MI post huge 202/6, RR on hunt

Mumbai Indians’ batsmen fired in unison to post a massive 202 for six against a hapless Rajasthan Royals in the final of the Champions League Twenty20 on Sunday. Royals too began the chase in aggressive manner. At the time of going to press, Royals were 102/1 after 10 overs with Ajinkya Rahane(40*) and Sanju Samson (51*) at the crease. After a solid start by opener Dwayne Smith (44) and a valuable 33 off 14 balls by skipper Rohit Sharma in the middle, Glenn Maxwell’s 14-ball 37 cameo in the end took the IPL champions past 200-run mark. This is the highest total for Mumbai Indians in Champions League Twenty20. It was a team effort with Maxwell adding 41 runs for the sixth wicket with Dinesh Kartik (15 not out) in 2.2 overs towards the fag end. For the Royals, Pravin Tambe was the only impressive bowler with figures of 4-0-19-2. Put in to bat by Rajasthan Royals, the in-form opener Smith gave Mumbai Indians a perfect start, hitting a six over deep mid-wicket in the third ball of the very first over to set the tone. The other opener, Tendulkar, who is playing his final Twenty20 match, took an over to get settled down before he opened up. He started off with a four in James Faulkner’s over, a perfectly timed cover drive. The 40-year-old right handed batsman then followed it up with two successive boundaries in the first two deliveries off Shane Watson’s over before the ball crashed into his off-stump to cut short his innings that saw him score a 13-ball 15, including three hits to the fence. Even as the senior batsman walked back into the pavilion in coloured clothes for one last time, the full house crowd at Feroze Shah Kotla gave him a standing ovation.