Professional Lions outclass Mumbai Indians

A cool and composed innings by Neil McKenzie sealed the game for the Highveld Lions against the superstar Mumbai Indians at the Wanderers in Johannesburg. Neil McKenzie and de Kock put on a splendid partnership of 121 runs for the third wicket, which completely outclassed the Mumbai Indians in their opening game.

The run chase looked a bit scratchy for the Lions, after they lost two early wickets inside 6 overs, with only 37 runs on the board. It was Neil McKenzie who showed his experience at the center, and also guided young de Kock to secure a win for the Lions convincingly by 8 wickets.

Mumbai Indians had their chances in the match, as the asking rate crept up to over 9.00 runs per over at one point in the match. It was Johnson, Harbhajan and Malinga who were tightening the screws, though they failed to pick up a wicket. The blunder made by Harbhajan Siingh was giving the 18th over to Kulkarani, which shifted momentum to the Lions, and they gained much-needed confidence in that particular over, and subsequently overcame the Mumbai Indians.

The Lions had no hesitation in bowling first, as they had seen all the teams bowling first after winning the toss, given that it’s difficult to defend in South Africa. Lion’s bowlers however, did not get the lateral movement from the surface as Smith and Tendulkar made the most of it. It was the first time in this year’s Champions League that a team had taken on the attack in the first 6 overs despite losing two wickets. Even after losing two wickets, Mumbai Indians managed to strike fours and also kept the scoreboard ticking. It was Dirk Nannes and Phangiso, who kept the check on the Mumbai Indians batsmen, as both were pretty economical in their four overs, and also picked two crucial wickets of MI.

Rohit Sharma, however, managed to find form as he was scoring at a run a ball, and at the other end, Johnson, who was promoted up the order found it difficult against the spinner Phangiso. When Rohit Sharma was dismissed for 27, Mumbai Indians would have hoped for a better innings from Pollard. Pollard struck a couple of fours in his innings of 11, but was completely yorked by Pakistani pacer Sohail Tanvir and with that, Mumbai Indians’ chances of reaching the 160-run mark ended. However, a late cameo came from Dinesh Karthik, who managed to strike some delightful fours, helped Mumbai Indians cross the 150-run mark. Mumbai finally ended their innings after several hiccups at 157 runs for the loss of 6 wickets, which included 24 extras in the allotted 20 overs.

Lions had to chase at more than 7.80 runs per over, which meant that they required a good start from their openers Bodi and Peterson. They however, were in a spot of bother when they lost two wickets for 37 runs inside 6 overs. Then came in Neil McKenzie, who showed all his skill alongside de Kock to seal the game for their side. Despite the run-rate crossing more than 10.00 per over in the final 6 overs, McKenzie targeted the 14th over of Pollard and the 19th over from Kulkarani, which helped the Lions inch closer towards the MI total. At last, McKenzie and de Kock won the game for Lions with 7 balls remaining.

The Lions played thoroughly professional cricket, and they handled the pressure brilliantly. If they can continue this good work, it will be hard for any team to beat this side comprehensively.