Gayle's fastest ton powers RCB to 263

NEW DELHI: Chasing a record 264, Pune Warriors India lost half of their side at the score of 100 in their IPL match against Royal Challengers Bangalore at the Chinnaswamy stadium in Bangalore on Tuesday.

Scorecard

Pune team reached the 100-run mark in 78 balls. Seamer Ravi Rampaul picked up his second when he dismissed Steven Smith, who scored a brisk 31-ball 41 with the help of six boundaries.

Murali Karthik gave Bangalore first breakthrough as he dismissed Pune's Robin Uthappa in the very second ball of the first over.

Ravi Rampaul picked up the second wicket for Bangalore when he sent skipper Aaron Finch back in the dug out.

Seamer Jaydev Unadkat picked up two quick wickets as he scalped Luke Wright and Yuvraj Singh to dent Pune's mammoth run chase

Earlier, Chris Gayle hit the fastest century in the history of professional cricket blasting an incredible 175 off 66 balls as Royal Challengers Bangalore posted a record 263 for five against Pune Warriors.

Gayle hit the fastest century, off just 30 balls, and the highest-ever individual score in a T20 game surpassing Kolkata Knight Riders' Brendon McCullum who hit 158 off 73 balls against RCB at this very Chinnaswamy Stadium.

Incidentally, RCB's total was also the highest-ever total in any T20 game.

Put into bat, it was 'Gayle Force' that blew away the Pune Warriors as the big-bodied Jamaican showed his power-hitting ability as he struck 13 fours and 17 sixes en route the fastest ever T20 century off only 30 balls. 154 out of his 175 runs came in boundaries and off only 30 scoring strokes.

Typically, he brought up his century with a six off Ashoke Dinda that sailed over the stadium and in the process also damaged the roof.

The carnage started from the second over bowled by rookie paceman Ishwar Pandey. Playing his first IPL match, Pandey found out what top-level cricket was all about as Gayle hit him for five boundaries taking 21 runs of that over.

Mitchell Marsh and Aaron Finch got even worst treatments as they went for 28 and 29 runs in their respective overs as both were clobbered for four sixes each.

There was minimum fuss as usual in Gayle's batting as he barely had any footwork. It was just stand and deliver as the ball kept on sailing into the stands and there was little that skipper Finch could have done.

Intimidated by this mayhem, the Pune bowlers could only go through the motion. All the three changes made by Pune backfired as Pandey gave away 33 in two overs while left-arm spinner Ali Murtaza conceded 45 from his two overs.

It was Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who returned unscathed with figures of 0 for 23 from four overs.

Marsh, who came back in place Ajantha Mendis, was hammered for 56 in three overs while the profligate Dinda went for 48 off four overs.

Gayle and Dilshan added 167 runs for the opening stand with Tillakaratne Dilshan (33). Such was the ferocity of Gayle that Dilshan didn't even cross 20 when Gayle reached three-figure mark.

AB de Villiers also played his part to perfection with a cameo scoring 31 off eight balls (3x4, 3x6).

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Gayle awestruck by his own exploits

BANGALORE: Regarded as the most dangerous batsman in Twenty20 cricket, Chris Gayle on Tuesday said that he himself was awestruck by his devastating 175-run knock against Pune Warriors and said it was one of those days when everything "he hit stayed hit".

Scorecard

Gayle hit the most breathtaking knock in the history of Twenty20 cricket blasting an incredible 175 not out off 66 balls to help Royal Challengers Bangalore post a record 263 for five in a Pepsi Indian Premier League match against Pune Warriors.

Gayle hit the fastest century, off just 30 balls, and the highest-ever individual score in a T20 game, surpassing Kolkata Knight Riders' Brendon McCullum who hit 158 off 73 balls against RCB at this very Chinnaswamy Stadium. Incidentally, RCB's total was also the highest-ever total in any T20 game.

"I am at loss of words myself. It was a good wicket and I started really well. It is just one of those when you hit the ball it stays hit. Everything was coming out of the middle of the bat," the big-hitting West Indian said after his scintillating unbeaten knock.

"In the first 6 overs I went bizzare and it actually paid off. And then I decided to slow it down in the middle period. Eventually we got a pretty good total and I am really happy with my performance," he said.

