Mumbai humbled by the other Shane

Rajasthan Royals 134 for 0 (Watson 89, Dravid 43) beat Mumbai Indians 133 for 5 (Rohit 58, Watson 3-19) by ten wickets
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details

	Shane Watson was all over Mumbai Indians © AFP Enlarge
Related Links Players/Officials: Shane Warne | Shane Watson Matches: Mumbai Indians v Rajasthan Royals at Mumbai Series/Tournaments: Indian Premier League Teams: India | Mumbai Indians | Rajasthan Royals

The prospect of a final face-off between Sachin Tendulkar and Shane Warne had dominated the build-up to this clash, but on the field it was overshadowed by an imposing performance from Shane Watson. Not only did he deliver a fitting farewell for his captain from competitive cricket, he also left Mumbai Indians under serious pressure to keep their qualification chances alive following a third straight defeat. For someone who had struggled to capitalise on starts through this tournament, Watson compensated with a splendid all-round effort, with each of his crushing blows serving Mumbai a painful reminder of what they should have achieved on a good pitch.

The Tendulkar-Warne contest should have been a non-event as left-arm spinner Ankeet Chavan trapped Tendulkar twice in front, only for umpire Paul Reiffel to think otherwise. Backed up by his disciplined bowling at one end, Watson dismissed T Suman and Ambati Rayudu in successive overs from the other, depriving the hosts of the attacking start they would have hoped for after choosing to bat. And just as Kieron Pollard had warmed up at the death after muscling a couple of boundaries, Watson cleaned him up to restrict Mumbai to a below-par total, one that was given some respectability by a classy half-century from Rohit Sharma.

It didn't take long for Watson to set about punishing Mumbai, as he smote Harbhajan Singh for two massive sixes over midwicket in the second over of the chase. He followed that up by drilling Lasith Malinga past mid-off in an over that perhaps produced his only moment of discomfort. Malinga responded venomously, knocking back Watson's chin with a bouncer - it escaped the grill, there would have been some pain but Watson didn't flinch. His own response? A memorable counterattack, pulling Malinga each time he dropped short, his next seven balls producing three fours, a flat six and a stunned crowd not used to seeing their star-studded home team being overwhelmed in that manner.

A sense of resignation was felt in the crowd, if not among the players, when Watson smacked Harbhajan for three consecutive fours in his comeback over, while Rahul Dravid, happy to play the supporting role, showed his own class with some delightful boundaries off Pollard and Munaf Patel. The pair remained unbeaten, Rajasthan cantered home, marking a satisfactory end after their turmoil-filled build-up to the tournament.

Rohit had won praise from Warne as one of the most exciting talents in Indian cricket, and he undoubtedly would have impressed his opposing captain with his performance today. He quickly took the lead in the stand with Tendulkar, his stand-out shot being an imposing drive against Warne through extra cover, matched by a delightful punch in the same region off Johan Botha who couldn't restrain Rohit despite chasing him as he made room.

Rohit used his feet well to spin, and stepped up in the late overs after Tendulkar perished to an upper cut off Amit Singh. Warne though, wasn't finishing his spell without a cheer. His final victory with the ball was the stumping of Rohit, stunned by the turn and losing his bat to square leg with a wild swing gone bad. At the end of the game, Warne was still smiling while Mumbai stayed baffled. © ESPN EMEA Ltd.

Powerful Bangalore outclass Rajasthan

Royal Challengers Bangalore 151 for 1 (Gayle 70*) beat Rajasthan Royals 146 for 6 (Dravid 37, Watson 34, Aravind 3-34) by nine wickets

	S Aravind took three important wickets © AFP

For the second successive match, Rajasthan Royals played on a true surface that did not suit them, and yet again, they were outclassed by a side that was clearly superior in all departments. Their batsmen, used to modest chases on sluggish tracks, were found wanting against a varied Royal Challengers Bangalore attack led by the impressive S Aravind. Their thin bowling resources proved to be expectedly insufficient against the might of Chris Gayle, Tillakaratne Dilshan and Virat Kohli. Their fielders dropped whatever chances they had of even hoping to scratch at the surface of a comeback.

The nine-wicket thumping widened the gap between Rajasthan and the top four teams, took Bangalore to within a win of making the play-offs, and left the home side needing a miracle.

