Mumbai Indians 173-5 (Ambati Rayudu 81*, Kieron Pollard 52*, Muttiah Muralitharan 1-16) beat Royal Challengers Bangalore 171-6 (Mayank Agarwal 64*, Tillakaratne Dilshan 47, Kieron Pollard 1-20) by 5 wickets.

Ambati Rayudu and Kieron Pollard sunk the boat of Royal Challengers Bangalore by their thunderous batting as Mumbai Indians triumphed in the IPL 2012.

Royal Challengers Bangalore scored 171 runs with four wickets in hand at the end of the metered 20 overs and Mumbai Indians blasted 173 runs for the loss of five wickets with two balls to spare.

Ambati Rayudu (Mumbai Indians) was declared ‘Player of the match’ for his herculean unbeaten innings of 81 off 54 balls.

The 62^nd match of the Indian Premier League was played on Monday, May 14, 2012 at M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore.

Earlier, the captain of Mumbai Indians, Harbhajan Singh, won the toss and offered the batting to the rival team. Royal Challengers Bangalore faced an early loss at just 8 runs when their in form, dashing opener, Chris Gayle was bowled by Munaf Patel for six runs. Their miseries multiplied as their skipper, Virat Kohli was unluckily run out with the addition of three runs to the total.

Saurabh Tiwary associated with the opener, Tillakaratne Dilshan and they collected 21 runs in the fifth over off Patel that included one six and two fours. Tiwary got a life when he was dropped by RP Singh at mid-off on the bowling of Lasith Malinga for 12. He was unable to capitalize on the chance and lost his wicket for 21off 16 balls with one six and two fours as the score board displayed 47 runs.

AB de Villiers joined in next as Dilshan became more prominent by adding 13 runs in the 11^th over with one six and a four. The first lost his wicket for 14 after gathering 40 runs for the fourth wicket as Mayank Agarwal appeared on the scene and took guards in the centre. The run rate was picked up by the duo as Agarwal was the most aggressive of the two and the score was enhanced to 133 in 17.3 overs as Tillakaratne Dilshan was clean bowled by RP Singh at that stage for 47 off 50 deliveries with one four and 4 sixes.

Agarwal took over from there and the boundaries kept on flowing from his bat in the final overs of the innings. He punished Patel for 24 runs in the 20^th over with two huge sixes and even fours and compiled his fifty as well. Mayank Agarwal remained unbeaten for 64 off 30 mere deliveries with the assistance of 4 hefty sixes and 6 fours as Royal Challengers Bangalore amassed 171 runs for the loss of six wickets in 20 overs.

Munaf Patel, RP Singh, Harbhajan Singh and Kieron Pollard were the only successful bowlers with one wicket each.

Mumbai Indians had a disastrous start when they lost their three top order batsmen for just 19 runs in 3.4 overs. The batsmen who went back to the pavilion included Herschelle Gibbs, the little master Sachin Tendulkar and Rohit Sharma. Dinesh Karthik and Ambati Rayudu provided some resistance to the dangerous looking bowling attack of Royal Challengers Bangalore. They crafted the innings with care and enhanced the score to 44 in 7.5 overs when Karthik was caught by Harshal Patel at long leg off Muttiah Muralitharan for 16.

Rayudu kept on securing his end with a little contribution from the other end as Steven Smith became the fifth victim and Mumbai Indians were reeling at 51-5 in 8.5 overs. Kieron Pollard joined Ambati Rayudu in a trying situation as they preferred to attack while dispatching 19 runs with a couple of sixes from the first and a four from the latter. Rayudu secured 12 runs in the 13^th over with one six, a four and achieved his fifty in the 15^th over with two fours.

Mumbai Indians required 41 runs off the last 18 balls as Rayudu punished Vinay Kumar for 17 runs in the 18^th over with two smart sixes and a four and the target was reduced to 14 from the last six deliveries.

Chris Gayle was handed over the ball by Virat Kohli as Rayudu stole a single off the first ball and Pollard lifted the ball out of the mid wicket boundary for a six. The third ball was sent reeling out of the short third man fence for a four by Pollard, he directed the fourth ball out of the deep mid wicket fence and the target was achieved after thrashing 173 runs. Ambati Rayudu was at the crease for 81 off 54 balls with 4 towering sixes and 6 fours as Pollard secured the other end at 52 which comprised 3 well timed sixes and 5 fours.

Points attained by two teams at the end of the 62^nd match of the Indian Premier League 2012:

Mumbai Indians                     – 18 from 14 games at a net run rate of -0.056.

Royal Challengers Bangalore –  15 from 14 games at a net run rate of -0.072.