Rajasthan Royals 95 for 3 (Botha 45*, Munaf 2-18) beat Mumbai Indians 94 for 8 (Botha 3-6, Amit 2-14, Menaria 2-20) by seven wickets Rajasthan Royals were on top throughout their match against Mumbai Indians and ended up with a seven-wicket victory on a dry and cracked pitch in Jaipur. Rajasthan have now won 11 of their last 14 games at home.
Mumbai's bowlers ensured Rajasthan didn't race to the meagre target of 95, but there was never any real trouble as Johan Botha followed up his 3 for 6 with the ball with 45 with the bat. Lasith Malinga started in his usual toe-crushing fashion while Munaf Patel was also accurate; his only wayward delivery was drilled through mid-on by Shane Watson. Munaf got an early breakthrough with a slower ball when Rahul Dravid scooped a catch to Sachin Tendulkar at midwicket.
Ali Murtaza, who was brought in in place of Abu Nechim, was bowling a difficult line and length and with the pitch keeping low and not allowing the ball to come on he was almost impossible to get away. Watson and Botha saw off his first two overs and although the required-rate was never going to trouble them, they picked the balls to hit well.
Botha slog-swept Harbhajan for six while Watson hit Pollard for a straight six over his head. They handled Murtaza with greater ease in his second spell and the chase was turning into a stroll. Tendulkar brought Malinga back into the attack, and after three full balls, he banged one in short to Watson who was caught behind off an edge.
Ross Taylor joined Johan Botha and the pair concentrated on rotating the strike, which was all they needed to do. Two fuller deliveries were punished with Taylor stroking a ball through the covers for four and Botha lofting one over midwicket. Botha took Rajasthan to the brink and was bowled with just five runs left to get for the win. Ashok Menaria arrived at the crease and cut the first ball he faced for four, before some luck, in the form of a dropped catch by Kieron Pollard gave Rajasthan the winning runs off the first ball of the 19th over.
It was always going to be tough for Mumbai to defend a score in which none of their batsman scored more than 17.
Presentation:
Sachin Tendulkar: "Tough pitch, different to what we played on in Mumbai. Don't want to take the credit away from Rajasthan, who bowled and fielded well. It was two-paced, the ball kept low. Lost early wickets, were not able to rotate strike. 130 would have been a challenging total. We were not able to accelerate in the middle overs."
Shane Warne: "We generally play these conditions well, we know what to expect. Bowlers executed plans exceptionally. The intensity was fantastic. We spent a lot of time planning, we put it all together. Our planning was very good, and our bowlers were good enough. Our start was a bit slow but we didn't want to give Malinga early wickets, so our batting plan worked as well. Johan's definitely grabbed his opportunity ... he's experienced and is a smart cricketer."
Johan Botha is the Man of the Match for taking 3 for 6 and scoring 45. "I was a little nervous, bowling so late, but it came good for me. (While batting) I tried not to over hit the ball, play as straight as possible. It was stopping and the odd one was skidding low, if they bowled straight it was difficult to score."
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