Champions League Twenty20: Rajasthan Royals' 7-wicket win over Mumbai Indians, as it happened

Rahul Dravid's Rajasthan Royals register a 7-wicket win over Mumbai Indians in the opening Group A match of the fifth edition of the Champions League Twenty20 in Jaipur on Saturday. (Read full match report) Catch all the highlights from the match, as they happened: (Match Scorecard | Text Commentary)

 

Rahul Dravid after win: "Very happy to see a thouroughly professional performance by us in all departments, especially with the ball. There was a calmness to the batting. Really good to start off the tournament like this. We switched the bowlers around, and they did really well in the first ten overs. Both Rahane and Sanju playing mature innings. And then Stuart, the ball he bowled to Sachin was a beauty, he's exactly the kind of player you want at No. 6 or 7 in T20, with his ability to get on with it from the word go."

 

Rohit Sharma after loss: "We did not get a par score. There was something in the wicket. We didn't get too many wickets early on. We needed to get more than 150. We have to move on now and go to Ahmedabad, where we will try and do well. Pollard batted well. It is just the first game and we will get better as we play. I am happy with the way I was striking the ball. Rajasthan bowled exceedingly well."

 

Man of the match for his 3 for 24, Vikramjeet Malik says: "We have been playing here for 6 to 7 days. I learnt that if you bowl in the right areas you will get help. I discussed with Rahul bhai and he  told me to pitch the ball up and hit the deck hard."

23:30 (IST) What a way to finish by Stuart Binny, with a six off Nathan Coulter-Nile. Rajasthan register 7-wicket win over Mumbai with two balls to spare. Binny's 27 came off just 14 balls, while, Watson's 27 was more measured, in 22 balls. Eighteen-year-old Sanju Samson with 54 and Ajinkya Rahane with 33 setup Rajasthan's 143-run chase after Dravid fell early. Kieron Pollard, Nathan Coulter-Nile and Rishi Dhawan took a wicket each but no Mumbai bowler could trouble the calm Rajasthan batsmen.

23:22 (IST) Stuart Binny has hit 2 fours, one off Pollard and one off Mitchell Johnson to take Rajasthan closer to a win. Rajasthan 135/3, need 8 more form 9 balls.

23:15 (IST) SIX! Shane Watson tears into Dwayne Smith and it goes for 6 over deep mid-wicket. Rajasthan 122/3 after 17 overs, need just 21 from 18 balls to win.

23:09 (IST) WICKET! Samson falls, is caught by Dwayne Smith off the bowling of Kieron Pollard. Samson made 54 form 47. Rajasthan 110/3 after 16 overs, need another 33 to win form 4 overs.

23:03 (IST) A fifty from Sanju Samson! At 18 years and 314 days, he becomes youngest to score a fifty in CLT20 history.

22:55 (IST) SIX! Shane Watson launches into Harbhajan Singh and deposits it over deep straight mid-wicket. Rajasthan 91/2 after 13 overs, need 52 more runs from 42 balls.

22:48 (IST) WICKET! Ajinkya Rahane plays an uncharacteristic slog across the line and is played on. Rishi Dhawan gets his man and breaks the big 74-run stand. Shane Watson the new man in. Rajasthan 79/2 after 11.2 overs.

22:41 (IST) Rahane and Samson are currently busy taking ones and twos and hitting the odd boundary. Rajasthan 69 for 1 after 10 overs, need another 74 from final 10 overs.

22:32 (IST) Ajinkya Rahane greets Pragyan Ojha with a six over extra cover. Fifty is up for Rajasthan with Samson cutting Ojha past point for four. Rajasthan 56 for 1 after 8 overs, still 87 needed from 72 balls.

22:25 (IST) After 6 overs, Rajasthan Royals batsmen Sanju Samson and Ajinkya Rahane are playing sensibly, keeping wickets in hand. Score - 37 for 1. Still 106 more to get from 84 balls.

22:06 (IST) WICKET! And a big one that of Rahul Dravid. Nathan Coulter-Nile bowled it short of length and wide, Dravid cuts it straight to Kieron Pollard at backward point.

22:02 (IST) Ajinkya Rahane hits the first four of the Rajasthan innings - a slash past backward point for four off Johnson. Rajasthan 5/0 after 1st over.

21:59 (IST) All in readiness for the Royals' chase. Rahul Dravid to face Mitchell Johnson. 143 to get from 120 balls.

