Mumbai Indians post third consecutive victory

The march of the Mumbai Indians appeared to be gathering steam as they beat league leaders Rajasthan Royals comprehensively in an effort to keep their semi-final hopes alive.

A solid bowling performance by (medium) pace quartet of Ashish Nehra, Dhawal Kulkarni, Dwayne Bravo and Rohan Raje saw the Mumbai Indians restrict the solid batting line up of the Rajasthan Royals to 103 all out in 16.2 overs. Only Swapnil Asnodkar (39) and Shane Watson (32) of the Rajasthan Royals offered any resistance with the bat to the Mumbai Indians quartet.

A solid start by Sanath Jayasuriya and Yogesh Takawle saw the Mumbai Indians post a sound 41 run opening stand. Robin Uthappa then made a quickfire 34 to see the Mumbai Indians coast to their third consecutive victory taking them to fifth position in the league standings. The action now shifts to the Feroz Shah Kotla in Delhi for game 28 of the DLF Indian Premier League between the Delhi Daredevils and the Chennai Super Kings.

Orange Cap Standings

Rohit Sharma of the Deccan Chargers continued to retain the Orange Cap today with a cumulative total of 258 runs. Delhi Daredevils Captain and opening batsmen Virender Sehwag was also firmly entrenched in the second position with a cumulative total of 247 runs. Sehwag’s Daredevil compatriot and opening bat Gautam Gambhir also retains his third position with a cumulative total of 225 runs. Shane Watson though of the Rajasthan Royals leapfrogged into fourth position with a battling 32 today taking his cumulative score to 208 runs, just above Kings XI Punjab stumper Kumar Sangakkara.

Two matches shifted from DY Patil to Wankhede

The Mumbai Indians' next two home matches (on May 14 against the Chennai Super Kings and on May 16 against the Kolkata Knight Riders) have been shifted to the Wankhede Stadium from the D Y Patil Stadium where they were originally scheduled to be held.

The final home league match against Kings XI Punjab will also be played at the Wankhede Stadium on 21st May, as per the earlier schedule.

Daredevils & Mumbai Indians fined for slow over rate

The Indian Premier League announced that it had fined the Mumbai Indians US $1000 and the Delhi Daredevils US $500 for a slow over rate for the game played in Mumbai on May 5th 2008.

The DLF Indian Premier League is being played as per the ICC Playing Conditions and Rules and is set to follow the guidelines in letter and in spirit. Thus, any team bowling a slow over rate would be fined US $500 per over, which would be decided by the match referee.