Mumbai Indians wins the opening encounter
CHENNAI: Mumbai Indians defeated defending champions Chennai Super King easily in the opening game of the IPL- Vth edition. Chasing an easy target of 113, Mumbai Indians started well with their new buy Levi performing exceptionally in his first match at IPL. Levi made 50 in just 35 balls and was supported by other batsman very well with Franklin making 25 runs in 30 balls. MI achieved the target in just 16.5 overs.
Earlier, Harbhajan won the toss and invited CSK to bat. They stated well and at one stage were comfortably placed at 69 for 2. But after that they lost wickets in a hurry including three run outs. Ojha and Pollard perform well in the bowling taking 2 wickets each. It was Ojha’s debut match for Mumbai Indians E Levi was selected Man of the Match for his crisp half century.
Levi is the Man of the Match. Levi: “It came on nicely on to the bat. One or two bounced a lot. It was unbelievable [opening with Sachin]. He was very easy to talk to.”
Harbhajan: “It was a good toss to win, the wicket is unpredictable, Levi played a terrific innings. It’s a very important thing in this format [fielding].
If Dhoni would have stayed, another 30-40 runs would have been difficult on this wicket.
Dhoni: “Not a typical Chennai wicket. Quite happy with the bowling, but as usual, another rusty start to the tournament. Maybe 140-145 would not have been difficult. Levi batted well though.”
Sources: Cricinfo