Put into bat, Gayle single-handedly blew away the Pune Warriors as the big-bodied Jamaican showed his power-hitting ability as he struck 13 fours and 17 sixes en route the fastest ever T20 century off only 30 balls.

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Unstoppable Gayle creates history

NEW DELHI: Explosive opener Chris Gayle slammed the fastest century in cricket history, reaching the triple figure in just 30 balls during the Royal Challengers Bangalore-Pune Warriors IPL clash on Tuesday.

Though, the milestone came in an IPL clash, and not in any international tie, Gayle's fireworks will be remembered by cricket buffs for long.

Gayle pulverised the Pune attack and scored 175 not out in just 66 balls and hit 17 sixes, most in a T20 innings, and 13 boundaries in the process, to send the crowd in delirium. This was also Gayle's second ton in his IPL career.

Gayle blitz powered Bangalore to a T20 record 263 for five. The previous highest total by a team in this form of the game was 260 by Sri Lanka.

The Jamaican also became the highest-ever individual scorer in a T20 game surpassing Kolkata Knight Riders' Brendon McCullum who hit 158 off 73 balls against RCB.

By the time he had reached his century, 98 off Gayle's runs had come in boundaries (8 Fours and 11 Sixes). For the record, he consumed 23 balls to reach 150 from 100, which was the slowest of the three fifties, giving a fair indication of what he actually did to the clueless bowlers.

Pakistan's flamboyant batsman Shahid Afridi holds the record of fastest century in ODI (37 balls) while, Viv Richards is credited for scoring fastest ton (56 balls) in Test history.

South African Richard Richard Levi holds the record for fastest international T20 hundred. Levi had slammed 45-ball century against New Zealand in 2011 at Hamilton.

Gayle had, earlier, also scored record 50-ball 100 in T20I before Richard Levi surpassed his feat.

Gayle also beat the previous 34-ball ton Twenty20 league record set by Australia's Andrew Symonds.

10 fastest centuries in Twenty cricket

Players	Balls	Team
C Gayle	30	RCB
A Symonds	34	Kent
van der Westhuizen	35	Namibia
YK Pathan	37	Rajasthan Royals
SB Styris	37	Sussex
Ahmed Shehzad	40	Barisal Burners
LL Bosman	41	Eagles
H Davids	41	Cape Cobras
BF Smith	42	Worcestershire
AC Gilchrist	42	Deccan Chargers

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Pune Warriors falter in chase of 264

NEW DELHI: Chasing a record 264, Pune Warriors India lost half of their side at the score of 100 in their IPL match against Royal Challengers Bangalore at the Chinnaswamy stadium in Bangalore on Tuesday.

Scorecard

Pune team reached the 100-run mark in 78 balls. Seamer Ravi Rampaul picked up his second when he dismissed Steven Smith, who scored a brisk 31-ball 41 with the help of six boundaries.

Murali Karthik gave Bangalore first breakthrough as he dismissed Pune's Robin Uthappa in the very second ball of the first over.

Ravi Rampaul picked up the second wicket for Bangalore when he sent skipper Aaron Finch back in the dug out.

Seamer Jaydev Unadkat picked up two quick wickets as he scalped Luke Wright and Yuvraj Singh to dent Pune's mammoth run chase

Earlier, Chris Gayle hit the fastest century in the history of professional cricket blasting an incredible 175 off 66 balls as Royal Challengers Bangalore posted a record 263 for five against Pune Warriors.

Gayle hit the fastest century, off just 30 balls, and the highest-ever individual score in a T20 game surpassing Kolkata Knight Riders' Brendon McCullum who hit 158 off 73 balls against RCB at this very Chinnaswamy Stadium.

Incidentally, RCB's total was also the highest-ever total in any T20 game.

Put into bat, it was 'Gayle Force' that blew away the Pune Warriors as the big-bodied Jamaican showed his power-hitting ability as he struck 13 fours and 17 sixes en route the fastest ever T20 century off only 30 balls. 154 out of his 175 runs came in boundaries and off only 30 scoring strokes.

Typically, he brought up his century with a six off Ashoke Dinda that sailed over the stadium and in the process also damaged the roof.

