The lip-smacking contest turned out to be a one-sided affair with Mumbai scoring an emphatic 35-run victory at the DY Patil Stadium on Wednesday. Pollard cracked 33 not out form 13 balls and then took three wickets.
After Saurabh Tiwary and Ambhati Rayadu along with the big-hitting Pollard lifted the Mumbai Indians to an impressive 184-5, Bangalore could manage only 149-9.
Fantastic performance by Rayudu and Saurabh, they show lot of character and mental strength, their shot selection was quite good. Rayudu accelerate slowly and on the other hand Saurabh thrash RCB bowling attack and then final burst from Pollard, he was exceptional, not in the batting but also in bowling and fielding.
Bangalore were always behind the asking rate with Mumbai taking a tight lid over the scoring except for a brief period when Robin Uthappa (26 0ff 13) opened his shoulders.
Jacques Kallis' sudden slump with the bat as he could manage only 11, allowing Tendulkar to keep the coveted Orange Cap. Rahul Dravid (23 off 22), who had opened the batting, and Kevin Pietersen (19 off 14)held the fort but the absence of big hits forced Pietersen to step out to Harbhajan Singh but the wily tweaker outfoxed the Englishman by bowling it down the leg side, Ambhati Rayadu did the rest.
It was the tenth over that handed Mumbai a very clear advantage. Uthappa, for once, miscued one off Pollard to hole out in the deep. The very next ball, Dravid was run out when he hesitated for a second in the middle of the pitch in what should have been an easy single.
From there on, the run-rate kept climbing up and Bangalore slipped further down. Virat Kohli (nine), Manish Pandey (five) and Praveen Kumar (one) departed in quick succession. Ross Taylor (30 not out off 29 balls) struck ocassional blows but he was kept in check by the sharp Mumbai bowling.
Bangalore will now play the losing team of the second semi-final between the Chennai Super Kings and Deccan Chargers. Mumbai will play the winner of that game in the final on Sunday.
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