MI skipper Tendulkar admits his teammates panicked when the situation demanded cool heads after Abhishek blitz
MI skipper Tendulkar admits his teammates panicked when the situation demanded cool heads after Abhishek blitz
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IT could not have been scripted better. The drama was unbelievable and in the end, Rajasthan Royals, the winners of the 2008 edition, came up trumps when they beat the Mumbai Indians by two runs in a nail-biting Indian Premier League game at Sahara Stadium Kingsmead last night.
It was the third time in two days that the capacity crowd at this Durban venue witnessed dramatic finishes.
On Wednesday, the Deccan Chargers, who were on a roll to victory, lost seven wickets for 12 runs in 17 balls and lost to the Delhi Daredevils by two wickets.
Then, early yesterday evening, Bangalore Royal Challengers recorded a two-wicket win with the winning runs coming in the final over.
High drama
The drama continued into second match as the never-say-die approach of the Rajasthan Royals kept alive their hopes of a semi-final pot.
Even Lalit Modi, chairman and commissioner of the IPL, sitting on the edge of his chair in the Presidential Suite of Kingsmead last night, was rooting for a Rajasthan Royals win over the Mumbai Indians.
"You know I'm a Rajasthani and I have an affinity to the Royals," he said with a huge smile. "I have to support them and I'd love to see them win."
And his wish was answered. The Royals held their nerve when the Mumbai Indians were on the verge of a victory they needed four runs off the last over with three wickets in the hut but they froze.
Munaf Patel bowled the last over and he picked up the wicket of Dhawal Kulkarni (1) of the second ball and then there were two run outs with the scoreboard not moving at all.
Mumbai Indians were gutted. They have not won a single close game in two years and are walking on thin ice for a place in the semi-finals.
"We panicked," said Sachin Tendulkar, who scored 40 in an unusual batting line-up. "We just froze when the situation demanded cool heads. It is sad that we lost a close one bowling and now a close one batting.
"Now we have a lot of hard work ahead to make it into the semi-finals."
Warne, who was never going to play because of a hamstring injury, strapped himself and had injections surprising the Mumbai Indians.
His stunning 3-24 of four overs proved to be telling in the greater scheme of the tie and his captaincy proved to be superb.
"I'd like to compliment everyone in the team for a wonderful performance credit to Munaf Patel for that fantastic final over," the great Australian leg-spinner said.
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