The story of the match was encapsulated in the approach of each side's openers. Rahul Dravid and Shane Watson motored to 73 in 57 deliveries before falling in the space of three deliveries to Aravind. Dilshan and Gayle flew to 68 off 40 and it took a sharp take on the deep midwicket boundary by Ross Taylor to prolong the game.

The assault by Dilshan and Gayle left the Jaipur crowd so stunned that any noise was conspicuous by its absence for the remainder of the chase. Gayle even seemed to be lulled into periods of relative inactivity, before enough deliveries found the middle of his bat in another big innings that took him to within 27 runs of claiming the orange cap from Virender Sehwag.

Bangalore had already galloped to 38 when Shane Warne dropped Gayle at mid-off, and that was as close as Rajasthan came to making a breakthrough. The first four overs yielded double-figure returns, Dilshan and Gayle taking turns to dismantle an attack that had already been sold short by its misfiring batsmen.

Setting a stiff target was Rajasthan's only hope but Aravind continued his impressive performance in this IPL, coming back from an expensive beginning with three crucial wickets that foiled the home side's plans of a late charge after a solid, if unspectacular, start.

Dravid and Watson had put on 73 when Aravind dismissed both in three deliveries in the 10th over. He then came back to remove Johan Botha in the 17th over as Rajasthan lost whatever little steam they had managed to build up.

Rajasthan look much better when they are chasing a modest total on a tough pitch than when they are trying to set a big target on a batting surface. The way Dravid and Watson batted showed just why that is true. On a pitch that could not have been more different from the slow tracks that Jaipur has seen, crisp shots mostly found the fielders.

Dravid hit six boundaries and Watson muscled a couple of sixes but there was always the feeling that they could have gone harder, considering the powerful batting line-up they were up against. Despite being in control throughout, Dravid played out 13 dot balls; Watson outdid him with 17.

Watson tried to target Aravind, a mis-hit just beat deep midwicket but the next ball was smacked over the sightscreen. It was in Aravind's third over that Bangalore wrested control. Watson went hard at a full delivery but only found AB de Villiers - Arun Karthik had replaced him behind the stumps today - on the wide long-on boundary. Two deliveries later, Dravid fell to another soft dismissal, hitting one straight back to Aravind.

Ajinkya Rahane carried on from his half-century in the previous game, but Johan Botha took off after reverse-sweeping to point and Rahane had to sacrifice his wicket with a needless run-out. Botha could not do much to make up for his error as Aravind found the outside edge with one that moved away for Arun Karthik to take the chance.

At 124 for 4 with three overs to go, Rajasthan needed some frenetic hitting from Ross Taylor and Ashok Menaria, but they fell in successive overs.

Against Gayle and Dilshan, 146 was not only inadequate, it set up a no-a contest despite Shane Warne trying his best with dipping legbreaks and flat sliders in his last IPL match at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium. © ESPN EMEA Ltd.

Chennai breach fortress Jaipur

Chennai Super Kings 196 for 3 (Vijay 53, Hussey 46, Raina 43, Dhoni 41) beat Rajasthan Royals 133 (Rahane 52, Bollinger 3-22) by 63 runs

	MS Dhoni showed off his big-hitting skills © AFP

Match Meter CSK Vijay and Hussey slam three boundaries in an over from Amit Singh to power Chennai to a cracking start, reaching 47 after five overs CSK Dhoni took apart Trivedi in the 17th overmuscling the biggest six of the match and a two fours to provide Chennai a late flourish CSK Shane Watson departs in the sixth over of the chase, undone by R Ashwin, to deal Rajasthan's chance a huge blow CSK Rajasthan's hopes of mounting a serious challenge ended with Ross Taylor's dismissal in the ninth over, falling to Albie Morkel Advantage Honours even

Chennai Super Kings' powerful batting line-up spoiled Shane Warne's first game since announcing his retirement and left Rajasthan Royals needing at least two wins from their remaining matches to qualify for the play-offs. Chennai's top four all played their part to set up the win that pushed their side to 14 points, one victory away from virtually sealing their spot in the play-offs.

