Bengaluru, April 14: It was the first match of both the Mumbai Indians (MI) and Rajasthan Royals (RR) in the 2010 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) and till then the RR had a 2-1 lead over their opponents in the annual T20 carnival with one match being abandoned.

Match Preview: MI vs RR" title="MI have 8-5 advantage over RR in IPL; Match Preview: MI vs RR" />MI have 8-5 advantage over RR in IPL; Match Preview: MI vs RR

MI skipper Sachin Tendulkar won the toss and chose to bat in a batting-friendly Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai. Tendulkar and Sanath Jayasuriya gave their team a brisk start by scoring 38 runs in just over 3 overs. But Dimitri Mascarenhas and Amit Unyal pulled back the hosts before Saurabh Tiwary and Ambati Rayudu tore apart the RR bowling.

The duo put on 110 runs for the 4th wicket in just over 10 overs. Rayudu departed earlier at 55 off 33 balls while Tiwary (53 off 33 balls) followed suit 11 runs later and the MI went on to post a big score of 212 for 6 in their allotted 20 overs. Their only concern, however, was the injury to Harbhajan Singh who retired hurt and did not bowl in the match.

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The Royals had a disastrous start with Swapnil Asnodkar getting run out without facing a ball. Naman Ojha, Graeme Smith and Abhishel Jhunjhunwala also departed, leaving the visitors reeling at 66 for 4 in the 10th over. The match looked to have gone out of RR's reach when Yousuf Pathan took his stance. The RR needed 147 runs from 65 balls then! What followed next could beat a fairy tale any day and reiterate the fact that cricket is a game of uncertainty.

Pathan and Paras Dogra decided to counter attack [see from 13.35 in the above video] and added 107 runs for the fifth wicket in less than 8 overs! Pathan slammed nine 4s and hit eight 6s during this time (a strike rate of 270.27) to seriously rattle Tendulkar's men. Pathan got run out in the 18th over by R Satish and the RR were still 40 runs from their target.

Dogra fought on but his dismissal in the final over stopped the RR from snatching what could have been a miraculous win in the history of the IPL. Mumbai Indians won the match by 4 runs to make it 2-2 against the Royals in the statistian's book.

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