Five takeaways from a day when Mumbai’s emerging young batting star teamed with a reliable West Indian allrounder to trump Yusuf and Kolkata in the end
Devashish Fuloria in Mumbai14-May-2015The returnees ball
Gautam Gambhir pulled out a nifty move at the toss, announcing the return of Morne Morkel and Shakib Al Hasan to the XI. Both had been first-choice players at the start of the tournament but had missed out on some games for different reasons: Morkel was rested as Kolkata Knight Riders went in with a variety of spinners and Shakib made a trip home for the Pakistan series.The selections made sense on two counts. First, the race for a playoff spot had too many contenders and Knight Riders were still a win away from confirming their berth. Second, and more importantly, Lendl Simmons had to be countered early. Mumbai Indians had been a different team since the return of Simmons, who had provided them with strong starts and had totalled four half-centuries in nine innings.Morkel, unleashed on the Mumbai Indians openers, tested Simmons with a variety of deliveries but it was the bounce that made the batsman uncomfortable. Shakib, too, was brought in as early as the third over. A run of seven overs between the two not only brought three top-order wickets, they also pushed Mumbai Indians into defensive mode. Mumbai Indians were 50 for 3 after eight overs. Knight Riders 1, Mumbai Indians 0.Hardik who?
Despite the cacophony from the speakers, a quiet prevailed the moment Sunil Narine bowled Rohit Sharma with his best slow-motion impression of a Dale Steyn delivery – the ball angling in, then turning away past the outside edge to hit the top of off. Mumbai Indians were struggling on 79 for 4 in the 12th over.A few spectators, who possibly missed Hardik Pandya’s match-winning hitting in Chennai, were pinning their hopes on a Kieron Pollard fightback while wondering why Pandya was sent ahead of Harbhajan Singh.Pollard, after a slow build, hit the first ball of the 16th over over long-on. A blitz seemed imminent. It came, but not from Pollard, who played just six balls in the last four overs. Pandya dug into Umesh Yadav, hitting the bowler for four consecutive boundaries. The best of the lot was the last one, a back-foot steer behind point off a short and rising delivery that had a stamp of Rohit Sharma’s languidness. In the next over, he effortlessly flicked Narine over cow corner for a huge hit.Lean and tall, quick, visible and energetic on the field, a stud in one ear, an expressive persona that attracts the camera to him, Pandya has the makings of another IPL star if he can keep that long handle going.Pathan Power
The giant screen inside the Wankhede Stadium flashed ‘Pathan Power’ as Yusuf Pathan smashed a half-volley from Lasith Malinga over midwicket with a brutal hit in the 19th over. That shot brought up Yusuf’s first half-century this season and only his third for Knight Riders. Fair to say those are poor numbers, but Gambhir has always backed Yusuf.Yusuf’s game at times seems limited, even for Twenty20s. He can hit half-volleys a long way but bowlers are smart enough to not feed him with those. Mumbai Indians, however, were guilty of serving him a fair few, helping the batsman find his groove. Despite losing wickets from the other end, Knight Riders would have felt confident before the last over because of Yusuf’s ultra-calm exterior.Pollard, the Mumbai man
Halfway through the chase, Knight Riders were in complete control. Mumbai Indians were being made to run around by Shakib’s pulls. The deafening screams of “Mumbaaai, Mumbai” had also died down after the 10 pm curfew. Enter Pollard. Fielding at long-on, he took it upon himself to get the crowd fired up by asking them to get behind the team.At the second strategic break, right after Andre Russell’s dismissal, Ricky Ponting was at the centre, passing on instructions to the old boys, Harbhajan Singh and Rohit Sharma. Later, Rohit said it had been decided then that if it came to it, Pollard would be the one to bowl the last over.Pollard connects with the Wankhede crowd, perhaps better than anyone else in the team. He has delivered numerous knockout punches on this ground in the past. It may not have come with the bat today, so it had to be with the ball.Others had missed it, but Pollard had not. He bowled it short, he bowled it slow and Yusuf was gone. Then a series of slower balls and Mumbai Indians were back in the play-off race.The cost of a thriller
Mumbai Indians’ fans get behind their team like no other group. They buy flags and t-shirts from the pavements outside the ground from kids not yet affiliated with Education for All, Mumbai Indians’ corporate social responsibility programme. They pay exorbitant prices for seats that leave you with a back pain because they are small and upright. The ones who want to be closest to the field pay even more but get sat behind metal meshing, always squeezing through to get a good view, but it’s probably meant to let them not miss their rush hour local train ride too much. The toilets may be leaky and the stink unbearable, but hey, isn’t the whole of Mumbai a stink-hole? They all come here for the loud music anyway. The crumbling staircases leading in and out of the premier venue just four years removed from renovations for the World Cup are possible deathtraps, but what’s a little slip when you get to see your team, blindingly blue and shiny gold, win a thriller.
P.S. Sachin Tendulkar still rules the Wankhede. As the camera focused on Amitabh Bachhan, the actor, being interviewed on the sidelines, out went a roar. But the moment it moved to the tiny man standing next to the tall actor, it rose to deafening levels. “Saaachin, Sachin,” still echoes.
