END OF OVER:19 | 20 Runs | Kochi: 184/2 | RR: 9.68
- Ravindra Jadeja25 (11b)
- Brad Hodge11 (7b)
- Ali Murtaza4-0-37-0
- Lasith Malinga4-0-42-2
Phew. That was some game. That will be all from me, Abhishek Purohit, for the moment. Sid Ravi will make sense of this match in his bulletin, which you can read. Till the next game tomorrow, bye.
Er, Brendon McCullum is the Man of the Match. Brendon: "It was a big chase, we were hopeful it would skid on with a bit of dew. This is the way I play, always instinctively, some times it comes off, sometimes it does not. I had Mahela for company today who batted well. The pitch was good to bat on."
Mahela Jayawardene: "We needed this. We have been playing well. We needed to finish off these matches. Fantastic knock from Sachin but we knew it was chaseable if we batted sensibly and Brendon played brilliantly. Whenever we wanted to accelerate we did so against certain bowlers. We can improve in certain areas, we will keep working hard. We are excited about the players we have. [On Murali missing out] It is a good combination we have got, we will see the combination and conditions."
Sachin Tendulkar: "I thought we had enough to defend, but McCullum and Mahela batted well. The dew was always going to be there but I do not want to give excuses. They deserved to win. I don't think I could have done any different with my bowlers, we could have fielded well, taken those catches. I thought they fielded better than us, we could not match up. [On his fitness] I am ok to go for another 40 overs."
Hang around for the presentation.
Ravindra Jadeja: "We had lost the first two games and this was a close one as well, I was trying to play as straight as possible. I was trying to play the big shots whenever I got the opportunity, We did not want to give a wicket to Malinga, even if we could not get the runs off him. Mahela and Brendon had taken it so close, we wanted to finish it off and generate some momentum."
Mahela Jayawardene is smiling widely, what a chase from Kochi. Sachin's maiden T20 hundred in vain, maybe he could have tried Rohit, given that Pollard was being thrashed anyway. Maybe that would not have made a difference, Mahela and Brendon set it up with a 128-run opening stand, Malinga went for many today, and there is the case that Mumbai are too dependent on him for the wickets. Jadeja finished it with two big hits, coming in a pressure situation.
Abhijit Menon: "Everytime Tendulkar scores a ton these days, The Team loses the game. " They tied the England game during the World Cup, no?
Deepak: "Its a Perfect VISHU gift for all Keralites. Beating the might of Sachin's Devils in their own backyard is some achievement. It proves, Kochi is no run-over and can give sleepless nights to others. Whoz Next!!"
Rahul: "Mumbai are too dependent of Malinga. They have 5 games after May 5, the day SL are recalling their players, one of them being Malinga. This is bad news for Mumbai. They need to find a good replacement and soon."
srik: "This shows why Ravindra Jadeja is such a awesome player. He should get 1 more chance in the national T20 squad."
Balu: "Its funny that Mahela hit century and his team lost with match ending with SIX by Dhoni, Today Sachin hit century and his team lost and match ended with SIX."
Teja: "Why people talk only about Ravindra Jadeja and forget about the knock played by Mr. McC? Runs on the board, away game, Facing slingas, not an easy task to anchor the innings and score 81. Take a bow, Baz!!"
Boris: "Sachin's batting today was awesome, but in all fairness, I thought his captaincy was rather ordinary today. In particular, the way he managed and used his bowling options wasn't impressive. Rohit and Symonds were brushed aside despite the others getting hammered, a significant error that could well have turned the game."
END OF OVER:18 | 8 Runs 1 Wkt | Kochi: 164/2 (19 runs required from 12 balls, RR: 9.11, RRR: 9.50)
- Brad Hodge8 (5b)
- Ravindra Jadeja8 (7b)
- Lasith Malinga4-0-42-2
- Kieron Pollard3-0-43-0
Hodge comes in now
BB McCullum b Malinga 81 (60b 10x4 2x6) SR: 135
Pollard has gone for 43 in three overs. Wonder why Sachin has not turned to Rohit. Davy is standing up to Malinga, I can't believe this
END OF OVER:17 | 13 Runs | Kochi: 156/1 (27 runs required from 18 balls, RR: 9.17, RRR: 9.00)
- Ravindra Jadeja8 (7b)
- Brendon McCullum81 (59b)
- Kieron Pollard3-0-43-0
- Munaf Patel3-0-15-0
sajan: "Pity people still do not acknowldge what Jadeja is capable. He has shown that time and again." Pollard in to the attack, he has gone for plenty already
END OF OVER:16 | 9 Runs | Kochi: 143/1 (40 runs required from 24 balls, RR: 8.93, RRR: 10.00)
- Ravindra Jadeja8 (6b)
- Brendon McCullum68 (54b)
- Munaf Patel3-0-15-0
- Harbhajan Singh4-0-33-0