The carnage started from the second over bowled by rookie paceman Ishwar Pandey. Playing his first IPL match, Pandey found out what top-level cricket was all about as Gayle hit him for five boundaries taking 21 runs of that over.

Mitchell Marsh and Aaron Finch got even worst treatments as they went for 28 and 29 runs in their respective overs as both were clobbered for four sixes each.

There was minimum fuss as usual in Gayle's batting as he barely had any footwork. It was just stand and deliver as the ball kept on sailing into the stands and there was little that skipper Finch could have done.

Intimidated by this mayhem, the Pune bowlers could only go through the motion. All the three changes made by Pune backfired as Pandey gave away 33 in two overs while left-arm spinner Ali Murtaza conceded 45 from his two overs.

It was Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who returned unscathed with figures of 0 for 23 from four overs.

Marsh, who came back in place Ajantha Mendis, was hammered for 56 in three overs while the profligate Dinda went for 48 off four overs.

Gayle and Dilshan added 167 runs for the opening stand with Tillakaratne Dilshan (33). Such was the ferocity of Gayle that Dilshan didn't even cross 20 when Gayle reached three-figure mark.

AB de Villiers also played his part to perfection with a cameo scoring 31 off eight balls (3x4, 3x6).

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RCB aim to sail past struggling Pune

BANGALORE: After a clinical win against Rajasthan Royals, table-toppers Royal Challengers Bangalore will be keen to continue their fantastic run when they lock horns with the beleaguered Pune Warriors in the Pepsi IPL on Tuesday.

Royal Challengers are on a roll after winning five matches they have played at home this season and would not want to fritter away their best chance to gain two more vital points before they play their next six games away.

The games would be a difficult proposition, considering they have lost both their away games against Sunrisers Hyderabad and Chennai Super Kings.

Unlike the previous IPL seasons, the Royal Challengers have managed to get rid of the tag of being over-dependent on explosive West Indian batsman Chris Gayle, who has 257 runs under his belt in seven matches with an unbeaten 92 being his highest score this season.

The home side has been fantastic even in case of a flopshow by Gayle, who also has to his credit 17 sixes and 22 boundaries.

Either their captain Virat Kohli or aggressive South African wicketkeeper batsman AB de Villiers have come to the party erasing the Gayle-dependent tag.

Unlike last year when he struggled to get runs, Kohli has been in great form and is already the Orange Cap holder for smashing 322 runs in seven games with three scintillating half centuries to his credit.

De Villiers has been the perfect foil to Gayle and Kohli, playing second fiddle to both in-form batsmen.

It may appear that the Indian players have not contributed enough for the Royal Challengers but they haven't got enough chances to display their class.

However, Mayank Agarwal, Lokesh Rahul and Arun Karthik, all of who have had their chances, have spilled them, making way for Tillakaratne Dilshan to stage a comeback.

Dilshan did not disappoint the team by crafting a match-winning 53-run partnership with Gayle for the first wicket in the previous game against Rajasthan.

Nevertheless, the young Indian players would like to strike form if given a chance again, depending on the pitch and playing conditions.

As far as Royal Challengers' bowling is concerned, after a couple of hiccups against Hyderabad and Chennai, they have delivered fine performances.

Their effort in the last game against Rajasthan Royals was exceptional as they did not concede any extras.

Vinay Kumar and Ravi Rampaul have been outstanding, especially in the absence of bowling spearhead Zaheer Khan.

They have taken up the responsibility to provide wickets for Royal Challengers at crucial stages and there are no surprises that the former has bagged the Purple Cap with 12 scalps to his credit.

With Royal Challengers registering a clinical win in their last encounter, it is unlikely that Kohli would make any changes to the side unless their are some injury issues.

In contrast, batting problems have plagued Pune Warriors who were handed a defeat by Kings XI Punjab in their last match.

Their top guns -- Yuvraj Singh Robin Uthappa, Manish Pandey, Angelo Mathews and Marlon Samuels -- haven't been consistent. The exception has been Aaron Finch who has scored an aggregate of 211 runs in five matches with three half centuries under his belt.

