It’s a story about two islanders, Sanath Jayasuriya and Dilhara Fernando. That, it was a rain-curtailed, inconsequential match, mattered little to the duo. For them it was payback time. The bulky bowler and the veteran southpaw had goofed up in the last match. The pacer had first bowled a wide and then gifted away two runs of the final delivery of the match. Jayasuriya had failed to collect the return throw as Rajasthan batsmen completed the winning runs, thereby packing off Mumbai Indians from the IPL.

So the script unfolded today as if by design — beginning with Fernando, ending with Jayasuriya. In the process, the Sri Lankans redeemed themselves after having buckled under pressure in their previous tie. The result: Mumbai Indians beat Bangalore handsomely by nine wickets.

When the 28-year-old pacer came in to bowl as first change, Bangalore were 34 for no loss after five overs with Mark Boucher and Sreevats Goswami at the crease. Fernando claimed two in the over — the South African pulling the bowler over mid-wicket and mistiming his shot to give Robin Uthappa a simple catch. Then in the final ball of the over, he had birthday boy Misbah-ul-Haq caught at slip by Tendulkar.

Fernando would have added another had Takawale not dropped Goswami. But the islander did not have to wait too long. In the first ball of his next, Goswami’s ambitious attempt to loft straight over the bowler’s head could not find the right elevation, and ended with Ashish Nehra. The hosts slumped from 34 for no loss to 39-3 in 10 deliveries. The Sri Lankan’s first spell read an enviable 2-0-3-3.

... contd.