CL T20: Mumbai Indians’ road to final : 2nd Semi-final: Mumbai Indians vs Trinidad and Tobago

1st match: Mumbai Indians vs Rajasthan Royals

Mumbai Indians road to finals was like a topsy-turvy. They started their campaign against Rajasthan Royals. But in the very first match they faced the defeat. While batting first, MI’s skipper Sharma, who came after the fall of two early wickets, played a gritty knock of 44 in 37 balls, with the help of three fours and two sixes. Kieron Pollard also played his role as he scored 42 runs in 36 balls, to take his team to a respectable total of 142 runs.

When RR came to chase the total, though MI got the wicket of their skipper Rahul Dravid in the second over, they failed to capitalize on that, as Rahane and Sanju Samson added 74 runs for the second wicket to take their team to a comfortable position. Sanju scored a fifty before being dismissed in the 16th over. And later Stuart Binny and Shane Watson made sure that their team won the match quite comfortable by seven wickets.

2nd Match: Mumbai Indians vs Otago Volts

In the second match Mumbai Indians were ready to post their first win of the tournament against New Zealand team Otago. But match was abandoned due to rain and both the teams shared two points each.

3rd Match: Mumbai Indians vs Highveld Lions

In the 11th match of the tournament MI were up against South African team Lions. Skipper Rohit Sharma won the toss and chose to field first at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur. MI bowlers bowled really well and restricted the Lions to a total of 140.

While chasing the small target of 141, MI lost one of their openers Sachin Tendulkar in the third over at the score of 15 runs. But on the other hand, Dwayne Smith played a cracker of an innings. He scored 63 runs in mere 47 balls, laced with four boundaries and three huge sixes. Rohit Sharma and Kieron Pollard once again played crucial cameos of 20 and 31 (not out) respectively to make sure that their team registers its first win of the tournament.

4th Match: Mumbai Indians vs Perth Scorchers

In a must-win game against the Australian team Perth Scorchers, MI not only had to win the match, but had to win it quite comfortably to reach the semi-final stages. MI once again won the toss and chose to field first. MI bowlers did a splendid job and restricted Scorchers at 149 in the stipulated 20 overs. N Coiter-Nile was the pick among the bowlers, as he scalped three wickets in his four-over quota and gave just 19 runs.

To secure their spot in the semis, MI were required to chase the target in 14.2 overs. MI lost the wicket of Master Blaster early on but their West Indian opener Smith once again stood tall and hit the Scorchers’ bowlers all over the park before getting out on 48 that came off just 25 balls with the help of five fours and three sixes. Rohit also played a captain’s knock and scored his first fifty of the tournament in just 24 balls, a pivotal knock that had four sixes. Pollard too played a cameo of 23 runs and MI won the match by six wickets with 40 balls to spare as they achieved the target in 13.2 overs and booked a berth in the semis.

2nd Semi-final: Mumbai Indians vs Trinidad and Tobago

2nd semi-final of CLT20 was between T&T and MI. MI follow the trend of fielding first once Again after winning the toss. T&T opener Lewis gave MI bowlers some tough time and scored his 62 runs at brisk pace. But even after that, MI bowlers bowled well in the later part of the innings to restrict T&T under a chase able total of 154.

When MI came to bat, both their openers – Tendulkar and Smith – gave the team a perfect start and added 90 runs for the first wicket in just 11 overs. But then mystery spinner Sunil Narine once again came up with magical spell and put the Mumbai batsmen under immense pressure. But Rohit Sharma and Dinesh Karthik tried not to give any further wicket to Narine and scored runs off other bowlers. Albeit at the end, Rohit got out to a beauty from Narine in the 18th over but till then it was just a formality for MI to seal the match and book a berth for the finals.