NEW DELHI – Lasith Malinga grabbed five wickets in a superb exhibition of fast bowling to set up Mumbai Indians’ eight-wicket win over Delhi Daredevils in an Indian Premier League match on Sunday.
The Sri Lankan, known for bowling accurate yorkers, finished with 5-13 off 3.4 overs as Sachin Tendulkar’s Mumbai Indians dismissed Virender Sehwag’s Delhi Daredevils for 95 in the Twenty20 tournament. Naman Ojha (29) and Venugopal Rao (26) were the main contributors for Delhi, who could not even bat their full quota of 20 overs. Five batsmen failed to open their accounts in a dismal batting performance.
Mumbai did not face any difficulty in achieving a modest target, winning their opening match with more than three overs to spare at the Ferozeshah Kotla ground in New Delhi. Tendulkar (46 not out), who added 68 for the unfinished third-wicket stand with Rohit Sharma (27 not not), ended the match when he drove seamer Irfan Pathan through the covers for a four.
Malinga jolted Delhi with two wickets in three balls when he bowled Australian David Warner and local boy Unmukt Chand in his opening over to reduce the hosts to 11-2. Delhi suffered a big setback when captain Sehwag was run out for 19 following Tendulkar’s direct-hit at the striker’s end. Malinga then returned for his second spell to get two more wickets in one over, again in the space of three deliveries, when he bowled Rao and South African Morne Morkel.
The fast bowler ended the innings when he had last-man Ashok Dinda caught by New Zealander James Franklin at mid-off. India off-spinner Harbhajan Singh, who opened the attack, finished with 2-14 off three overs.
Brief scores
Delhi Daredevils 95 in 17.4 overs (N. Ojha 29, V. Rao 26; L. Malinga 5-13, H. Singh 2-14) lost to Mumbai Indians 99-2 in 16.5 overs (S. Tendulkar 46 not out, R. Sharma 27 not out) by eight wickets.
Ab de Villiers spoils Kochi party: AB de Villiers smashed a quickfire 54 as the Royal Challengers Bangalore spoilt the Indian Premier League debut of Kochi Tuskers Kerala with a six-wicket win on Saturday.
Chasing a stiff 162, Bangalore overhauled the target with eight balls to spare in the high-scoring thriller at the Nehru Stadium, hosting its first IPL match, with de Villiers 40-ball unbeaten half-century the pick of the batting.
Bangalore looked in trouble at 137-4 in the 18th over but de Villiers held his nerve and Asad Pathan hit three fours in a row to pull off a fine win for the team, which is owned by multi-millionaire liquor baron Vijay Mallya.
Batting first, Kochi rode on a rollicking 80-run opening stand between Brendon McCullum and Venkatsai Laxman to pile up 161-5 off 20 overs.
McCullum, the first century-maker of the IPL, hammered 45 off 32 balls and Test specialist Laxman carted a 26-ball 39 with two fours and two sixes to underline his worth in the shortest format of the game.
New Zealand left-arm spinner Daniel Vettori was the most impressive among the Bangalore bowlers, giving away just 17 runs while taking one wicket in his four overs. Kochi, led by Sri Lankan Mahela Jayawardene, is one of the two debutant teams in the this year’s lucrative Twenty20 competition alongside Pune Warriors.
Scores:
Kochi Tuskers Kerala 161-5 in 20 overs (B. McCullum 45, V. Laxman 36, B. Hodge 27) lost to Royal Challengers Bangalore 162-4 in 18.4 overs (AB de Villiers 54 not out, M. Agarwal 33) by six wickets.
Malinga fires Tendulkar’s Mumbai to victory
