Video Highlights : Sachin Tendulkar 1st Fifty of IPL 5 (74 Runs From 44 Balls)
Sachin Tendulkar (74) slammed his first half-century of the season and shared a 126-run stand with Rohit Sharma (60) to lay the foundation for the win but regular strikes brought Chennai back in the match.Chennai had put up a challenging 173 for eight after being invited to bat as their top and middle-order batsmen batted superbly with Murali Vijay top-scoring with his 41.
Mumbai were handsomely placed at 144 for one in the 16th over before Chennai stormed back in splendid style to reduce the home team to 159 for 8 with four balls left.The wicket of Tendulkar, who struck 11 fours and a six in his excellent innings, triggered the collapse as seven wickets fell for just 15 runs which almost put Mumbai on the brink of defeat.West Indian Smith pulled it around with his splendid, unbeaten 24 in 9 balls, that included 2 sixes and as many fours.
Tendulkar and Rohit's partnership had virtually looked to have sealed Chennai's fate on a splendid batting track before the sensational collapse.The duo had cut to size the Chennai attack that looked clueless on how to stop the rampaging second wicket pair. Rohit hit eight boundaries, including two sixes.Tendulkar departed in the 16th over, caught brilliantly at short extra cover by Francois du Plessis off R Ashwin when 30 runs were needed and what appeared to be a comfortable task became difficult with a spate of wickets including that of Rohit in the 18th over.
Also See : Pictures : Sachin Tendulkar 1st Fifty of IPL 5 (74 Runs From 44 Balls)