Mumbai Indians survive Pathan scare

Yusuf Pathan scored the fastest century in the IPL to get the Royals within touching distance of a win but Lasith Malinga bowled an excellent last over under extreme pressure.

Mumbai Indians won the toss and elected to bat first, hoping to post a big total and put the opposition under pressure. They got off to a flying start, scoring 69 runs in the Quick start overs. The Royals struck back with two wickets in quick succession. But Saurabh Tiwary and Ambati Rayudu kept scoring at a brisk rate. The duo was confident in their approach and dispatched the bowling to all parts of the ground. They went on to share a 110 run fourth wicket partnership and Mumbai Indians looked set for a grand finish with 170 on the board, going into the Extreme Performance overs. Despite losing a few wickets, the Indians managed to post 212 for six at the end of their 20 overs.

The Royals got off to a slow start in context of the game, with only 39 runs in the Power Play overs while also having lost the wickets of Swapnil Asnodkar and Naman Ojha. The Indians inflicted further damage with the wickets of Graeme Smith and Abhishek Jhunjhunwala but things turned around quickly from that point. Yusuf Pathan was on top of his game and went after the bowling right from the start. The Royals added 62 runs in a span of just three overs and the Indians were struggling to find a solution to their problems with Harbhajan Singh out injured. Despite a couple of quiet overs from Zaheer Khan and Malinga, Pathan kept the Royals in the game, with 51 runs in the next three. Pathan was run out in and unfortunate situation, which left the match hanging in the balance.

It came down to the last over with the Royals needing 12 runs and Malinga was entrusted with the ball. He kept his composure under extreme pressure, conceding just 8 runs and picking up two wickets, giving the Indians victory by just 4 runs.

Yusuf Pathan was adjudged Man of the Match for his record 100 runs off just 37 balls. He achieved it with a Batting Momentum of 270.