Corey Anderon pulled off a Yusuf Pathan as his innings of 95 took Mumbai Indians to the playoffs in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2014. Rajasthan Royals scored 189 in their 20 overs and Mumbai needed to chase it down in 14.3 overs. The scored were tied at 14.3 overs when Aaditya Tare hit a six to take Mumbai’s net run rate above Rajasthan.
When Mumbai were set a target of 190 to win, it looked unlikely that they would chase it down in 14.3 overs. But, they gave it everything from the outset. Michael Hussey and Lendl Simmons made their intent early, though the latter was dismissed in the second over. Mumbai then made the inspired move of promoting Corey Anderon to No 3.
Anderson smashed his first ball for a four through mid-on and pulled the second for a six over mid-wicket. Mumbai brought up their fifty in 23 balls. In the middle, Mumbai lost a few wickets and when they lost Rohit at 108 for four in the 10th over, it looked all over.
But by then Anderson warmed up for an assault and even Ambati Rayudu smashed it around and took the bowling apart. Till the 13th over, they had reached 170 for four. With 20 needed off nine balls, Pravin Tambe came on. Tambe then gave only 11 runs and it left Mumbai with nine needed off three to qualify. With eight needed off two, Rayudu smashed a six to make it two needed off one. The whole season boiled down to that. But then, off that delivery they took a single and there was a run-out. But, with the scored level at 14.3 overs, Mumbai needed a boundary to qualify. Aditya Tare took that delivery and then finished it with a huge six over long on as the Wankhede errupted.
The Rajasthan innings was all about one assault. Sanju Samson and Karun Nair were exceptional in their strokeplay and stroked 75 runs in from overs 11 to 15. In their first 10 overs, they could only score 59 runs. Shane Watson had opened the batting with Samson and ambled along to eight off 18 balls before holing out to the deep.
But, Nair and Samson attacked and played some delightful strokes through the innings. They were mainly classical and essayed shots around the park. Nair raced his to his half-century in 26 balls and was looking good for more before he was dismissed in the 15th over. Samson followed soon after as he was dismissed for 74.
Brad Hodge and James Faulkner then added a finishing touch with a quick partnership of 49 runs. But then, when compared to the earlier onslaught, it wasn’t very quick. Nevertheless, it went up to 189 and it looked unlikely that Mumbai would qualify.
Brief scores:
Rajasthan Royals 189 for 4 in 20 overs (Sanju Samson 74, Karun Nair 50; Jasprit Bumrah 1 for 30) lost to Mumbai Indians 195 for five in 14.4 overs (Corey Anderson 95*; Kevon Cooper 2 for 38) by 5 wickets.
