Mumbai have looked close to invincible for the most part in this tournament - even in their loss to Kochi they still racked up 2/182 but were let down by their bowling. This time out against Rajasthan, their much vaunted batting line-up just never got into gear and they were restricted to under 100. Not bowled out...restricted, constricted. Andrew Symonds top-scored with just 17 (26 balls) as Mumbai could only make 8/94 with four boundaries and two sixes. Tendulakr went for seven and Pollard limped to four from fifteen balls. Shane Warne continued his fine form finishing with 1/14 from his four overs, but he wasn't the most economical of his side's bowlers as Botha returned the stunning figures of 2/0/6/3 - destroying the middle order and any chance of a respectable total.
The pitch was far from perfect for twenty20 cricket, although the home fans weren't likely to complain. However, Mumbai's attack could only force the Royal's batsmen to graft out the win - they were never able to get the penetration to make the chase interesting. Malinga picked up one, but Harbhajan Singh went wicketless and the runs were chased down for the loss of just three wickets with eleven balls to spare. Botha completed a fine match, hitting 45 from 39 balls.
Mumbai remain top despite the loss, but with some loss of aura, and with Rajasthan suddenly looking more deserving of equal second place. In the other match today, Pune struggled to another loss as Kohli and Gayle blasted Bangalore to 181, and Pune were held to 155 in reply, despite some hard hitting from Ryder and Yuvraj. Bangalore joined Rajastan on second, while Pune and Delhi sit at the bottom.
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