'Shut ur mouth and just step aside'
Plays of the day from the Champions League match between Mumbai Indians and Lions in Jaipur
Siddarth Ravindran
27-Sep-2013
Sachin Tendulkar didn't pick the slower one from Sohail Tanvir • BCCI
The carry
The greenish tinge on the pitch suggested that the fast bowlers will enjoy themselves in Jaipur. Evidence of that came as early as the first over as a short ball dug in by Mitchell Johnson took off - it was about chest high as it passed the batsman but then soared over the leaping wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthik and bounced only once before thudding into the advertising hoardings. Not the usual sort of one-bounce four.
The greenish tinge on the pitch suggested that the fast bowlers will enjoy themselves in Jaipur. Evidence of that came as early as the first over as a short ball dug in by Mitchell Johnson took off - it was about chest high as it passed the batsman but then soared over the leaping wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthik and bounced only once before thudding into the advertising hoardings. Not the usual sort of one-bounce four.
The slower one
Sachin Tendulkar's final T20 competition hasn't quite gone to plan so far. His franchise has billed their whole campaign this tournament as a tribute to him, but he hasn't been at his best with the bat. Today was no different as in his brief stay, he shuffled around in the crease and played some ungainly strokes. His misery ended when Sohail Tanvir slipped in a slower ball that Tendulkar didn't pick at all - he tried to adjust his shot late but ended up playing down the wrong line and a moment later the off stump was out of the ground.
Sachin Tendulkar's final T20 competition hasn't quite gone to plan so far. His franchise has billed their whole campaign this tournament as a tribute to him, but he hasn't been at his best with the bat. Today was no different as in his brief stay, he shuffled around in the crease and played some ungainly strokes. His misery ended when Sohail Tanvir slipped in a slower ball that Tendulkar didn't pick at all - he tried to adjust his shot late but ended up playing down the wrong line and a moment later the off stump was out of the ground.
The confrontation
Off the final ball of the 11th over in the chase, Rohit Sharma edged past the keeper and towards the third man boundary. The bowler, Hardus Viljoen, was watching the ball as he completed his follow-through, and Rohit was also looking back to see whether there was a second, leading to a bit of a collision. That led to a frank and heated verbal exchange between the pair, needing the umpire, the Lions captain Alviro Petersen and the non-striker Dwayne Smith to intervene and cool things down. Dale Steyn immediately tweeted words of advice, seemingly to Viljoen, who is seen as one of the quicks to watch in South African cricketing circles: "U bowling well dude, shut ur mouth and just step aside..."
Off the final ball of the 11th over in the chase, Rohit Sharma edged past the keeper and towards the third man boundary. The bowler, Hardus Viljoen, was watching the ball as he completed his follow-through, and Rohit was also looking back to see whether there was a second, leading to a bit of a collision. That led to a frank and heated verbal exchange between the pair, needing the umpire, the Lions captain Alviro Petersen and the non-striker Dwayne Smith to intervene and cool things down. Dale Steyn immediately tweeted words of advice, seemingly to Viljoen, who is seen as one of the quicks to watch in South African cricketing circles: "U bowling well dude, shut ur mouth and just step aside..."
The three-card trick
Harbhajan Singh posed plenty of problems for the batsmen in his spell, using the straight one often. Jean Symes was one of those whom he troubled, and when the other Mumbai Indians spinner, Pragyan Ojha, came into the attack, Symes decided the best way to deal with him was with a series of cross-batted swipes. On the first ball, his attempted slog missed and he was struck on the chest. He persisted with the strategy, though, and was rewarded next delivery as the ball sailed over midwicket for six. The third time proved lucky for Ojha, however, as Symes' big mow missed and the leg stump was knocked back.
Harbhajan Singh posed plenty of problems for the batsmen in his spell, using the straight one often. Jean Symes was one of those whom he troubled, and when the other Mumbai Indians spinner, Pragyan Ojha, came into the attack, Symes decided the best way to deal with him was with a series of cross-batted swipes. On the first ball, his attempted slog missed and he was struck on the chest. He persisted with the strategy, though, and was rewarded next delivery as the ball sailed over midwicket for six. The third time proved lucky for Ojha, however, as Symes' big mow missed and the leg stump was knocked back.
Siddarth Ravindran is a senior sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo