CLT20 highlights: Mumbai Indians hammer Perth Scorchers by 6 wickets, qualify for semis

Mumbai Indians defeated Australian Twenty20 side Perth Scorchers by a resounding 6-wicket margin at the Feroz Shah Kotla stadium, New Delhi to claim a semi-final spot in the Champions League T20. Catch all the highlights from the game, as they happened: (Match Scorecard | Text Commentary | Points Table)

 

Mumbai Indians skipper and Man of the Match for his 51* off 24 Rohit Sharma after win: "It was a good game and it was nice to get over the line. It was a small ground and we started off positively. We knew we had to get there in 14 overs. So that mindset to go after the bowling that made our job easier. We may not have fielded and bowled exceedingly well today, but our batters once again showed their class. It was a tough wicket to bat on and I tried to hit straight. Our semi-final opponents Chennai Super are on a bit of a roll but we would like to win one more match against them."

 

Perth Scorchers skipper Simon Katich after loss: "I am happy for my boys, we are a young unit and really pleased with the effort of Sam Whiteman, who on debut played a special innings for us. It was always going to be tough defending the target as we knew that they would come hard at us. I am sure that the team has learnt a lot from this exposure in India. It was nice to play in front of such a massive crowd."

 

Dwayne Smith: "The Kotla deck was holding up slightly. I just wanted to bat positive. We needed to do well today and I am happy that it came off. We are peaking at the right time. I felt we gave away too many boundaries, but I am sure that the guys will do well in the next match."

18:39 (IST) Ambati Rayudu hits 2 consecutive sixes to seal the match and more importantly a spot in the semis. Mumbai 152/4 romp home in 13.2 overs.

 

18:35 (IST) WICKET! Pollard is bowled by Brad Hogg. Pollard fails to judge the chinaman by Hogg and misses. The Trinidadian hit 23 of 18 balls. Mumbai need 10 more off 8 balls to qualify.

18:34 (IST) Rohit Sharma reaches his 26th T20 fifty, in just 23 balls.

18:29 (IST) SIX! Kieron Pollard joins the party as he hammers Jason Beherndorff for a six over long off. Mumbai need 14 more.

18:26 (IST) Amidst all the big-hitting from Mumbai, Michael Beer quietly slips in a 5-run over. Mumbai (122/3 after 11 overs) well on track though, just 28 needed from 20 balls to qualify.

18:21 (IST) SIX! Rohit hammers Joel Paris for the maximum as Mumbai now well and truly favorites from now on. Thanks to his 3 fours and 4 sixes so far, Rohit has reached 45 from 17 balls. Mumbai 117 after 10 overs, need 33 more from 26 balls to make the semis.

18:16 (IST) SIX! Rohit continues the attack, this time slog sweeps Brad Hogg for 6 over deep mid-wicket. Rohit is already 29* off 12 balls. Mumbai 100 for 3 in 9 overs.

18:12 (IST) SIX! Rohit Sharma goes inside out against Ashton Agar and deposits it over extra cover. Mumbai 92 for 3 after 8.3 overs, need 58 more from 35 balls to make the semis.

18:08 (IST) WICKET! Jason Behrendorff takes a scorcher of a catch at the deep backward square leg, and dangerman Dwayne Smith is gone. Brad Hogg picks a wicket after being hit for 6. Smith made 48 off 25. Mumbai 74/3 after 7 overs.

18:03 (IST) Mumbai mean business in the chase, going at 11 runs an over after 6 overs. Dwayne Smith has hit 42 off 23 balls with 5 fours and 2 sixes. Rohit Sharma has started well, scoring 12 from his first 4 balls. Mumbai 66 for 2 after 6 overs, need another 84 from 8.2 overs to make semis.

17:55 (IST) WICKET! Glenn Maxwell is out, caught by Brad Hogg at short-third man off Beherndorff. Maxwell made 10 off 7. Mumbai 34 for 2 after 4 overs.

17:48 (IST) WICKET! Sachin Tendulkar is out for a duck, caught by Sam Whiteman off Jason Beherndorff. Mumbai 16/1 after 2 overs.

17:41 (IST) Excellent start by Mumbai Indians' opener Dwayne Smith, who hits 11 off the first over. Mumbai 11/0 after 1 over.

