IPL 2013: Mumbai Indians take second position after beating Pune Warriors India by 5 wickets

Mumbai Indians beat Pune Warriors India by 5 wickets at the Sahara Subrata Roy International Stadium and moved up to second spot in the points table.

Points Table | Scorecard | Schedule | Stats

Chasing a paltry target of 113, Mumbai won with seven balls to spare. Their ninth win of the Pepsi Indian Premier League 2013 put them on par with Rajasthan Royals on the points table, though Mumbai had a higher net run rate and were therefore second.

Deciding to bat first, Pune, who had made five changes, were in trouble straightaway. Aaron Finch checked his shot to give an easy catch to Dwayne Smith at short cover and Robin Uthappa shuffled across the crease to be adjudged leg before wicket within the powerplay overs.

Manish Pandey and Yuvraj Singh got together in the fifth over to stabilise the innings. Yuvraj opened his account with a flamboyant flick to the mid-wicket boundary off Lasith Malinga and later swept Pragyan Ojha for consecutive sixes to give the innings a push. Pandey showed maturity as the pair rotated the strike and took calculated risks to stitch a 59-run stand for the third wicket. For precisely 8.1 overs, they were in control before it all came crashing down in the space of five deliveries.

Pandey failed to connect with a knee-high full toss off Malinga off the last ball of the 13th over, and was caught at the mid-wicket fence by Ambati Rayudu for a run-a-ball 29. In the next over, Angelo Mathews responded to Yuvraj's call and attempted a suicidal run but failed to beat Sachin Tendulkar's direct hit from short third-man. After a ball, a classical off break from Harbhajan Singh hit Yuvraj, who was trying to play across the line, on the back leg. Asad Rauf took his time before bringing an end to Yuvraj's 29-ball innings that fetched him 33.

From 84 for 2, Pune were 85 for 5 by the 14th over and the innings lost direction from thereon. Mitchell Johnson and Malinga, who had accounted for Finch and Uthappa respectively, and Abu Nechim, finished with two wickets apiece to restrict Pune to 112 for 8.

Ashok Dinda, in his comeback game, produced a ripper as Dwayne Smith was bowled off the first ball of Mumbai's chase. Sachin Tendulkar chipped an easy catch to Manish Pandey at long-on off a straight delivery from Ajantha Mendis and Dinesh Karthik fell to an irresponsible shot off Yuvraj.

With Mumbai 40 for 3 by the eighth over, Rohit and Rayudu got together to play deft cricket and maneuvered the chase with some classical shots. Mathews took a smart catch at backward square leg to dismiss Rayudu for 26 but Rohit, who was out for 37 when victory was just a run away, and Glenn Maxwell, who was making his IPL debut after having been bought for 1 million US Dollars in the 2013 auctions, ensured that there were no more wobbles as Pune lost their ninth game in a row.