Bowlers call the shots

The men with the ball in hand have been extras in this format, one that gives all its punchlines to the batsmen. Today, the Mumbai Indians changed the script at the DY Patil Stadium. They dismissed table-toppers Rajasthan Royals for 103 — the lowest score of a team batting first in IPL — and completed a n easy seven-wicket win with 4.5 overs to spare.

The win has not only given the team — languishing at the bottom of the table not so long ago — some momentum, but also gave their bowlers a template to find their feet in this T20 tournament. The lowest scores by teams batting first in the IPL have been 110 by the Deccan Chargers and 109 by Chennai Super Kings.

At Eden Gardens, the wicked wicket was responsible for Hyderabad’s batting collapse while Jaipur saw a freak spell by the freaky Sohail Tanvir wreck Chennai’s line-up. Today, there was nothing hideous about the pitch, nor did any Mumbai bowler run through the side.

Graeme Smith was out-foxed right at the start. Wicket-keeper Yogesh Takawale stood up to the stumps even as Shaun Pollock bounded in, and Smith — going for a flick — over-balanced to be stumped.

Dhawal Kulkarni got two wickets with surprise short-pitch deliveries — Ravindra Jadeja gloved one to the ‘keeper trying to fend one off, while Shane Warne skied an attempted pull. Rohan Raje and Dwayne Bravo both were rewarded for the old-school slower delivery. Bravo even came round-the-wicket earlier in the innings to clean bowl the dangerous Shane Watson.

Things are looking good for Mumbai now. With three wins in a row, and Sachin Tendulkar expected to play their next game in a week’s time, the bowlers have ensured that the icon comes back in happier times.