Chennai: Lasith Malinga's four-wicket haul scripted a thrilling 10-run win for Mumbai Indians over Somerset in the second semi-final of the Champions League Twenty20 on Saturday.
Somerset innings:
20th over: The death rattle continues as Malinga castles two more Somerset batsman: first Murali Kartik and then Nic Compton. And Mumbai wins - by 10 runs. It's an all-India final between the Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bangalore. Didn't look like it in the middle of the tournament. But it's real!
19th over: James Franklin pressed into service and Franklin has possibly turned the match decisively in Mumbai's favour: first by taking out Butler (19) and then the dangerman Kieswetter (62). To top it all, just seven runs in the over. Now 15 needed off the last over bowled by Malinga. Has to be Mumbai now!
17th over: Somerset hit back as Kieswetter deposits Abu Nechim for a six and four off the first two balls, and in the process brings up his half century. Butler's four makes it 16 off the over: 29 needed off 18 balls. Malinga the key for Mumbai and Kieswetter for Somerset.
16th over: It's boiling down to the two overs of Malinga. Won't be easy for Somerset to score for Somerset. It's drifting Mumbai's way at 116/3 with four overs to go.
14th over: The skipper springs into action for Mumbai Indians with the much-needed wicket of James Hildreth (39). The ball goes off his pad to hit the stumps. Match in the balance at 103/3 as the 83-run partnership comes to an end.
12th over: Close shave for Hildreth. The batsman checked his shot at the last minute off Pollard's slower one. The ball lobbed over Pollard's wide-stretched left hand. No damage done for Somerset. The score is 88/2.
9th over: Mumbai have kept a tight leash on the scoring but Somerset may be playing it intelligently by keeping wickets in hand. Hildreth and Kieswetter have now taken the score to 64/2 after Malinga's early strikes.
6th over: End of powerplay! Somerset are 35/2. Can say Mumbai are in control at this stage. For Somerset, somebody has to play a blinder. Will it be Kieswetter? Possible.
3rd over: And Malinga on target once again! This time it's Roelof van der Merwe who hears the death rattle behind him. The scorecard wears a worrisome look now for Somerset at 17/2 after while chasing 161 to win.
1st over: Lasith Malinga once again gets Mumbai Indians the early breakthrough, uproots Peter Trego's middle stump with his lethal yorker. Somerset rocked at 5/1.
Mumbai Indians innings:
20th over: Another eight runs added to the Mumbai Indians total as the final score reads 160/5. Challenging enough?
19th over: 20 runs off the over as Yadav and Sathish get Mumbai what's needed: three fours and a six in the penultimate over bowled by skipper Thomas. Mumbai 152/5.
17th over: Somerset skipper Alfonso Thomas does the trick! Takes out the dangerous Kieron Pollard (24) to put his side in front. Pollard's wild swing fails to make a contact as the wickets behind him are disturbed. It's 122/5.
15th over: Pollard and Suryakumar Yadav are sizing up the Somerset bowlers for a final assault at 108/4 with five overs to go. Should be exciting!
13th over: Big Blow! Blizzard departs! Kartik goes through the Aussie's defences, ending his innings at 54. Now it's more even at 93/4. Slow bowlers doing the trick for Somerset. All Mumbai eyes on Pollard now, though!
12th over: Van der Merwe gets Somerset the much-needed breakthrough as he sends James Franklin (6) back lbw. The scorecard now reads Mumbai Indians 91/3 after 12 overs. Still a healthy score!
11th over: Blizzard reaches fifty with a six off Murali Kartik. It has taken him just 34 balls to reach there, which now swells Mumbai's score to 86/2.
10th over: Blizzard and Franklin are doing it nicely here. Mumbai have set themselves up at 76/2 at the halfway stage.
8th over: Just when it looked Ambati Rayudu (19) will finally make a significant contribution, he steps down wildly to a Dibble delivery and the wild swish takes the edge to settle into Kieswetter's gloves. Moreover, just two runs off the over makes it a good one for Somerset. It's 62/2.
5th over: It's now Adam Dibble who is at the receiving end from Blizzard. Six followed by a four! Mumbai off and running at 44/1.
4th over: Kirby gets Somerset their first breakthrough. Sarul Kanwar (2) finds deep square leg to perfection off the first ball of third over. But that hasn't stopped Blizzard who hits the Englishman over mid-wicket for a six. Mumbai 31/1.
2nd over: After a sedate first over, Mumbai Indians take off through opener Aiden Blizzard who hits Steve Kirby for three fours. Mumbai 16 for no loss.
Earlier, Mumbai Indians captain Harbhajan Singh won the toss and elected to bat first against Somerset in the second semi-final of the Champions League Twenty20 in Chennai on Saturday.
While Somerset went into the match with an unchanged playing eleven, Mumbai decided to leave out Andrew Symonds and brought in Suryakumar Yadav.
Playing without the likes of Sachin Tendulkar and Rohit Sharma, the Mumbai Indians did well to reach the business end of the tournament. Although they faltered in their last match against New South Wales, Mumbai Indians did enough to make it to the semis.
Somerset, led by veteran South African Alfonso Thomas, kept one IPL side out of the last four stage (Kolkata Knight Riders) and qualified on top of the other (Royal Challengers Bangalore) for the semi-finals.
Considering that Somerset had to get through the qualifying competition, reaching the last four stage of the main draw is certainly a fine achievement and a tribute to their all-round strength besides the smart, if not spectacular, cricket they have played so far.
Teams:
Somerset: Craig Kieswetter, Peter Trego, Roelof van der Merwe, Jos Buttler, James Hildreth, Nick Compton, Arul Suppiah, Alfonso Thomas (captain), Adam Dibble, Murali Kartik, Steve Kirby
Mumbai Indians: Aiden Blizzard, Sarul Kanwar, Suryakumar Yadav, Ambati Rayudu, James Franklin, Kieron Pollard, Rajagopal Sathish, Harbhajan Singh (captain), Lasith Malinga, Abu Nechim, Yuzvendra Chahal
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