17:27 (IST) Mumbai Indians need to chase down 150 in 14.2 overs against Perth Scorchers in order to qualify for semis.

17:24 (IST) Sam Whiteman reaches a well-deserved fifty and Perth post 149 for 6 in 20 overs. Playing his first-ever Twenty20 game, Sam Whiteman remains 51 not out, in just 32 balls. He hit 6 fours and 2 sixes.

 

17:22 (IST) WICKET! Tom Triffitt departs, misses a slower one from Rishi Dhawan. Three balls to go.

17:16 (IST) WICKET! Marcus North falls in a bid to up the scoring rate, caught by Pollard off Nathan Coulter-Nile, who has his third. Perth 136/5 after 19 overs.

17:11 (IST) SIX! Sam Whiteman goes after Kieron Pollard and swats him for the maximum over Harbhajan Singh at deep backward square leg. Perth 129/4 after 18 overs.

17:03 (IST) WICKETS! Nathan Coulter-Nile has taken two wickets in two balls. First, a full blooded yorker to clean bowl Hilton Cartwright 28 (20b, 4x4s). Next ball, new man Ashton Turner is out lbw, moving across the stumps. Perth 114/4 after 16 overs.

16:58 (IST) Momentum has shifted here at the Feroz Shah Kotla with Sam Whiteman and Hilton Cartwright adding a quickfire 50-plus stand. The two shared 68 runs from just 34 balls.

16:55 (IST) SIX! Sam Whiteman hits Harbhajan Singh for six, the first of the day.

16:49 (IST) Not a good day at the office for Dinesh Karthik. He has fumbled more than two times behind the stumps, missed a stumping and is also misfielding while gathering the throws from the deep. Is it the Kotla surface or is the disappointment of being snubbed for Australia series showing? Perth 84/2 after 13 overs.

16:39 (IST) WICKETS! Pragyan Ojha you beauty! A fitter, slimmer looking Ojha bamboozled the two Perth openers. First Ashton Agar (35 off 40) comes down the track only to miss an arm ball. Three balls later, Simon Katich misses a leg-cutter and his leg stump is pegged back. Perth 57/2 after 10 overs.

16:30 (IST) Agar hits two consecutive fours of Rishi Dhawan. Perth 47/0 after 8 overs.

16:22 (IST) Rishi Dhawan starts well, bowls a restrictive line and the left-handers can only score a single. Perth 29/0 after 6 overs.

16:17 (IST) Harbhajan Singh fumbles while collecting the ball at the non-striker's end and fails to run Simon Katich out. Perth 28/0 after 5 overs.

16:10 (IST) First four of the innings, Ashton Agar cuts hard past point for four off Harbhajan Singh. Perth 12/0 after 3 overs.

16:06 (IST) Nathan Coulter-Nile to share the new ball, the ball at times is stopping and coming on to the bat.

16:03 (IST) Nice start from Harbhajan, gives away just a single in the first over. Perth 1/0 after 1 over.

16:00 (IST) All in readiness and it will be Harbhajan Singh to open the attack. Lanky left-hander Ashton Agar to face. Perth skipper Simon Katich is his partner.

 

Playing XIs:

Perth Scorchers: Simon Katich(c), Ashton Agar, Sam Whiteman, Marcus North, Hilton Cartwright, Ashton Turner, Tom Triffitt(w), Joel Paris, Brad Hogg, Jason Behrendorff, Michael Beer

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

Simon Katich: The wicket is dry and we want to get runs on the board. We are happy to bat first. We will look to improve our bowling. It has been a great learning experience for our lads. Brad Hogg plays today.


Rohit Sharma: We pretty much know what the equation is so we have decided that chasing would be a better idea. We hope to restrict them to a low total. Since batting well is important today, Glenn Maxwell is in for Mitchell Johnson.

 

Toss: Mumbai Indians skipper Rohit Sharma calls it correctly and will field against Perth Scorchers.

 

Match Preview

By the time Mumbai Indians take on Perth Scorchers in their last Champions League Twenty20 2013 Group A match at Feroz Shah Kotla in New Delhi on Wednesday (October 2) afternoon, they will know whether they have already been knocked out or are still in with a shot of making the semifinals.

