Mishra's hat-trick helps Hyderabad pip Pune

Amit Mishra's four wickets in the penultimate over, which included a hat-trick, helped Hyderabad beat Pune, by eleven runs, in the Indian T20 tournament on Wednesday.

Hyderabad, who were put in to bat, faltered at the start and lost four wickets in the first five overs. Biplab Samantray and Karan Sharma led a fight back with Samantray scoring a run-a-ball 37 before holing out to long-off.

Following his dismissal, the onus fell on Mishra to bail his side out of trouble, and he did. His 30 from 24 balls - which included three fours - helped the visitors post 119 in their 20 overs.

Pune's openers - Robin Uthappa and Aaron Finch - came hard at Hyderabad at the start. The duo smashed Dale Steyn for 22 from his first two overs. But they fell thereafter, from consecutive deliveries, for 38.

The size of the target, and the pace of the start, meant Pune had the advantage for most of their innings. In the 19th over, Mishra wrestled the advantage for Hyderabad, by claiming four wickets. He first dismissed, Pune's captain, Angelo Mathews, then - two balls later - Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Rahul Sharma and Ashok Dinda.

"I did not try for any tricks, I wanted to keep it simple," Mishra said. "I did not think of any other thing, just bowled to get the wickets and I got a hat-trick. Cameron White said to me that I should go for wickets and I did just that. It's a great feeling, I am happy to help my team win today. The team is working together and supporting each other."

Hyderabad's captain Cameron White said that picking wickets regularly was the key. "When the ninth wicket went down, I looked up and thought we had a chance now. But Mishy's execution to deliver those three balls was first-class. If Pune had played the remaining balls, they would have won," White said.

Ajinkya Rahane's unbeaten 68 from 54 balls helped Rajasthan beat star-studded Mumbai, by a massive 87-run margin, on Wednesday.

Rajasthan's openers, Shane Watson and Rahane, got their side off to a flying start as they methodically took apart Mumbai's main threat, Lasith Malinga, to lead Rajasthan to 58 after six overs.

Watson's departure, in the eighth over, didn't prove a dampener as Dishant Yagnik, who had been promoted up the order, kept attacking Mumbai. He began with a streaky four past the keeper, but then became far more assured as he thrashed Kieron Pollard over midwicket for six, and drilled several boundaries to point before falling for a 24-ball 34 while attempting a reverse-sweep.

After his departure for 34, Rahane took over by ensuring his side do justice to the strong platform that had been laid in the first ten overs.

He anchored the innings with his typically orthodox strokes but attacked, when needed, and smashed three fours in the final to push his side's final total to 179.

After heroics from their batsmen, Rajasthan's bowlers kept Mumbai on the back foot by dismissing the openers, Sachin Tendulkar and Ricky Ponting, in the first three overs. They continued taking wickets regularly. In all, James Faulkner picked up three wickets, Ajit Chandila and Stuart Binny two each to ensure Mumbai fold at just 92.

"I wanted to bat till the last over," Rahane said after winning the Man-of-the-Match award. "Watson was a crucial player for us and even Yagnik did a good job. Everyone batted well."

His captain, Dravid, said the side played intelligent cricket. "Watson's start and Rahane batting through was sensational. The team showed a lot of cricketing intelligence and a very good execution of skills. The team spirit and energy was, for me, the stand out," Dravid said.