Pune have already broken an 11-match losing streak but the Angelo Mathews-led side has put up ordinary performances barring a couple of matches, which they won against Rajasthan and CSK.

On the bowling front, Leg-spinner Rahul Sharma has been the pick of Warriors' attack and has got good support from Mathews, though Ashok Dinda and Bhuvneshwar Kumar need to do better.

The Teams (From):

Royal Challengers Bangalore: Virat Kohli (captain), AB de Villiers, Chris Gayle, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Mayank Agarwal, Muttiah Muralitharan, R P Singh, Lokesh Rahul, Vinay Kumar, Cheteshwar Pujara, Jaydev Unadkat, Ravi Rampaul, K P Appanna, Sreenath Aravind, Arun Karthik, Daniel Vettori, Christopher Barnwell, Daniel Christian, Moises Henriques, Sheldon Jackson, Murali Kartik, Zaheer Khan, Andrew McDonald, Abhimanyu Mithun, Abhinav Mukund, Pankaj Singh, Prasanth Parameswaran, Harshal Patel, Sandeep Warrier, Sunny Sohal, Jamaluddin Syed Mohammad, Saurabh Tiwary, Vijay Zol.

Pune Warriors: Angelo Mathews (captain), Yuvraj Singh, Abhishek Nayar, Robin Uthappa, Ross Taylor, Ajanta Mendis, Manish Pandey, Marlon Samuels, Mitchell Marsh, Mithun Manhas, Parveez Rasool, Rahul Sharma, Ali Murtaza, Anustup Mazumdar, Ashok Dinda, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Dheeraj Jadhav, Eklavya Dwivedi, Harpreet Singh, Ishwar Pandey, Kane Richardson, Krishnakant Upadhyay, Luke Wright, Mahesh Rawat, R Gomez, Shrikant Wagh, Steve Smith, T Suman, Tamim Iqbal, Udit Birla, Wayne Parnell.

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Franchises to bear injuries' expenses

NEW DELHI: Indian cricketers who sustain injuries during the cash-rich Indian Premier League will now have to depend on their respective franchise to bear the costs of their rehabilitation at the National Cricket Academy (NCA).

This decision was taken at the NCA Committee meeting in Chennai on Monday during which members expressed the opinion that austerity measures needed to be taken in a bid to put an end to the ever-spiralling costs.

"It has been decided that from now on, the respective franchise or the player himself will have to bear the cost of his rehabilitation program at the National Cricket Academy in case the player sustains injury during the Indian Premier League," a BCCI official preferring anonymity told PTI today.

It had been learnt that the BCCI were shelling out a whopping amount in the tune of Rs 5.5 crore in order to pay the salaries of their coaching and administrative staff.

From 12-member support staff that was employed till date, the list has been pruned to six.

According to sources, the three coaches who will remain in the BCCI pay rolls are bowling coach Bharath Arun, batting coach Dinesh Nanavati and coaches' instructor Kinjal Suratwala. The three other members of the support staff will be two physios Ashish Kaushik and Nitin Patel along with trainer Sudarshan.

Asked about the six other members of the support staff, the source said, "From now on, they will only be summoned if there is a camp or a tournament. It will be more of a freelance employment which will be assignment-based."

The BCCI's NCA committee also trimmed the proposed budget of Rs 85 lakh to Rs 64 lakh for a National U-16 camp.

Even the proposal to hire five foreign coaches were shot down while former players will be invited from now on to conduct short clinics.

There has also been a proposal to rollback the salaries of the NCA administrative staff.

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'Sehwag has a lot of cricket left in him'

NEW DELHI: Former national selector Yashpal Sharma feels Virender Sehwag has a lot of cricket left in him and said he can make a comeback in the Indian team if he gives attention to his fitness.

"Sehwag is a great player and he has contributed a lot in Indian cricket. He has a lot of cricket left in him and he will surely comeback in the Indian team," said Yashpal at the sidelines of the announcement of the Coca Cola Under-16 Cricket Cup national tournament on Monday.

Yashpal, a member of India's 1983 World Cup-winning team, said Sehwag's problem has been lack of fitness and if he concentrates on this aspect, he will bounce back and return to the national side with a bang.

