Mumbai shattered; lose out off last ball

The last ball that never should have been, one misfield by Dilhara Fernando and a fumble by Sanath Jayasuriya sent Mumbai Indians into a corner they did not need to be in as they went down to Rajasthan Royals by five wickets. Niraj Patel and Ravindra Jadeja came together for a sensational sixth wicket partnership which carried Jaipur to 146-5.
It looked impossible for Jaipur when they lost Yusuf Pathan, Shane Watson and Mohd. Kaif in the middle overs and Mumbai looked all set to score a vital win.
However, youngsters Patel and Jadeja were involved in a sensational unbeaten 69-run stand that ended the match in a improbable win for Jaipur, who haven't lost even one match at home.
Fernando had a bad match overall, as he dropped Swapnil Asnodkar intially, and the youngster went on to score a quick 17, which, in view of the way teh game ended, was crucial.
Jaipur also recovered from a disastrous last over by Shane Watson when they were fielding.
Jaipur's win will be celebrated in Delhi as well, as the Delhi Daredevils have now qualified for the semi-finals.
Mumbai have their back to the wall, as they now need Chennai Super Kings to beat Hyderabad Deccan Chargers, and also beat Bangalore Royal Challengers in an away game.
Mumbai now have 12 points from 13 games whole Chennai have 14 from the same number of matches.
Earlier, Sohail Tanvir continued with his sensational form in the India Premier League, claiming 4-14 off four overs as Mumbai scored 145-7 after being sent in to bat by Jaipur skipper Shane Warne.
It needed a poor last over by Watson and some educated long-handle from Yogesh Takawale to take them to the total, as the over went for 25 runs.
The tension was evident in the Mumbai batting in a match have to win to keep their semi-final hopes on the track. Sanath Jayasuriya failed to set the stadium alight as he had done in the previous games, while skipper Sachin Tendulkar continued to display mediocre form.
The bowling was tight and the pitch slightly variable, but event that did not merit the kind of display from the openers, and the middle-order, especially after the openers had played till past the 10th over.
Watson had incredible figures, giving away just five runs in his first two overs, and then went for 25 in his third.
Warne and Rajasthan Royals have little to lose in the league, having cemented a slot for the semi-finals, so they decided to allow Mumbai to get first use of the pitch after winning the toss.
Mumbai, on 12 points from 12 games, desperately need to win this one, and also the next against Bangalore Royal Challengers.
Mumbai had begun the tournament disastrously, losing four straight games, but then they came back to win five on the trot, which foes on to reflect the length of the tournament, and also the fact that teams can see great and pathetic form, all within one week.
Jaipur on the other hand were probably the most underrated of the sides, and have ended up being the best in the business.
Teams: Rajasthan Royals: Swapnil Asnodkar, Kamran Akmal, Yusuf Pathan, Mohd. Kaif, Shane Watson, Ravindra Jadeja, Niraj Patel, Shane Warne (capt), Sohail Tanvir, Siddharth Trivedi, Pankaj Singh.
Mumbai Indians: Sachin Tendulkar (capt), Sanath Jayasuriya, Dwayne Smith, Robin Uthappa, Abhishek Nayar, Shaun Pollock, Manish Pandey, Yogesh Takawale, Rohan Raje, Dilhara Fernando, Ashish Nehra.