DWAYNE SMITH stroked an impressive half-century before falling to fellow West Indian Sunil Narine to set the stage for Mumbai Indians’ five-wicket victory over Kolkata Knight Riders yesterday in the Indian Premier League.
Man-Of-The-Match Smith smashed five sixes and three fours in a knock of 62 off 45 balls as Mumbai Indians (162-5 in 19.5 overs) chased down Kolkata’s challenging total of 159 for six to win by five wickets with one ball to spare at Eden Gardens.
Harbhajan Singh, who was flayed for 26 runs in an expensive first over of the match, turned from villain to hero when he hit a six in the last over from Rajat Bhatia that broke the hearts of the home fans.
Apart from Smith, stand-in captain Rohit Sharma, with two sixes and a four in 34 off 28 balls, and Kieron Pollard, who hit two fours and a six in 33 off 24 balls, weighed in with valuable contributions.
Narine, who had earlier bowled Sachin Tendulkar for just two and also held a return catch to remove Sharma with his final ball, finished on the losing side with three wickets for just 17 runs in his four overs.
Summarized scores: Kolkata Knight Riders 159-6 in 20 overs (J. Kallis 37, M. Tiwary 33, E. Morgan 31, G. Gambhir 26; P. Ojha 2-21, S. Malinga 2-25, M. Johnson 2-26). Mumbai Indians 162-5 in 19.5 overs (Dwayne Smith 62, R. Sharma 34, K. Pollard 33; S. Narine 3-17). Mumbai Indians won by five wickets.