"Whenever Sehwag is out of Indian team, it was not due to loss of form but some fitness issue. So, if he gives attention to his fitness, he will make a comeback. He has to look after his body," he said.

Asked about Sehwag publicly claiming that he "bluffed" on the advice of legendary West Indian batsman Vivian Richards who has joined Delhi Daredevils IPL team as advisor, Yashpal said, "Richards is a legendary figure and a very positive man and I have played against him. There was nothing negativity in his approach when he was playing.

"So, it must be that Richards must have told the players to be positive in their approach. Cricket is a mental game and self-confidence plays a big role. Now, we have to see how much Richards' pep talk has had an impact on the Delhi players. It's upto the players now," he said.

"Maybe Richards pep talk had an impact on Sehwag against Mumbai Indians as he hit a match-winning 95 yesterday, but we have to wait and see."

Yashpal also paid tribute to Sachin Tendulkar who turns 40 on Wednesday.

"Tendulkar is a real ambassador of the game. Not only India but the world of cricket should be proud of him and his contribution to the game. It's truly amazing that for 23 years he has kept his standard of cricket so high," he said.

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IPL 6: Royals opt to bat vs Chennai

NEW DELHI: Rajasthan Royals won the toss and elected to bat against Chennai Super Kings in the IPL clash at the MA Chidambaram stadium on Monday.

Jason Holder makes his debut in Chennai squad. Rajasthan brought in Rahul Shukla and Kevon Cooper.

On a high after back-to-back triumphs, former champions Chennai Super Kings would look to maintain their winning streak against Rajasthan Royals.

The home team has clicked collectively in its wins with all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja proving to be a crucial cog in its scheme of things.

The Royals, who won the title in the inaugural season, have not depended too much on one individual, theirs have been a collective effort to script victories.

RR XI: Shane Watson, Ajinkya Rahane, Rahul Dravid, Brad Hodge, Stuart Binny, Kevon Cooper, Dishant Yagnik, James Faulkner, Ajit Chandila, Siddharth Trivedi, Rahul Shukla

CSK XI: Murali Vijay, Mike Hussey, Suresh Raina, S Badrinath, Ravindra Jadeja, MS Dhoni, Dwayne Bravo, J Holder, Chris Morris, R Ashwin, M Sharma

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Viru, Mahela slam 50s as Delhi cruise

NEW DELHI: Flashy knocks by Virender Sehwag (95*) and Mahela Jayawardene (59) guided Delhi Daredevils to register their maiden victory as they crushed Mumbai Indians by 9 wickets on Sunday.

Scorecard

This is Delhi Daredevils' first victory after six successive losses.

Chasing a 162-run target, Delhi Daredevils took full control of the match as Sehwag and Jayawardene hit their respective fifties in tremendous fashion.

Sehwag finished the match with 13 boundaries and 2 sixes and along with Jayawardene put up a scintillating 151-run partnership for the opening wicket.

Jayawardene on the other hand completed his half century in 34 balls with 7 boundaries and a lone six to his credit.

Jayawardene and Sehwag seemed to show no mercy towards the Mumbai bowlers as they demolished the attack by smashing boundaries to all parts of the stadium.

However, Mumbai had some respite when pacer Lasith Malinga got the lone wicket for Mumbai when he caught the Delhi skipper plumb.

Earlier, a scintillating stand between Rohit Sharma and Sachin Tendulkar proved to hot for Delhi to handle as Mumbai set a 162-run target.

Tendulkar and Sharma put up a firm 96-run stand for the third wicket to take control on the innings after Mumbai lost opener Dwayne Smith and Dinesh Karthik cheaply.

Rohit reached the 50-run mark in 31 balls with the help of 5 boundaries and 2 sixes and along with Tendulkar helped revive Mumbai's innings after they suffered early losses.

However, Tendulkar (54), who reached his half century with the help of a six, soon fell after he was caught by David Warner at extra cover off the bowling of Umesh Yadav.

Rohit continued his blistering innings by smashing the Delhi bowlers to all parts of the ground before being dismissed for 73 runs when he caught by Andre Russell off Yadav's bowling.

Sharma hit 5 boundaries and 5 sixes in his remarkable innings that also had a 31-run partnership at the fag end with Keiron Pollard (19*).

