Maybe it was supposed to be about one last Warne-Tendulkar moment, but the Shane Watson show overtook proceedings as Australia's most important current cricketer took the spotlight from the man who can't be replaced. Mumbai's faltering campaign took another misstep as Watson helped restrict them to 133 from their 20 overs, before leading their successful chase with a scintillating unbeaten 89. Watson returned the stunning figures of 3/19 from his four overs, while Warne finished with a more modest 1/30, even as he dismissed top-scorer Rohit Sharma from a beautifully deceitful stumping with his third-last delivery.
The chase was a procession as Watson blasted his runs from just 47 balls with nine fours and six sixes studding a dominating innings. Supported by Rahul Dravid's unbeaten 43 from 32, the pair put on an unbeaten 134 from just 79 balls as they showed what might have been had Rajasthan not lost their way in the middle stages of the tournament. As it is, they will finish mid-table, outside of the play-offs, although they may yet be joined by Mumbai, as unthinkable as that may seem for a team that dominated the first half of the tournament behind strong performances from Tendulkar and Malinga. If the Kings XI Punjab can beat Deccan tomorrow, Mumbai will need to beat Kolkata in the final match to progress. See the current table here.
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