Juggernaut rolls into final

Till the time Royal Challengers Bangalore skipper Anil Kumble brought himself on in the 16th over of Mumbai Indianss innings,he was his intense self.

Till the time Royal Challengers Bangalore skipper Anil Kumble brought himself on in the 16th over of Mumbai Indianss innings,he was his intense self. With his typical fervour,he egged on his bowlers,who had kept the opposition batsmen quiet. But by the time Kumble completed the over,after conceding 17 runs,his demeanour had changed. Kumble now carried a sullen expression on his face as he left the bowling crease with sagging shoulders.

And as the Mumbai batsmen pounded on the misery,things just got worse for Kumble as powered by Ambati Rayudu,Saurabh Tiwary and Kieron Pollard,Mumbai Indians steamrolled into the IPL III final with a comprehensive 35-run victory on Wednesday.

It had become almost mandatory during Mumbai Indianss league campaign that every single time Sachin Tendulkar failed at the top,Rayudu and Tiwary would come to the rescue. With Mumbai reduced to 77/4 against a disciplined Bangalore bowling attack,the onus was once again on the young duo to bail their team out. And they didnt disappoint this time either,putting on a 67-run stand off just 49 balls.

While it was Rayudu,who stabilized the innings with a 38-ball 40,Tiwary once again added the impetus,taking on the likes of Kumble,Jacques Kallis and Dale Steyn,hitting each over the boundary ropes. Tiwary remained unbeaten on 52 off 31 balls,which included four sixes.

While the tournament has proved to be the coming of age for Tiwary and Rayudu; the third season of the IPL was set to be the grandest of all stages for Pollard to exhibit his big-hitting skills. Pollard smashed three sixes in his unbeaten 13-ball 33 to leave the Bangalore with an uphill task at hand.

He wasnt over for the day. Pollard diffused Bangalores challenge with three crucial wickets in the middle,finishing with impressive figures of 3/17.

Rahul Dravid sported a similar exasperated expression to that of his captain earlier in the day during the 10th over of Bangalores chase,as Robin Uthappaafter raising the Royal Challengerss hopes with an assault against Harbhajan Singh fell to an awkward hoick off Pollard and was caught in the deep. Dravid was ironically run-out of the very next ball,as Mumbai despite Tendulkar ending up with five stitches on his hand went one step closer to glory.