A record 163-run opening stand between Dwayne Smith and Sachin Tendulkar saw Mumbai Indians scoring a crushing 10-wicket win over the Rajasthan Royals in their Indian Premier League encounter yesterday at Jaipur.
Smith ended on 87 not out while Tendulkar scored an unbeaten 58 as Mumbai Indians, chasing Rajasthan Royals’ 162-6, won with two overs to spare.
Batting first the Royals owed their eventual total to useful contributions from number three Shane Watson and middle order batsmen, Stuart Binny, Owais Shaw and Ashok Menaria.
Watson hit the topscore of 45, aided by four fours and two sixes while Binny struck three fours and two sixes in his innings of 30 before he was run out by Keiron Pollard who also had the prized scalp of Watson.
Binny scored 22 of his runs in one over from Harbhajhan Singh, including a six and three fours.
Shah ended on 28 not out while Menaria made 21.
In reply, Mumbai Indians, who had tried out seven different opening pairs finally found one that clicked, as Smith and Tendulkar rode their luck on the way to the fifth 10-wicket victory in the history of the tournament.
