Mumbai Indians never was in doubt as it subdued Southern Express with more than a fair measure of comfort in the Oppo Champions League Twenty20 at the Shahid Veer Narayan Singh stadium here on Sunday.
The holder, with nine wickets in hand and over three overs to spare surpassed the Sri Lankan squad’s 161/6 with an imposing 165 for one.
Not only did the left-right opening pair of Mike Hussey and Lendl Simmons lay a firm foundation in pursuit of their target, they made sure their scoring was at a quicker pace than their opponents. The run-rate climbed steadily, reaching 7.7 midway through the chase, towards a required rate of 8.50. By now entrenched in the middle, the openers collared the bowling with Hussey finding his famed touch. Fatigue got the better of him perhaps, when his pull was picked up by square leg Angelo Perera off Pathirana but not before he had a treble of sixes and five fours in a 40-ball 60. Kieron Pollard could only consolidate from the platform Hussey and Simmons had so industriously built. Simmons finished with an unbeaten 76 embellished with 11 bounaries and a six.
In the fitness of things, the Mumbai Indians skipper signed off with two successive sixes to seal a comfortable victory. Simmons was declared ‘man-of-the-match’.
All at seaSouthern Express seemed all at sea on being asked to bat. Its batsmen fell with monotonous regularity, beginning with opener Kusal Perera’s golf shot ballooning to Shreyas Gopal in the region of mid-on. A little later Yashodha Lanka left in identical fashion, Ambati Rayudu clutching the catch.
Danushka Gunathilaka was picked up at point by Harbhajan, while skipper Jehan Mubarak was castled by Pragyan Ojha about halfway through the innings.
Seekuge Prasanna had sized up the bowling well, carting leggie Gopal into the sight screen and over the midwicket fence off successive deliveries.
In a horrible mix-up, Prasanna scurried to the striker’s end, while Angelo Perera showed no inclination to leave the crease’s safer confines. Farveez Maharoof made the most of some lax Mumbai fielding, helping himself to a brace of sixes and three boundaries in an unbeaten 22-ball 41.