There was some controversy ahead of the game as Warne said Rajasthan were forced to change the pitch on which the match was played. It proved to be a surface that wasn't the typical slow-and-low Jaipur track, the sort on which Rajasthan have built their intimidating home record. Instead, it was a quicker pitch that favoured stroke-making, more suited to Chennai's bruising top order.

Michael Hussey provided the initial impetus as M Vijay took his time to find his range. It was the usual unfussy innings from Hussey. He relied on power-hits only for the rare heaves to midwicket, otherwise it was more about touch and placement. There was a reverse-sweep off Ashok Maneria, and plenty of eye-catching drives through the off side. Just as the man averaging above 50 in the IPL seemed set for another half-century, he was foxed by Johan Botha's full delivery. Hussey looked to dispatch it over to short midwicket boundary and was bowled.

While Hussey was scoring at a strike-rate nearly 200, Vijay was initially cautious after three failures. It would have been a fourth flop if Ajinkya Rahane had caught a chance in the fourth over at backward point. Soon after the reprieve Vijay showed signs of the destroyer of 2010, with his favourite lofts over the leg side making a regular appearance. All his boundaries - three sixes and two fours - were in the arc from square leg to long-on, a couple came perilously close to the knocking over the redesigned IPL trophy.

With Suresh Raina regularly finding the cover boundary and Vijay muscling a half-century, Chennai galloped to 117 for 1 in 13 overs. During their stand, the most likely mode of dismissal seemed to be a run-out. There was plenty of confused calling and lazy running, and they escaped several times before a dawdling Vijay was caught out by a direct hit from Botha.

There was no let-up even after that dismissal as MS Dhoni came out blazing. He thrashed Siddharth Trivedi onto the roof of the first tier for his first six before unleashing a series of shots that powered Chennai close to 200. In between, Dhoni also pushed his team-mates to race between the wickets, pressurising the Rajasthan fielders and picking off extra runs.

The outfield was extremely quick and there was a short square boundary, but Rajasthan still needed either Shane Watson or Ross Taylor to play a blinder to pull off the chase. Neither did, and that killed Rajasthan's challenge. After Rahul Dravid fell for a chancy 20, Watson holed out in the sixth over, attempting his trademark slog-sweep. Taylor was gone two overs later, lashing a full delivery from Albie Morkel to deep point, which left them at 63 for 3. Ajinkya Rahane unfurled a series of boundaries to reach his second Twenty20 half-century, but that proved too little to curb the spiralling asking-rate, and Chennai walked to a 63-run victory. © ESPN EMEA Ltd.

Shane Warne announces IPL retirement

Shane Warne has been the face of the Rajasthan Royals franchise © Associated Press

The ongoing season of the IPL will be Rajasthan Royals captain Shane Warne's last one as a player. He will most likely continue to be associated with Rajasthan as a coach or advisor in the future.

"Yes this is my last year playing IPL - please come down and support RR last 2 home games v Chennai & Bangalore ! We need your help !!!!", Warne wrote on Twitter. He confirmed that this meant he would not play any more professional cricket matches after this IPL. "A big thank you to everyone that has helped me - supported me through all the ups and downs - hope you have enjoyed watching me play," he added.

Warne captained Rajasthan to victory in the inaugural season of the IPL but the franchise's fortunes slumped in the next two seasons. He has played 52 games for Rajasthan so far picking up 56 wickets at an average of 24.66. Rajasthan are currently fourth in the points table in this edition and Warne called on Rajasthan's fans to support them in their last two home games.

"We have a spirit in the squad similar to IPL 1 - it would be great to leave on a high - I'm proud of the way we have developed young players," Warne wrote.

Australia allrounder Shane Watson, who plays under Warne in the IPL, told ESPNcricinfo in an interview that Warne was keen to leave the game on a winning note, whenever that happened. "I think he's very motivated," Watson said. "After last year the way things panned out for Rajasthan, I think he's very motivated to make sure that whenever he leaves the game he leaves in a really good place. Warney's bowling unbelievably well and has been since the start of the tournament. There's only really one person who's ever been consistently able to do it as a legspinner and he's bowling absolutely beautifully."

The team released a statement praising Warne for his contribution while making clear his retirement as a player was not the end of his association with the franchise. "Shane Warne has been an integral part of Rajasthan Royals for the last four years," Raghu Iyer, the chief marketing officer, said. "He has been instrumental in nurturing young talent in the team and making Rajasthan Royals a formidable force in IPL. He will continue his association with the Royals in coming years and will offer his invaluable guidance to young players.

