IPL: Mumbai Indians Beat Kolkata To Go Second

Kolkata Knight Riders' had their sixmatch winning streak finally put to an end by Mumbai Indians at the EdenGardens. Rohit Sharma produced a batting performance as pleasing andpulverizing as one could ever hope to see in the IPL. The KKR line up could notget the big hits against a disciplined bowling performance by MI as they wentdown by 27 runs.

Harbhajan Singh won the toss and hadno second thoughts in batting first. Herschelle Gibbs finally recovered from afinger injury, and promptly joined Tendulkar at the top of the order. Sachinthough got dismissed for a cheap score. Rohit Sharma came in at number 3, andstarted timing the ball well. Gibbs who seemed to be feeling his way in at thestart, too got into his groove. The two of them then went about dismantling theKKR attack. Rohit was especially lethal, while Gibbs chose to play secondfiddle. Their partnership yielded 167 runs, as Rohit stroked to his first IPLcentury. Gibbs too went to a half century, as MI finally hope to have settledat the top of the order. Sunil Narine who was spinning a web around Gibbs inthe first three overs too got punished in the last over.

KKR chase had a disastrous beginningas their talismanic skipper - Gambhir got bowled by Munaf Patel.Manvinder Bisla coming in at the top in place of McCullum failed to do anybetter. Kallis and Tiwary stopped the slide and began to resurrect the inningsin the face of some nagging bowling. The latter however got out for 27 and incame Yusuf Pathan - the only man who could have won them the match. Pathan andKallis did play till the end of the innings, and managed a big hit or two. Butthe MI bowling was too accurate and the task a bit too stiff for them to comeanywhere close to the target.

The win puts MI in the safe zone,and in the hunt for a second place position.