Mumbai Indians got the better of defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders by five wickets in the 33rd match of the sixth edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) at the Eden Gardens here tonight with just one ball to spare.
Opting to bat first, Knight Riders made 159 for five from their 20 overs and Mumbai Indians then made 162/5 in 19.5 overs to register their fourth win in seven outings so far.
They are now placed sixth on the table, while KKR, with only two wins from seven engagements, are in the seventh spot.
All nine teams will play each other twice in the league before the top four advance to the play-offs.
Royal Challengers Bangalore are at the top of the table, followed by Chennai Super Kings, Sunrisers Hyderabad and Rajasthan Royals. Pune Warriors and Delhi Daredevils are languishing in the eighth and ninth spots.
Opener Dwayne Smith set the stage for Mumbai Indians' win, topscoring with 62 that came off 45 balls and included five huge sixes and three fours. He was chosen Man of the Match.
The packed Eden Gardens Stadium, which hoped to see the iconic Sachin Tendulkar get a big score on his 40th birthday today and gave him a standing ovation when he came out to bat with Smith, were disappointed when he made just 2 before he was bowled by Sunil Narine in the fifth over with the total at 29.
While Smith acclerated the run rate by greeting left-arm spinner Iqbal Abdulla with two huge sixes in the fourth over, Dinesh Karthik could make only 7 before he was trapped leg before wicket by Sri Lankan Sachithra Senanayake. At the end of ten overs, Mumbai Indians still needed 81 runs from the remaining 60 balls.
In the 11th over, Smith departed, caught by substitute Brendon McCullum off Narine to make it 82 for three. McCullum almost messed it up, but held on to the ball.
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Rohit Sharma, captaining the side in the absence of Ricky Ponting, who stayed out of today's match after a poor run this season, steadied the innings in the company of Kieron Pollard.
They put on 50 for the fourth wicket off just 30 deliveries before Sharma was caught and bowled by Narine and became his third victim. Sharma made 34 off 33 balls with the help of one four and two sixes.
Pollard, who made 33 off 24 balls with two fours and a six, took the side to the threshold of victory, was out off the first ball of the last over, sent down by Rajat Bhatia, caught by Manoj Tiwary.
At the beginning of the over, Mumbai Indians still needed 10 runs, and te big-hitting Pollard's departure raised worries in their camp.
Harbhajan Singh, who relishes such moments, lifted Bhatia over mid-wicket for six with a huge swing, and the Mumbai supporters were on their feet. A single later, two runs were still needed off the last two balls, but Ambati Rayudu clinched the issue by smacking a full toss towards extra cover for four.
For KKR, Narine took three for 17 from his four overs, while Senanayake and Bhatia picked up one each.
Earlier, Jacques Kallis topscored for KKR with 37, which included four fours, while Manoj Tiwary made 33, with two fours and a six, and Eoin Morgan 31, inclusive of four fours and a six.
Skipper Gautam Gambhir (26) and opener Yusuf Pathan (19) were the other Kolkata batsmen who got into double figures.
For Mumbai Indians, Pragyan Ojha, Harbhajan Singh and Mitchell Johnson took two wickets each.
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Opting to bat first after rains delayed the start of the match by about half an hour, KKR got off to an explosive start, getting 26 runs from the first over sent down by Harbhajan Singh, with Pathan hitting the first three balls for fours and the fourth one for a six. A no-ball later, Gambhir smashed him for another six.
Mitchell Johnson, however, got rid of Pathan with his second ball, which the batsman edged to Harbhajan Singh at first slip. Pathan's 19 came off six balls and included three fours and a six.
Gambhir and Kallis added 41 for the second wicket before Pragyan Ojha had the former caught by Harbhajan Singh, this time off an outside edge. Gabhir's 26 was made off 20 balls and included two fours and a six.
Kallis kept the scoreboard moving in the company of Tiwary but, at 92, he fell, trying to smash one from Ojha through the covers and sending the ball straight to Rohit Sharma, who captained the side in the absence of Ricky Ponting, who sat out of today's game after a poor run with the bat this season.
Tiwary and Morgan added 54 for the fourth wicket before the latter top-edged a delivery from Johnson to Sharma at mid-wicket.
Malinga bowled Tiwari with a superb yorker off the fourth ball of the last over and with the last ball claimed Debabrata Das (6).
Scoreboard:
Kolkata Knight Riders
Yusuf Pathan c Harbhajan Singh b Johnson 19
Gautam Gambhir c Harbhajan Singh b Ojha 26
Jacques Kallis c Sharma b Ojha 37
Manoj Tiwary b Malinga 33
Eoin Morgan c Sharma b Johnson 31
Debabrata Das b Malinga 6
Rajat Bhatia not out 1
Extras (b 1, lb 3, w 1, nb 1) 6
Total (for six wickets in 20 overs) 159
Fall of wickets: 1-27 (Pathan, 1.1 overs), 2-68 (Gambhir, 7.6), 3-92 (Kallis, 11.4), 4-146 (Morgan, 17.6), 5-158 (Tiwary, 19.4), 6-159 (Das, 19.6)
Bowling:
Harbhajan Singh 2-0-35-0
Mitchell Johnson 4-0-26-2
Lasith Malinga 4-0-25-2
Pragyan Ojha 4-0-21-2
Kieron Pollard 2-0-14-0
Yuzvendra Chahal 4-0-34-0
Mumbai Indians:
Dwayne Smith c sub (McCullum) b Narine 62
Sachin Tendulkar b Narine 2
Dinesh Karthik lbw Senanayake 7
Rohit Sharma c & b Narine 34
Kieron Pollard c Tiwary b Bhatia 33
Ambati Rayudu not out 13
Harbhajan Singh not out 7
Extras (lb 4) 4
Total (for five wickets in 19.5 overs) 162
Fall of wickets: 1-29 (Tendulkar, 4.5 overs), 2-64 (Karthik, 7.5), 3-82 (Smith, 10.6), 4-132 (Sharma, 16.6), 5-150 (Pollard, 19.1)
Bowling:
Lakshmipathy Balaji 4-0-24-0
Iqbal Abdulla 4-0-35-0
Sunil Narine 4-0-17-3
Sachithra Senanayake 4-0-50-1
Rajat Bhatia 3.5-0-32-1
