The once-considered underdogs of the Indian Premier League have now undergone some drastic change and it seems to be of the thought, as only the addition of one player cannot do wonders like this one. The Mumbai Indians have got their sixth consecutive win in the IPL which has been done by no other team till now. They defeated the Deccan Chargers by a convincing 25 runs.
The Deccan Chargers, after this match are now out of the tournament practically. No mathematical calculation can bring them back in the race. This match too, they were seen to be somewhat sloppy on the field and left a few shots un-fielded. It was their decision only on winning the toss, to field first. This gave the Mumbai team to build a score and pressurize their opponents.
The Mumbai team had a good start with their team openers doing considerably well. Jayasuriya made 36 runs off 15 balls whereas Sachin scored 23 runs off 19 balls. This initial kick was very important for the team. Nayar then, on number four, scored 38 runs off 24 balls. Lower down the order, Bravo who was playing his last match in the season, too scored a good 30 runs off 17 balls. The combined efforts of all players, rather than depending on one got the team a total of 178 runs in the 20 overs.
The Deccan Chargers however could not manage to get such an opening like the opponents. Captain Gilchrist came with Afridi to open the game. The latter could not do any wonders today and was dismissed on a duck. Gilchrist too followed suit very fast and got out on 13 runs. it was only when Rao came in at number five that the team got some stability. He made 57 runs off 38 balls along with Teja who scored 37 runs. The team however finished on 153 runs. Bravo obtained three wickets against the Deccan Chargers and for this and his batting performance; he was awarded the man of the match in the last match that he played.
