Sachin leads Mumbai Indians to crushing win over Kolkata Knight Riders by 92 runs….

Sachin Tendulkar and Sanath Jayasuriya put on an opening stand of 127 from 74 balls Monday to lead the Mumbai Indians to an emphatic 92-run over the Kolkata Knight Riders in the Indian Premier League. Tendulkar blasted six boundaries and four sixes for 68 in 45 balls, and Jayasuriya smashed four sixes for 52 from 32 deliveries as the Mumbai Indians posted as 187 for 6 in their 20 overs.

Tendulkar was the first wicket to fall, shuffling across to a ball from Shukla to be out lbw in the 13th over. Harbhajan Singh was then promoted up the order as a pinch-hitter. He scored 18 in eight balls before lobbing a full toss from Brad Hodge to Ajantha Mendis at mid on, leaving Mumbai on 146-2 in the 14th over.Two runs later, Jayasuriya was caught by Arindam Gosh off Shukla and Mumbai lost a third wicket in nine balls when Abhishek Nayar was run out for 3 from Shukla’s throw to wicketkeeper Brendon McCullum after a mix-up with JP Duminy.

Shukla’s shorter delivery had Dwayne Bravo caught for 3 by Chris Gayle in the 17th over, and Shikhar Dhawan was surprised by Sharma’s extra bounce to be caught on 12 by McCullum two overs later with 175 on the board.The Mumbai Indians added a further 12 runs in seven deliveries to end their innings at an imposing 187 for 6.

Fast bowler Laxmi Shukla was the pick of the Knight Riders attack with 3-25, while offspinner Ajantha Mendis was particularly expensive, going for 39 off four overs at St. George’s Park.The Kolkata chase got off to the worst possible start with Brendon McCullum (1) and Chris Gayle (12) falling inside three overs. Brad Hodge (24) and Sourav Ganguly (34) tried to revive the innings with a 54-run stand, but they ate up 7.2 overs in the process.

An inevitable collapse followed as the Knight Riders lost their last eight wickets for 24 runs, slumping to their third defeat in five matches. They have won one rain interrupted match against Kings XI Punjab and shared a point in the washed-out tie against Chennai Super Kings. They now are sixth in the IPL standings. Mumbai Indians, for whom Lasith Malinga claimed four wickets and Abhishek Nayar three, have now moved to third in the standings  with their second win in four matches. They have lost to Deccan Chargers and shared points in a washed-out tie with defending champions Rajasthan Royals.