21:51 (IST) Stuart Binny on the sidelines, says he is delighted to dismiss Sachin Tendulkar and is looking forward to a good chase by his team.

21:45 (IST) Mumbai Indians finish at a respectable 142 for 7. After Rohit Sharma (44), Kieron Pollard (42) got Mumbai back on track, Nathan Coulter-Nile hit a four and six in the final over to give the IPL champions register what can be a tricky total to chase on a pace friendly track. Vikramjeet Malik, who bowled the final over, was the best bowler for Rajasthan, taking 3 for 24 in his 4 overs.

21:41 (IST) WICKET! Pollard falls to Vikramjeet Malik, who picks up his third wicket. He made 42 from 36 balls with 4 fours and 2 sixes. Mumbai 130/6 after 19.1 overs.

21:37 (IST) SIX! Pollard flicks Faulkner for 6 over mid-wicket. Earlier in the 19th over, he was put down by Ashok Menaria at the square leg fence. Mumbai 130 for 5 after 19 overs.

 

21:34 (IST) SIX! Pollard hits Cooper for a maximum, straight towards the sight screen. Mumbai 115/5 after 18 overs. 44 runs have come in the last 5 overs.

21:30 (IST) James Faulkner bowls a tidy over, just 3 runs coming off it. Mumbai 104 for 5 after 17 overs.

21:24 (IST) WICKET! Rohit Sharma is dismissed by Shane Watson, a little bit against the run of play. Just when Rohit and Pollard were going well. Just after hitting his second six, off a waist high full toss, Rohit tries to be cute and edges it to keeper Samson. The Mumbai skipper made 44 from 37. Mumbai Indians 101/5 after 16 overs.

21:20 (IST) An expensive over by Kevon Cooper give Mumbai much needed momentum. Mumbai 87/4 after 15 overs.

21:13 (IST) SIX! First maximum of the tournament proper, an unorthodox cheeky scoop over fine-leg off Shane Watson. Mumbai are 70 for 4 after 13 overs.

21:09 (IST) Rahul Dravid employs his 6th seam bowler of the night - Kevon Cooper in action in the 12th over.

21:02 (IST) Ten overs gone and Mumbai are 53 for 4. Rohit Sharma (17*) and Kieron Pollard (1*) at the crease.

20:59 (IST) Already 6 bowlers used by Rahul Dravid inside 9 overs and the ploy seems to have worked for the Royals. As many as 5 medium pacers employed so far - Vikramjeet Malik, James Faulkner, Shane Watson, Rahul Shukla and Stuart Binny.

20:53 (IST) WICKET! Massive miscommunication between Rohit Sharma and Ambati Rayudu and Rayudu is run out. A yes and no situation results in both batsmen at one end after Rohit dabbed it to point and Rayudu came charging in from non-striker's end. Mumbai 43 for 4 after 8.1 overs.

20:41 (IST) WICKET! Stuart Binny dismisses Sachin Tendulkar! The swinging medium pacer gets one to hold its line and Sachin feathers it to keeper Sanju Samson. Mumbai Indians 38/3 after 7.2 overs.

20:35 (IST) WICKET! Vikramjeet Malik gets another one - Dinesh Karthik plays onto stumps. He struggled in his 11-ball 2. Mumbai 26/2 after 5.1 overs.

20:30 (IST) A gorgeous looking backfoot drive by Sachin for four off Shane Watson, allowing the ball to come onto his bat.

20:26 (IST) Not the best of starts for James Faulkner but Sachin starts off scoring runs with a delightful upper cut over point for four. The Master Blaster goes over extra cover two balls later and gets his 2nd four. Mumbai 18/1 after 3 overs.

20:19 (IST) WICKET! Vikramjeet Malik gets rid of Dwayne Smith. The ball stays a tad low and Smith misses. Smith made 9 including 2 fours. Mumbai 9/1 after 1.4 overs.

20:14 (IST) Interesting choice by Dravid - left-arm spinner Ashok Menaria opens the bowling for Rajasthan and he has been hit for a four by Dwayne Smith. Mumbai 5/0 after 1st over.

20:10 (IST) Sachin Tendulkar, Dwayne Smith stride out to the middle.

20:00 (IST) Playing XIs:

Mumbai Indians: Rohit Sharma(c), Dwayne Smith, Dinesh Karthik(w), Sachin Tendulkar, Ambati Rayudu, Kieron Pollard, Mitchell Johnson, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Harbhajan Singh, Pragyan Ojha, Rishi Dhawan.


Rajasthan Royals: Ajinkya Rahane, Rahul Dravid(c), Sanju Samson(w), Shane Watson, Stuart Binny, Brad Hodge, Ashok Menaria, James Faulkner, Kevon Cooper, Vikramjeet Malik, Rahul Shukla.

19:56 (IST) Head to head: Inaugural IPL champions Rajasthan Royals are making their maiden appearance in CLT20 while 2011 CL winners Mumbai will be making their fourth appearance in the tournament's fifth edition. In IPL, the two sides have met 12 times with Mumbai winning 7 times.

19:45 (IST) Rajasthan Royals win toss and opt to field. Rahul Dravid has no hesitation in fielding first. Mumbai skipper Rohit Sharma says he wanted to bat first anyway.

19:38 (IST) Ravi Shastri and Simon Doull asses the pitch. Shastri says fast bowlers will get assistance as it is an early season pitch and will be fresh with grass cover. Doull says 155-160 will be a good score.

19:30 (IST) Latest from venue: The start of the game will be delayed by about 15 minutes. The covers are off the square.

 

Mika performing LIVE at the #CLT20 opening match pic.twitter.com/hsC4IgGNNn

- Champions League T20 (@clt20) September 21, 2013

 

19:15 (IST) While the groundsmen prepare the surface for play, crowd at SMS stadium is enjoying the music of Mika, who is performing live at the venue. Mika sung this year's CLT20 anthem as well.

 

18:58 (IST) Latest from the venue is that we are going to have a delayed start due to inclement weather. The square at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium is wet and ground staff is working overtime to dry the surface.

 

Schedule | Photos | Points Table | Teams

 

Match Preview:

Everything looks well placed to make the main part of the Champions League Twenty20 2013 tournament start with the proverbial bang. On the field, there's Sachin Tendulkar facing off against Rahul Dravid for possibly the last time in competitive cricket - unless both Rajasthan Royals and Mumbai Indians make it to the final.

It will have Mumbai, the IPL VI champions, coming to Rajasthan's den, from which no team returned with a victory in IPL 2013. And off the field, there are thunderstorms forecast, and ominous dark clouds hovered over Jaipur on Friday (September 20), the eve of the match, with a spell of rain thrown in too.

What the rain will do to the pitch, which was expected to be a good Twenty20 surface with runs on offer, is anybody's guess. But if some dampness remains, it might be to Rajasthan's advantage, seeing that their seamers will probably do the bulk of the bowling.

Mumbai, missing Lasith Malinga, still pack a punch with Mitchell Johnson in splendid recent form against England, and the exciting Nathan Coulter-Nile, who is in with a good chance of getting a game early on. (Read full preview)

Squads:

Rajasthan Royals: Rahul Dravid (captain), Stuart Binny, Kevon Cooper, James Faulkner, Brad Hodge, Vikramjeet Malik, Ashok Menaria, Ajinkya Rahane, Sanju Samson, Rahul Shukla, Shaun Tait, Pravin Tambe, Shane Watson, Dishant Yagnik.

Mumbai Indians: Rohit Sharma (captain), Sachin Tendulkar, Abu Nechim Ahmed, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Rishi Dhawan, Harbhajan Singh, Mitchell Johnson, Dinesh Karthik, Glenn Maxwell, Pragyan Ojha, Akshar Patel, Keiron Pollard, Ambati Rayudu, Dwayne Smith, Aditya Tare.


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When Rajasthan Royals were hit by the spot-fixing scandal in IPL VI, they were barely given time to recover from the shock of seeing teammates arrested and accused of giving less than 100% on the field before they had to compete once again.

Competing well after that kind of setback is commendable in itself, but Rajasthan did better than that, and finished third, beating Sunrisers Hyderabad in the eliminator, and missing out on a spot in the final only because Mumbai Indians snatched a last-ball win in the second qualifier. Rajasthan's opening match is against Mumbai Indians on Saturday (September 21), which pits Dravid against Sachin Tendulkar, his long-time India teammate who is playing his last series for Mumbai. (Read more)

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With Sachin Tendulkar set to appear in his final Champions League T20, Mumbai Indians skipper Rohit Sharma today said the team will look to put its best foot forward in its quest to win the tournament for the veteran's batsman.

"We know perhaps this is Sachin's last Twenty20 tournament and we want to play good cricket for him," Rohit said while talking to reporters ahead of Mumbai Indians' campaign opener against Rajasthan Royals on Saturday. (Read more)