Mumbai Indians 120-9 (Sachin Tendulkar 34, James Franklin 25, Bhuvneshwar Kumar 2-9 beat Pune Warriors 119-6 (Mithun Manhas 42*, Robin Uthappa 18, Harbhajan Singh 2-18) by one run.

The dedicated Mumbai Indians well led by Lasith Malinga defended their low score of 120 vs. Pune Warriors and won the crucial match by a single run.

Mumbai Indians crawled to 120 runs with one wicket in hand at the end of assigned 20^th over and Pune Warriors fell short of two runs from the victory.

Lasith Malinga (Mumbai Indians) was declared ‘Player of the match’ for his decisive two wickets which he grabbed at a critical stage of the match.

The 45^th match of the Indian Premier League was played at Subrata Roy Sahara Stadium, Pune, on Thursday, May 3, 2012.

Earlier, the captain of Mumbai Indians, Harbhajan Singh won the toss and elected to bat as the innings was opened by James Franklin and the great Sachin Tendulkar. The first three overs produced just 11 runs with only one four from Franklin as Tendulkar opened his arms with three consecutive fours in the fourth over off Ashok Dinda. Franklin joined him by dispatching 14 runs in the sixth over bowled by Ashish Nehra with one six and two consecutive fours.

The fifty of the innings was completed on the second ball of the eighth over but James Franklin was gone on the fourth ball for 25off 23 balls with one six and 3 fours. Sachin Tendulkar secured one end and tried to enhance the score rate as the next wicket of Rohit Sharma was lost after the addition of just six runs. Tendulkar became the next victim when he was caught behind by the wicket keeper, Robin Uthappa off Nehra for 34 off 35 deliveries with 4 fours.

Dinesh Karthik was the only other batsman who showed some resistance as the bowlers of Pune Warriors took over. He remained unbeaten for 18 runs as Mumbai Indians managed 120 runs for the loss of nine wickets in 20 overs as four batsmen ran themselves out.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Ashish Nehra were the chief wicket takers with two each as Ashok Dinda claimed one wicket.

Pune Warriors sent in Robin Uthappa and Jesse Ryder to open the innings as the former started in an attacking mode by getting the first four of the innings in the first over followed by a six on the third ball of the second over. They scored 19 runs at the end of the third over but Uthappa was declared leg before wicket off Munaf Patel for 18 from even balls with one six and 2 fours. Michael Clarke came in the centre next and scored 9 runs in the fifth over with a couple of fours as Ryder tried to hold the other end. The latter lost his wicket for just 9 runs off 13 balls with one four and that was the start of disaster for the home side.

The second wicket was gone at 40 and four runs later, Clarke was held lbw off Harbhajan Singh for 14 runs and they were reeling at 47 for 4 in 9.5 overs. The skipper, Sourav Ganguly and Mithun Manhas consolidated the innings and started creeping towards the target. Manhas was the more aggressive of the two and carried on enhancing the score with odd boundaries as Ganguly assisted him well at the other end. The duo added 47 runs in 7.1 overs when Ganguly was clean bowled by Lasith Malinga on the last ball of the 17^th over for 16 off 24 balls with one four.

Pune Warriors required 16 runs from the last 12 balls as the 18^th over was bowled by Malinga who gave away just four runs and grasped the wicket of Wayne Parnell on the second ball. The target was reduced to 12 runs in the last six balls and the over was bowled by Munaf Patel. The first four balls produced four runs as Bhuvneshwar Kumar dispatched a four on the fifth ball and gathered two runs on the full toss when the last ball was delivered.

Mithun Manhas remained unbeaten for 42 from 34 balls with 5 fours and Kumar was at the other end with 10 off 6 balls with one four as Pune Warriors managed 119 runs with four wickets in hand.

Lasith Malinga and Harbhajan Singh were the top wicket takers with two each whereas Munaf Patel and Pragyan Ojha held one wicket each.

Points secured by the two teams after the end of the 45^th match of the IPL 2012.

Mumbai Indians     – 12 from 10 games at a net run rate of -0.162.

Pune Warriors        –    8 from 11 games at a net run rate of -0.115.