"We are looking forward to him assuming a larger role in the team and continuing adding value to the team's success." © ESPN EMEA Ltd.

All-round Chennai cruise to fourth straight win

Chennai Super Kings 149 for 2 (Hussey 79*, Raina 61) beat Rajasthan Royals 147 for 6 (Dravid 66, Watson 32, Jakati 2-22) by eight wickets

	Mr. Cricket took charge in typically assured style © AFP

Chennai Super Kings continued their dominance at home and eased to a fourth-successive win in conditions where power play took a backseat to opportunistic strokemaking, and stamina and steady consolidation was more crucial than short outbursts of runs. The sweltering Chennai heat and a slow pitch made it a tiring ordeal for batsmen, and it seemed at one stage that Rajasthan Royals, riding on the back of Rahul Dravid's fluent half-century, would have the better of the contest. But an inspired recovery from Chennai's faltering bowlers and a controlled approach to the chase from Suresh Raina and Michael Hussey set up Chennai's comfortable win - their fifth in five games at home this season.

The Rajasthan openers, Dravid and Shane Watson, had displayed excellent determination to occupy the crease and set a strong foundation to their team's innings. The pair ran well between wickets, rotated the strike, picked the gaps to scramble back for the twos, before Dravid took charge against the spinners. He pulled R Ashwin twice in an over to the midwicket fence, reverse-swept and punched Suraj Randiv for three fours in an over to different parts of the ground. The highlight of the first ten overs was his inside-out drive over extra cover off Shadab Jakati, as Rajasthan coasted to 86 in the first ten overs.

Match Meter RR Dravid's shot of the innings: When he lofts Jakati over extra cover in the ninth over, Chennai are 69 without loss and on course for a big total KKRDC Spinners lead Chennai fightback Menaria and Botha fall in quick succession, and when Dravid holes out off a tired shot in the 16th over, Rajasthan are 117 for 4 CSK The double-strike: Morkel dismisses Rahane and Taylor off successive deliveries in the 19th over and by the end of the innings, Rajasthan have only managed 61 in the last ten. CSK Nightmare in the field: Binny has an off day, conceding eight runs in the field in third and fourth overs through a misfield and an overthrow. The early pressure after Vijay's wicket is off Chennai CSK Doshi targeted: Raina and Hussey crack two sixes and a four in the 11th over, and it's smooth sailing for the rest of the innings Advantage Honours even

The trigger for the fightback was a brilliant return catch from Jakati off Watson, as he put his hands up and intercepted a ferocious thwack back towards him in the 11th over. Despite an encouraging run-rate, and with plenty of ammunition left in the batting for a surge at the death, the desire for clearing the ropes overrode any thought of building the innings for a few more overs. Ashok Menaria holed out needlessly against Ashwin, and Johan Botha, who had picked a cheeky boundary, succumbed when he tried to use force against Jakati. Dravid was swimming in sweat in the Chennai heat and fell to a tiring shot, and not long after, the seamers returned to contain the flow further. A couple of fours from Ross Taylor was offset by a double-strike from Albie Morkel in the penultimate over, and Rajasthan only managed 61 in the last ten, losing six wickets.

The wicket of M Vijay was an early boost for Rajasthan but some sloppy fielding, a difficult opportunity that was grassed, and the maturity of the Raina-Hussey combine put paid to Rajasthan's hopes. Stuart Binny conceded eight runs in the field, through a misfield and an overthrow, and was listless with the ball. Raina was let off by Watson diving full stretch in the deep, but otherwise there weren't any opportunities.

Like the Chennai bowlers had done in the first ten overs, Rajasthan's attack erred in line and length, giving the batsmen timely opportunities to pierce the field. Siddharth Trivedi bowled too often down the leg side, and the more accurate Watson and Botha were worked around. With both batsmen settling in well, left-arm spinner Nayan Doshi was carted for two sixes in the 11th over - the same passage in the Rajasthan innings had marked a decisive turn of events. As the shoulders drooped, Binny doled freebies outside off which Hussey cut for successive fours before delivering the same treatment to Menaria on the leg side. Raina's dismissal was against the run of play, but his knock, along with Hussey's, had made a relatively one-sided contest out of a potential cracker. © ESPN EMEA Ltd.

