Peterson does a Pietersen

Switch-hits turn the table as Mumbai,needing 32 runs in two overs,clinch improbable win

Not many at the PCA Stadium would have ventured far from their seats during the evenings final strategic break. With Mumbai Indians needing to score 52 in 24 balls,there was an excited anticipation,the kind usually associated with those queuing up for a roller coaster ride,in the stands.

The home team,Kings XI Punjab,rooted for their death over specialists Azhar Mahmood and Piyush Chawla to seal the game while the visitors from Mumbai hung their hopes on thin threads,courtesy their last action heroes Rohit Sharma and Ambati Rayudu.

Eventually,those slender strands proved to be strong enough. They somehow survived the rough final ride. Mumbai won with a ball to spare. Needing 5 runs in the last over,and 2 from the final two balls,Rayudu 34 from 17 balls sent a screaming cover drive off a late swinging Mahmood ball across the fence to be the man with the widest smile in the final frame of the thrilling game. But in the din of on-field celebrations,the sea of blue that erupted from the dug out didnt forget Robin Peterson,whose switch hits-aided 16 from 7 balls had turned the game on its head.

The final four overs of the game witnessed the kind of ups and downs that sees finger nails disappear. Mumbai needed to score 13 in every over and with Sharma and Rayudu at the crease,two big hits in six balls didnt seem overtly impossible. As for the Kings XIs stand-in skipper David Hussey,his options were clear. The spinners,Bharghav Bhatt and Chawla,and the pacers Parvinder Awana and Mahmood,each had one over left. All Hussey needed to do was to get the sequence right.

He started with the least experienced Bhatt. Sharma and Rayudu saw this as an opportunity but they failed to take advantage. Despite a free hit in the over,the spinner conceded 12. The status quo was maintained and the tension didnt fade in either of the two dug outs.

Twist in the tale

After spin,Hussey went for Awanas pace. A full toss on Sharmas legs ended up in the middle rows and MI had a dream start to the 18th over. It seemed all too familiar as the 24-year-old Mumbai batsman seemed all set to pull off yet another Houdini act. The next ball saw the games first twist as Sharma was caught at point. A ball later Awana deceived Harbhajan Singh as Kings XI was on way to record a home win. At 137/6,MI needed 32 from 12 balls. With Sharma gone,the task seemed onerous.

Thats when a modest South African all-rounder, known around the world more for his stingy left-arm spin walked in. But Peterson was to do a Kevin Pietersen,the batsman responsible for adding the word switch hit to the cricketing lexicon. Peterson turned a left-hander for the first two Chawla deliveries and sent the ball to the vacant mid-wicket boundary,or covers in case one goes by his official status as an LHB. He followed it with a conventional slog sweep that sailed over the fence. Rayudu too joined the party as he hit two copy book lofted shots to send the ball sailing overs the fence. The tally from the over went up to 27 and the game was as good as over. The MI were screaming with joy after the roller coaster ride while Chawla must have only felt nausea.