While Roelof van-der Morwe struck for the Daredevils to dismiss Smith (8) by getting him caught at mid-off by Yadav, Karthik (2) was the unfortunate victim of a run out.

Earlier, Mumbai Indians skipper Ricky Ponting won the toss and decided to bat.

For the Mumbai Indians, Smith comes in the team in place of Mitchell Johnson, Munaf Patel replaces Pragyan Ojha and Jasprit Bumrah steps in for Rishi Dhawan.

On the other hand, Delhi Daredevils bring in Van-der Morwe for Jeevan Mendis, Andre Russell for Morne Morkel and Venugopal Rao for Manpreet Juneja.

Teams:

Delhi Daredevils: Mahela Jayawardene (Capt.), Virender Sehwag, David Warner, Venugopal Rao, Kedar Jadhav (wk), Roelof van-der Morwe, Irfan Pathan, Ajit Agarkar, Andre Russell, Shahbaz Nadeem, Umesh Yadav

Mumbai Indians: Ricky Ponting (Capt.), Sachin Tendulkar, Rohit Sharma, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Ambati Rayudu, Kieron Pollard, Harbhajan Singh, J Bumrah, Dwayne Smith, Munaf Patel, Lasith Malinga

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Sehwag's fifty puts Delhi in firm control

NEW DELHI: Chasing a 162-run target, Delhi Daredevils took full control of the match as openers Virender Sehwag and Mahela Jayawardene hit fifties in their IPL 6 match at the Feroz Shah Kotla in Delhi.

Scorecard

Sehwag reached his fifty in 31 balls with the help of 6 boundaries and 2 sixes and along with Jayawardene put up a quick-fire 140-plus run partnership for the opening wicket.

Jayawardene on the other hand completed his half century in 34 balls with 7 boundaries and a lone six to his credit.

Jayawardene and Sehwag seemed to show no mercy towards the Mumbai bowlers as they demolished the attack by smashing boundaries to all parts of the stadium.

Earlier, a scintillating stand between Rohit Sharma and Sachin Tendulkar proved to hot for Delhi to handle as Mumbai set a 162-run target.

Tendulkar and Sharma put up a firm 96-run stand for the third wicket to take control on the innings after Mumbai lost opener Dwayne Smith and Dinesh Karthik cheaply.

Rohit reached the 50-run mark in 31 balls with the help of 5 boundaries and 2 sixes and along with Tendulkar helped revive Mumbai's innings after they suffered early losses.

However, Tendulkar (54), who reached his half century with the help of a six, soon fell after he was caught by David Warner at extra cover off the bowling of Umesh Yadav.

Rohit continued his blistering innings by smashing the Delhi bowlers to all parts of the ground before being dismissed for 73 runs when he caught by Andre Russell off Yadav's bowling.

Sharma hit 5 boundaries and 5 sixes in his remarkable innings that also had a 31-run partnership at the fag end with Keiron Pollard (19*).

While Roelof van-der Morwe struck for the Daredevils to dismiss Smith (8) by getting him caught at mid-off by Yadav, Karthik (2) was the unfortunate victim of a run out.

Earlier, Mumbai Indians skipper Ricky Ponting won the toss and decided to bat.

For the Mumbai Indians, Smith comes in the team in place of Mitchell Johnson, Munaf Patel replaces Pragyan Ojha and Jasprit Bumrah steps in for Rishi Dhawan.

On the other hand, Delhi Daredevils bring in Van-der Morwe for Jeevan Mendis, Andre Russell for Morne Morkel and Venugopal Rao for Manpreet Juneja.

Teams:

Delhi Daredevils: Mahela Jayawardene (Capt.), Virender Sehwag, David Warner, Venugopal Rao, Kedar Jadhav (wk), Roelof van-der Morwe, Irfan Pathan, Ajit Agarkar, Andre Russell, Shahbaz Nadeem, Umesh Yadav

Mumbai Indians: Ricky Ponting (Capt.), Sachin Tendulkar, Rohit Sharma, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Ambati Rayudu, Kieron Pollard, Harbhajan Singh, J Bumrah, Dwayne Smith, Munaf Patel, Lasith Malinga

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