai Indians were still knocked over by 66 runs by the Punjab Kings XI in their Indian Premier League match on Friday.
Pollock top-scored with a run-a-ball 22 but it was nowhere near enough as Mumbai could only manage 116 for nine in reply to the Punjab Kings XI 182 all out.
The Kings XI left no doubt about their intention of defending a gettable total as Brett Lee roared in with the new ball and ensured Mumbai made a hesitant start to their run chase.
Lee took a sharp return catch off a hesitant prod from Sanath Jayasuriya (one) and if that was not enough, the Australian then ran out Luke Ronchi (11) off his next delivery, reacting the quickest as Robin Uthappa tried a quick single.
Dwayne Bravo scored a run-a-ball 21 but the required run-rate was always heading north and Piyush Chawla soon had Mumbai in his icy grip with a superb display of leg-spin.
Chawla took two for 16 in his four overs, floating the ball up and then bemusing the batsmen with a mixture of googlies, top-spinners and leg-breaks as he bowled both Bravo and Saurabh Tiwary (17).
Yuvraj walked on air
Not even a superhero like Pollock could then save the Indians as they slumped to 91 for five and then 94 for seven as Irfan Pathan dismissed Abhishek Nayar and Harbhajan Singh with successive deliveries.
Pollock showed a couple of the beautifully-timed strokes he and uncle Graeme made their name with before falling to a sensational one-handed catch by Yuvraj Singh. Never mind walking on water, Yuvraj walked on air as he clawed down a drive over extra cover that was screaming to the boundary.
The bowler was Shanthakumaran Sreesanth, who bowled accurately and landed two for 31, while Irfan conceded just 19 runs in his four overs and knocked over two batsmen.
But the stars were Chawla and Lee.
Chawla's leg-spin would have warmed the cockles of the heart of any old crocks watching, while Lee's pace and aggression gave the batsmen no respite. He took one for nine in four overs and if he has bowled better in a twenty20 match it would have been something to see.
Sangakkara showed superb timing
Kumar Sangakkara was the hero with the bat for the Punjab Kings XI.
Sangakkara displayed superhuman skills and a cool head as he scored a commanding 94. The Sri Lankan faced just 56 balls and hit 13 fours and a six, showing superb timing and placement and becoming the leading run-scorer in the competition in the process.
It was Sangakkara who nursed the Kings XI to a defendable score before he was dismissed in the penultimate over as ace spinner Harbhajan took care of the closing overs.
There were brief contributions from Karan Goel (18), Yuvraj (18), Mahela Jayawardene (12) and Lee (16*), but Sangakkara's batting partners generally slipped up once they were set.
Off-spinner Harbhajan and paceman Dhawal Kulkarni stepped up in the closing overs to knock over the last six wickets for 30 runs.
Pollock conceded 40 runs
Pollock started well with the new ball but began to look a bit crocked when Sangakkara set about him. The Durban legend did return, however, to claim the key wicket of Yuvraj, whom he duped with a slower ball.
Pollock conceded 40 runs in his four overs, while new-ball partner Ashish Nehra bowled well to take two for 22 in three overs.
But Harbhajan, with three for 32, and Kulkarni, three for 37, both in their full quota of overs, were the pick especially since they bowled in the closing overs.
- SuperSport
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