Highveld Lions beat Mumbai Indians by 9 Runs in the first match of the Airtel CLT20

September 10, Johannesburg: The Airtel CLT20 2010 got under way with Mumbai Indians winning the toss against the local favourites Highveld Lions at the Wanderers Stadium. Sachin Tendulkar opted to bowl first, although the Highveld Lions were restricted to 186 for 5, the Mumbai Indians fell short of reaching the target by 9 runs.

Brief Scores:
Highveld Lions 186 for 5 (Jonathan Vandiar 71, Neil McKenzie 56*, Lasith Malinga 3-33) beat Mumbai Indians 177 for 6 (Sachin Tendulkar 69, Shikhar Dhawan 32, Shane Burger 2-33) by  9 runs

Match Preview:
The Lions lost a couple of wickets early on but went on to make steady progress to bring up their first 50 runs in 7.2 overs. Opener Jonathan Vandiar batted at a brisk pace and put on a partnership of 43 for the third wicket with Vaughn van Jaarsveld. When van Jaarsveld fell with the score at 81, Vandiar, in the company of Neil McKenzie continued the onslaught on the Mumbai bowlers and hit them all around the the Wanderers, a big six off Malinga over mid-wicket standing out in his 48-ball knock of 71.

Neil McKenzie, the most experienced of the Lions batsmen, took centre stage at the fall of Vandiar’s wicket and ensured that the Lions innings did not lose momentum at the end. A 30-ball cameo of 56 proved just why he is such a dangerous player. The Lions ended their innings with a most impressive score of 186 for the loss of five wickets. Zaheer Khan, coming back from injury, had a forgettable day having given away 45 runs while Lasith Malinga was the pick of the MI bolwers with figures of 3 for 33.

MI began their innings with Tendulkar and Shikhar Dhawan added mixed caution with aggression which help them get a 50 run partnership in 6.5 overs. Dhawan batted well for his 32 off 30 deliveries before falling for an ill advised reverse sweep off Aaron Phangiso. Ambati Rayudu was run-out shortly after but Tendulkar, accompanied by JP Duminy were particularly severe on the left-arm spin of Phangiso, the bowler going for 26 runs in two overs.

Tendulkar was dropped by Alviro Petersen in the eighth over, scored 69 and his stay at the crease was a study in the art of T20 batting. He fell to Shane Burger against the run of play and his dismissal triggered a collapse with Duminy, Kieron Pollard, Rajagopal Sathish and Harbhajan Singh unable to guide Mumbai home. In the end the Lions bowlers held their nerve and bettered the formidable Mumbai side to delight South African fans and set the tournament off to an interesting start.