Mumbai : A batting masterclass from Sachin Tendulkar saw Mumbai Indians rise to the top of the IPL standings with a five-wicket victory over Chennai Super Kings at the Brabourne Stadium on Thursday.
Tendulkar's 72 was the cornerstone of Mumbai's successful chase of 181, the hosts overhauling the target with an over to spare. The little maestro's rich vein of form also saw him post his highest score in T20 cricket.
Tendulkar was a calming influence on fellow opener Shikhar Dhawan, who creamed 56 from just 34 balls to power Mumbai's initial burst. Dhawan cracked five fours and three sixes as he went about his run-coring in whirlwind fashion but Tendulkar displayed supreme control right through his 52-ball effort.
By the time Mumbai lost Dhawan and Saurabh Tiwary in quick succession, they were cruising along. Chennai bowlers pulled them back in the middle overs, but Tendulkar ensured smooth sailing for the hosts. Dwayne Bravo finished it off with the winning runs as Mumbai recorded their fourth victory, while Chennai tasted defeat for the fourth time.
Record partnership
Earlier, half-centuries from Suresh Raina and S. Badrinath powered Chennai to a healthy 180-2. Raina hammered an unbeaten 83 off 52 balls while Badrinath remained not out on 55 as the pair added an unbroken 142 runs for the third wicket, the highest third-wicket partnership in the IPL, after Mumbai captain Sachin Tendulkar had won the toss and inserted the opposition.
The visitors were given a typically quick start by Matthew Hayden, but Tendulkar's move to bring on Harbhajan Singh in the fourth over paid off immediately as the off-spinner removed the opener after he had raced to 20.
Chennai received a timely boost with the return of captain M.S. Dhoni, but the hard-hitting batsman didn't get a chance to bat with his side losing just two wickets.
Chennai Super Kings
Parthiv Patel b McLaren8
M Hayden lbw b H Singh20
S Raina not out83
S Badrinath not out55
Extras (lb 4, w 9, nb 114
Total (for two wickets in 20 overs)180
Fall of wickets: 1-32 (Hayden, 3.2 overs), 2-38 (Patel, 4.6)
Bowling: Ryan McLaren 4-0-23-1, Zaheer Khan 4-0-45-0, Harbhajan Singh 4 0 25 1, Dwayne Bravo 4-0-42-0, Lasith Malinga 4-0-41-0
Mumbai Indians
S Dhawan c Raina b Jakati56
S Tendulkar c Dhoni b Balaji72
S Tiwary lbw b Muralitharan2
R. Sathish b Joginder Sharma5
K Pollard b Muralitharan20
Dwayne Bravo not out14
Ryan McLaren not out1
Extras (lb 4, w 9, nb 1)14
Total (for five wickets in 19 overs)184
Fall of wickets 1-92 (Dhawan, 8.5 overs), 2-96 (Tiwary, 9.3), 3-120 (Sathish, 13.2), 4-159 (Pollard, 16.4), 5-172 (Tendulkar, 18.2)
Bowling: Albie Morkel 4-0-26-0, Lakshmipathy Balaji 4-0-50-1, Joginder Sharma 2-0-23-1, Shadab Jakati 4-0-30-1, Muttiah Muralitharan 4-0-32-2, Thissara Perera 1-0-19-0
Scoreboard
6.30 pm: King's XI Punjab vs Kolkata Knight Riders (Mohali).
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