Currently, Otago Volts are second in Group A with a net run rate of 0.869, while Mumbai, are third with a run rate of 0.09. A huge difference than can be negated if Mumbai beat Perth Scorchers by 49 runs, or with 34 balls remaining in the chase.

Mumbai are a team of big, costly stars, but they haven't looked as good as they are capable of. Rohit Sharma looked good in the game against Rajasthan, which Mumbai lost, with a steady 44, while Kieron Pollard impressed with the bat both against Rajasthan (42) and against Highveld Lions (31 not out). Dwayne Smith, meanwhile, stood out with a high-impact 63 against the Lions and has since bragged, "If I stay at the crease, I know there aren't many bowlers that can stop me from scoring."

That innings, however, was in Jaipur. The action has shifted to Delhi, and no one knows how the pitch will behave after the uncharacteristically heavy monsoon the city has experienced. And, as experience has taught us, even a close inspection of the pitch at Kotla is also, often, not enough to get a proper idea of its nature.

That's something everyone will be aware of, none more so than Sachin Tendulkar, who might well be playing his last match in the Mumbai Indians colours. He isn't in great form, having collected just 20 runs in two outings so far, and is, possibly, aware of the growing noises about his future. Dinesh Karthik and Ambati Rayudu are two other Mumbai batsmen who will worry about their form, having done precious little so far. (Read more)

Squads:

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

Perth Scorchers: Simon Katich (captain), Michael Beer, Hilton Cartwright, Liam Davis, Joe Mennie, Joel Paris, Ashton Turner, Sam Whiteman, Ashton Agar, Jason Behrendorff, Burt Cockley, Brad Hogg, Marcus North, Tom Triffitt (wicketkeeper), Adam Voges.

John Wright and Mumbai Indians hope for the best

A day before the last Champions League Twenty20 2013 Group A game - between Mumbai Indians and Perth Scorchers - not much of the talk was specifically about the match.

Partly because the worth of the match would be decided only after Rajasthan Royals and Otago Volts wrap up their fixture in Jaipur on Tuesday (September 1) night, and partly because it might well be Sachin Tendulkar's last game in Mumbai Indians' colours.

"We've already missed one game, which is proving problematic for us," said Wright. "Hope the Delhi weather is fine and we get a game tomorrow. We are well supported wherever we go. Hopefully that will be the same. We were all watching the match the other day (Sunday, when Otago beat Lions in the Super Over) and hoping the result goes our way. It's a situation a lot of us haven't been in. Let's hope for the best."

Wright, however, felt it would be a batting wicket, saying that that's what he had been told by the ground staff. "They have told me it will be a good batting wicket. We hope so. The last time we were here (during IPL 2013), it was a beautiful batting wicket. There might be a bit of movement with the weather being the way it is. But that might not be the case also. It's pretty good batting here generally. That will suit us. We have to bat really well to stand a chance."

The problem for Mumbai, in the two games they have played, has been that none of Tendulkar, Dinesh Karthik and Ambati Rayudu made many runs. Wright did argue that "we've only played two games; it's pretty hard in Twenty20", but that didn't change the fact that Mumbai have fallen short of expectations primarily because of their batsmen's failure. (Read more)

Justin Langer hopes for Sachin Terndulkar 'duck'

It's no secret that Australian cricketers over the years have respected Sachin Tendulkar more than anyone of his peers but when Perth Scorchers take on Mumbai Indians in a Champions League T20 match on Wednesday, coach Justin Langer would like one of his bowlers do an "Eric Hollies" to the Indian legend.

Hollies, an English leg-spinner was best known for having bowled Sir Don Bradman for a duck with a googly in latter's last ever Test match and Perth Scorchers coach Justin Langer is hoping that one among his spinners could pull off something similar when the Indian maestro comes out to bat.

"I hope we have a Hollies in our team tomorrow when we bowl to Sachin. Hollies wasn't that the name?" Perth Scorchers coach Langer smiled and asked the scribes to confirm the name of the English leggie.

"Well, I love watching Sachin bat and wish he never gets out. But tomorrow, I won't like him to score too many runs. Even at this age of 42 (40), he batted in the nets for two hours the other day. That was incredible," said Langer, who has played many times against Tendulkar, in Test matches in India and Down Under.

For Langer, "the toughest test for any Aussie cricketer is playing India in India." (Read more)