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Rohit Sharma (Gallo Images)
New Delhi - Rohit Sharma has blazed his way to a superb half-century to lead the Mumbai Indians to a six-wicket win over the Perth Scorchers and a place in the semifinals of the Champions League Twenty20 in their match at the Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium in Delhi on Wednesday.
According to the supersport.com website, Mumbai, chasing Perth’s 149 for six, needing to win within 14.2 overs to move into second place in Group A and overtake the Otago Volts on net run-rate.
Sharma played a captain’s knock as he slashed his way to 51 not out off just 24 balls as Mumbai reached 152 for four after 13.2 overs to clinch a semifinal spot behind the eventual group winners, the Rajasthan Royals.
Mumbai lost Sachin Tendulkar (0) and Glenn Maxwell (10) early on in their run-chase but in-form opening batsman Dwayne Smith kept Mumbai in the hunt with a belligerent 48 off 25 balls with five fours and three sixes.
Sharma and Kieron Pollard (23) then took the match away from Perth with Sharma smashing three fours and four sixes during his match-winning innings.
Pollard was bowled by left-arm wrist-spinner Brad Hogg but Ambati Rayudu (14 not out) made sure that Mumbai cruised to their winning total with an over to spare as he slammed back-to-back sixes off the bowling of left-arm spinner Ashton Agar to end the match.
Nathan Coulter-Nile and Pragyan Ojha had earlier shared five wickets as Mumbai restricted Perth to a gettable total.
Both men took two wickets in an over before paceman Coulter-Nile ended with 3-19 off four overs while left-arm spinner Ojha captured 2-17 off two overs.
The left-handed Sam Whiteman provided some late impetus to Perth’s innings with an impressive 51 not out off 32 balls on a slow, low pitch with his half-century coming courtesy of an outside edge for four off the penultimate ball of the innings.
Mumbai won the toss and elected to field and Perth made a solid start with Agar and Simon Katich (13) putting on 55 runs for the first wicket off 9.2 overs.
But Ojha, in his first over, bowled both openers in the space of four balls with Agar departing for a well-played 35 off 40 deliveries.
Hilton Cartwright (28) and Whiteman began to take the attack to Mumbai’s bowlers with a third-wicket stand of 58 off 5.4 overs.
However, Australian Coulter-Nile struck twice in two balls when he yorked Cartwright before trapping Ashton Turner leg-before to reduce Perth to 114 for four in the 16th over.
The 21-year-old Whiteman, making his T20 debut, struck six fours and two sixes during his innings but Coulter-Nile returned to the attack in the 19th over when he had Marcus North caught at long-on before seamer Rishi Dhawan bowled Tom Triffitt (1) in the last over of the innings.
Teams:
Mumbai Indians: SR Tendulkar, DR Smith, KD Karthik (wicketkeeper), RG Sharma (captain), KA Pollard, GJ Maxwell, AT Rayudu, NM Coulter-Nile, Harbhajan Singh, R Dhawan, PP Ojha
Perth Scorchers: AC Agar, SM Katich (captain), SM Whiteman, MJ North, HWR Cartwright, AJ Turner, TIF Triffitt (wicketkeeper), JS Paris, JP Behrendorff, GB Hogg, MA Beer
According to the supersport.com website, Mumbai, chasing Perth’s 149 for six, needing to win within 14.2 overs to move into second place in Group A and overtake the Otago Volts on net run-rate.
Sharma played a captain’s knock as he slashed his way to 51 not out off just 24 balls as Mumbai reached 152 for four after 13.2 overs to clinch a semifinal spot behind the eventual group winners, the Rajasthan Royals.
Mumbai lost Sachin Tendulkar (0) and Glenn Maxwell (10) early on in their run-chase but in-form opening batsman Dwayne Smith kept Mumbai in the hunt with a belligerent 48 off 25 balls with five fours and three sixes.
Sharma and Kieron Pollard (23) then took the match away from Perth with Sharma smashing three fours and four sixes during his match-winning innings.
Pollard was bowled by left-arm wrist-spinner Brad Hogg but Ambati Rayudu (14 not out) made sure that Mumbai cruised to their winning total with an over to spare as he slammed back-to-back sixes off the bowling of left-arm spinner Ashton Agar to end the match.
Nathan Coulter-Nile and Pragyan Ojha had earlier shared five wickets as Mumbai restricted Perth to a gettable total.
Both men took two wickets in an over before paceman Coulter-Nile ended with 3-19 off four overs while left-arm spinner Ojha captured 2-17 off two overs.
The left-handed Sam Whiteman provided some late impetus to Perth’s innings with an impressive 51 not out off 32 balls on a slow, low pitch with his half-century coming courtesy of an outside edge for four off the penultimate ball of the innings.
Mumbai won the toss and elected to field and Perth made a solid start with Agar and Simon Katich (13) putting on 55 runs for the first wicket off 9.2 overs.
But Ojha, in his first over, bowled both openers in the space of four balls with Agar departing for a well-played 35 off 40 deliveries.
Hilton Cartwright (28) and Whiteman began to take the attack to Mumbai’s bowlers with a third-wicket stand of 58 off 5.4 overs.
However, Australian Coulter-Nile struck twice in two balls when he yorked Cartwright before trapping Ashton Turner leg-before to reduce Perth to 114 for four in the 16th over.
The 21-year-old Whiteman, making his T20 debut, struck six fours and two sixes during his innings but Coulter-Nile returned to the attack in the 19th over when he had Marcus North caught at long-on before seamer Rishi Dhawan bowled Tom Triffitt (1) in the last over of the innings.
Teams:
Mumbai Indians: SR Tendulkar, DR Smith, KD Karthik (wicketkeeper), RG Sharma (captain), KA Pollard, GJ Maxwell, AT Rayudu, NM Coulter-Nile, Harbhajan Singh, R Dhawan, PP Ojha
Perth Scorchers: AC Agar, SM Katich (captain), SM Whiteman, MJ North, HWR Cartwright, AJ Turner, TIF Triffitt (wicketkeeper), JS Paris, JP Behrendorff, GB Hogg, MA Beer