Taylor leads Rajasthan to top spot

Rajasthan Royals 144 for 4 beat Pune Warriors 143 for 7 (Uthappa 35) by six wickets

	The contest of the gmae: Robin Uthappa took on Shane Warne, but eventually fell to him © AFP

It was a tale of contrasting performances from two Pune Warriors spinners. Rahul Sharma threatened to win it for them but Murali Kartik lost the plot and Rajasthan Royals' Ross Taylor seized the moment, with valuable support from Ajinkya Rahane, to clinch a thrilling win. Rajasthan moved to the top of the table while Pune stayed frozen at rock bottom.

With 52 runs required from six overs, Rahul bowled a gem of a maiden over that included the wicket of the aggressive Ashok Menaria to end his spell with figures of 4-1-13-3. However, Kartik gifted two short balls and a full toss in the next over and Taylor looted 17 runs with the help of two fours and a six. Suddenly, the equation came down to 29 from 18 and despite two relatively disciplined overs from Alphonso Thomas and Jerome Taylor, Rajasthan just needed the odd boundary here and there to squeeze past the line.

Two boundary hits from Rahane and Ross Taylor sealed the contest. When they needed 24 runs from 14 balls, Rahane sliced a slower length ball from Jerome Taylor to the point boundary and when they required 17 from 11, Ross Taylor slugged a length delivery from Thomas deep into the midwicket stands. Game over.

Pune will look back and rue the reprieve they offered Ross Taylor. When Rajasthan needed 32 from 20, Taylor, on 31 then, heaved Thomas to left of deep midwicket where Nathan McCullum did all the hard work to get there but couldn't hold on. He lunged out to take it but it bounced off his palms as he fell to the ground and bounded off his chest and right thigh.

It was that kind of night for Pune. Only Rahul sparkled with the ball and almost single-handedly pushed them to the cusp of victory. His evening changed with a long hop in his second over, the seventh of the innings. Rahul Dravid, who again failed to convert a start, pulled it back to him and Rahul started to choke the run-flow with a slew of bouncing top spinners. However, Kartik had a horror day, leaking 41 runs from his four overs.

Pune will also look back at their batting effort and wish if they could have done a bit more. The top order flattered to deceive. The contest of the afternoon was between Shane Warne and Robin Uthappa. It had an overload of skill, adrenaline, ego, canniness and a dash of foolhardiness. It lasted eight deliveries but it encapsulated everything that is good about Twenty20. It had an aggressive batsman intent on attack and an ambitious bowler focused on hunting down his prey. Throw in an umpire ready to brave ferocious appeals and rule on the side of conservatism, and you had a thoroughly entertaining package.

Uthappa unfurled the reverse-sweep and conventional sweep to collect two fours. Warne ripped a big leg break next, starting from just about leg stump - part of the ball was outside leg - and it beat the bat to strike the pad. It was the start of Warne's increasingly vocal tussle with the umpire Shavir Tarapore. He yelped out a huge appeal but Tarapore perhaps thought it pitched just outside leg and turned it down. Warne looped the next delivery on a length but Uthappa stretched forward to slog-sweep it over midwicket.

Three boundaries in four balls and the heat was well and truly on Warne, who responded with a front-of-hand skidder that landed on the line of leg stump and just about straightened to hit the pad. Warne screamed, Tarapore stayed frozen and Uthappa survived. Warne got the final delivery to skid on towards the leg stump, Uthappa was caught in a tangle and yet again, got stuck on the pad. Replays suggested it would have clipped leg stump but you could understand why the umpire didn't give it.

Warne removed himself from Tarapore's end and appeared at Simon Taufel's in the ninth over. Uthappa again reverse-swept the first ball to the boundary but Warne shortened the length off the next and got it to skid and bounce towards middle. Uthappa ended up top-edging the swat to the keeper. Uthappa's exit was sandwiched between the dismissals of Jesse Ryder, stumped off Johan Botha, and Yuvraj Singh, run out after he backed up too far at the non-striker's end, and it derailed the innings. © ESPN EMEA Ltd.