Toss: Mumbai Indians, elected to field
Venue: The Wanderers,Johanesburg
Pitch Report: A typical Wanderers track with a tinge of green to assist the quicker bowlers early on and spin in the later stages of the game. Sachin probably looked at that and his strong pace attack and elected to field first to try and make early inroads in the Lions' batting line-up.
In a high scoring game, the local outfit, Highveld Lions stunned the Mumbai Indians by beating them by 9 runs to kickstart their Champions' League campaign.
Chasing a stiff total of 187, Mumbai Indians' captain Sachin Tendulkar, along with his opening partner, Shikhar Dhawan got off to a flyer as they amassed 83 runs in just 9.3 over before Dhawan fell, attempting a lofted reverse sweep and failing to clear the short third man fielder.
Another Indian youngster came in next but went back in the same pace as he was runout in the very next over.
In came , JP Duminy, who with Sachin tried to steady the ship. The match was still in the balance till Shane Burger struck gold and dismissed Tendulkar, who attempted a shot that can be described as disappointing for his standards. When he fell, the score stood at 133-
3 off 14.3 overs, with Mumbai still needing 56 runs off 33 balls.
Pollard and Duminy tried to continue the chase, with Pollard scoring 16 runs off the first 5 deliveries off Shane Burger in the 17th over. But, Burger made a great comeback in the last ball of the over, by clean bowling Pollard. Within the next two overs, Duminy also fell in his attempt to get to the total.
With 16 needed off the last 6 balls, Shane Burger kept up his line and length and saw his team home by 9 runs.
Earlier, put into bat by the Mumbai Indians, the Lions were off to a brisk start as their 20-year-old opener Jonathan Vandiar scored 71 runs off just 48 deliveries and held two good partnerships in the middle overs, one with Jaarsveld (13) and Neil McKenzie, who went on to finish the innings in style by scoring a quick 56 off just 30 deliveries and taking the team's total to 186.
The Turning Point : Inspite of having to chase a huge total of 187, Mumbai were always in the game till Sachin, after scoring 69 off 43, departed in the 15th over. From then on, it was an uphill task for them as the Lions showed great discipline in the field and bowled brilliantly without trying too many things.
The Hero : As much as I hate the fact that the batsmen take away all the credit each and everytime, this game's hero has to be the young opener Jonathan Vandiar who held the Lions' innings together and scored an important 71.
Despite disappointment for the cricket lovers back here in India, what a start this is to the Champions' League, a high scoring match where the underdogs have emerged victorious.
The Lions' can celebrate and take a lot of confidence ahead in the tournament while Mumbai will try not to panic too much and look for the little gaps that they need to fill and come out stronger in the next game.
Scorecard: Highveld Lions 186 for 5 (Vandiar 71, McKenzie 56*, Malinga 3-33) beat Mumbai Indians 177 for 6 (Tendulkar 69, Burger 2-33) by nine runs.
Man Of The Match : Jonathan Vandiar, the 20 year-old left-handed opener for the Lions', for his knock of 71 from just 48 deliveries that helped the Lions' post a mamoth 186.
Pictures Courtesy : Cricinfo
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