Tweet
Mumbai Indians 160 for 5 (Blizzard 54, Sathish 25*) v Somerset
Live scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Aiden Blizzard lit up the first five overs of the innings, Suryakumar Yadav and R Sathish the last five, and Mumbai Indians made their way to a total that seemed slightly over par on a track whose behaviour fell somewhere between the earlier mud-wrestling arenas produced in Chennai and the usual Twenty20 highways. Blizzard sped away to 54 off 39 when the ball was hard and new, the Somerset left-arm spinners used the lack of pace in the middle overs and Alfonso Thomas removed Kieron Pollard before he could inflict major damage, but then Yadav and Sathish surprised Somerset with a 43-run partnership off 22 balls.
The new ball and the last few overs remained the main scoring parts. The first five overs brought MI 44 runs, but the next two sets yielded 32 each, and the last five went for 52. Blizzard was mindful of how crucial runs off the new ball were going to be. He enjoyed the pace on the new ball, and tried to make use of all quick length balls. Adam Dibble came on and took the pace off with his cutters, but Blizzard was quick to spot his quicker ball whenever he bowled it. Off the 20 runs that Dibble conceded in his four overs, Blizzard took 10 in two hits, both off quick and full deliveries.
Kartik, and later van der Merwe, applied the brakes. van der Merwe trapped James Franklin with the second ball he bowled. The mid-overs' choke was well and truly on when a frustrated Blizzard slogged all over a straight delivery from Kartik. He had scored 20 off the last 18 balls he had faced. With MI 92 for 4 in the 13th over, the usual importance of Pollard was evoked.
Pollard promised with two sixes, but once again deceived when a returning Alfonso Thomas claimed him. However, two men who have different unflattering histories with MI redeemed the innings. It has been argued that Sathish wouldn't even make the side but for the injuries. One of those "injured" players was Yadav, whose injury had allowed MI five overseas players but whose subsequent playing for other teams had brought MI embarrassment. Now back ahead of the unimpressive Andrew Symonds, he put together a busy partnership with Sathish.
Even as Yadav tried adventurous and cute shots - one of them, a reverse-paddle off Thomas, brought him a four - Sathish keps matters straight and drove straight and down the ground. He picked the slower bouncer superbly to pull it for six. The last three overs spoiled the figures of Thomas and van der Merwe, who had played big part in pulling MI back.
Live scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Aiden Blizzard lit up the first five overs of the innings, Suryakumar Yadav and R Sathish the last five, and Mumbai Indians made their way to a total that seemed slightly over par on a track whose behaviour fell somewhere between the earlier mud-wrestling arenas produced in Chennai and the usual Twenty20 highways. Blizzard sped away to 54 off 39 when the ball was hard and new, the Somerset left-arm spinners used the lack of pace in the middle overs and Alfonso Thomas removed Kieron Pollard before he could inflict major damage, but then Yadav and Sathish surprised Somerset with a 43-run partnership off 22 balls.
The new ball and the last few overs remained the main scoring parts. The first five overs brought MI 44 runs, but the next two sets yielded 32 each, and the last five went for 52. Blizzard was mindful of how crucial runs off the new ball were going to be. He enjoyed the pace on the new ball, and tried to make use of all quick length balls. Adam Dibble came on and took the pace off with his cutters, but Blizzard was quick to spot his quicker ball whenever he bowled it. Off the 20 runs that Dibble conceded in his four overs, Blizzard took 10 in two hits, both off quick and full deliveries.
Kartik, and later van der Merwe, applied the brakes. van der Merwe trapped James Franklin with the second ball he bowled. The mid-overs' choke was well and truly on when a frustrated Blizzard slogged all over a straight delivery from Kartik. He had scored 20 off the last 18 balls he had faced. With MI 92 for 4 in the 13th over, the usual importance of Pollard was evoked.
Pollard promised with two sixes, but once again deceived when a returning Alfonso Thomas claimed him. However, two men who have different unflattering histories with MI redeemed the innings. It has been argued that Sathish wouldn't even make the side but for the injuries. One of those "injured" players was Yadav, whose injury had allowed MI five overseas players but whose subsequent playing for other teams had brought MI embarrassment. Now back ahead of the unimpressive Andrew Symonds, he put together a busy partnership with Sathish.
Even as Yadav tried adventurous and cute shots - one of them, a reverse-paddle off Thomas, brought him a four - Sathish keps matters straight and drove straight and down the ground. He picked the slower bouncer superbly to pull it for six. The last three overs spoiled the figures of Thomas and van der Merwe, who had played big part in pulling MI back.