Table-toppers hit new low

The Australian left-handers first cut-shot arrived at a rapid pace a few inches above the Trinidadians colossal frame. All Pollard managed was to palm it over his head in goal-keeper fashion and send it packing towards the point fence. The second arrived closer to his bread basket and looked destined to land safely into his pouched hands,only to slip out and hit the grass. Probably it was a case of Pollard being inhibited by the injured finger on his left hand. The third was the most inexplicable of the lot.

Hussey,not prepared to fail in his quest to be caught by Pollard,gave it an almighty thwack and on this occasion the ball didnt even graze the fielders hands. It instead went through the gate and smashed straight into his face,leaving him with a bloodied nose. The unthinkable had just occurred but all Pollard could respond with was a wry smile before leaving the field. The Mumbai Indians and their fans,not surprisingly,had been left in a state of disbelief. It wasnt just a unique case of a batsman being dropped by the same fielder in the same position off three consecutive deliveries.

It was more the identity of the guilty party. After all,Pollard for them was the superman who could make outrageous catches look like childs play.

Having been robbed of three opportunities to get rid of his compatriot,Johnson though now had acquired the perfect fillip to run in even harder for his second over. Just like he did in Mumbais previous 4pm game at home,the tattooed left-arm pacer rediscovered his swing. And just like Pune Warriors in the previous game,the Chennai top-order too found it too hot to handle.

Murali Vijay was first to go,playing on a full delivery outside off-stump. By then,Pollard had returned to the field. And as fate would have it,the ball once again flew in his direction. Arguably,this was his toughest chance,as the leading-edge off Suresh Rainas bat forced Pollard to dive forward and get his fingers under the dipping ball. But he wasnt letting go of this opportunity at redemption. Parity was restored. And as he emerged with the ball safely clasped in his grasp,Pollard didnt hold himself back when it came to displaying his relief. There was no respite for Chennai,however,as Subramanian Badrinath was trapped in front two balls later by a sharp in-swinger from Johnson,leaving the visitors in disarray at 10/3.

Strangely,the rest of the Chennai batsmen seemed in too much of a hurry to reach their lowly target of 140 set by Mumbai. One by one they crashed and burned. And having sunk to 54/9,the ignominy of the lowest-ever IPL score looked imminent for the two-time champions. Ravindra Jadeja kept the flame burning for a little longer. But this was a task out of reach even for Jadeja,despite his supposed mythical super powers.

Comprehensive winners

Eventually,it was Mumbai who ran away comprehensive winners by 60 runs in the low-scoring and turgid contest that carried an unmistakable air of the bizarre for a major part of the three hours.

Earlier in the day,Jadeja stick to his superhero image with the ball anyway,getting rid of three Mumbai Indians stalwarts,including Sachin Tendulkar and Pollard. While his 3/29 ran the hosts ragged,Ben Laughlins two overs in the end infused momentum in the Mumbai innings along with turning the tide in their favour. And despite Pollards moments of madness,Rohit Sharmas men kept their nerve and ran their luck to climb to third in the IPL VI table.