Rajasthan Royals' skipper Shane Warne praised his team spirit after the defending Indian Premier League champions edged closer to the semi-finals on Thursday with a two-run win over Mumbai Indians.
Munaf Patel bowled a tight last over under pressure when Mumbai needed just four runs to achieve their 146-run target, but the Indian seamer conceded just one.
It was Mumbai who folded as three wickets fell in that last over, including two run-outs.
"All credit to the guys who showed great character. It just showed the spirit in our group," said Warne, who was named man of the match.
"I was worried when the master (Sachin Tendulkar hit 40 off 30 balls) was hitting it all around the ground. It was such a big game for both sides."
Mumbai skipper Tendulkar hit a solid 40 and Abhishek Nayar an 18-ball 35 to raise his team's hopes of victory following Warne's triple-strike, but Rajasthan hit back in the closing over.
Former Australian leg-spinner Warne finished with 3-24.
Mumbai's hopes rested on Tendulkar and Sanath Jayasuriya (16), specialist openers batting in the middle order, after three wickets had fallen for 23 runs but skipper Warne removed both the batsmen at the right time.
Delhi lead the eight-team tournament with 16 points from 10 matches, followed by Chennai (13/11), Rajasthan (13/12), Deccan (12/11), Bangalore (12/12), Mumbai (11/12), Punjab (10/11) and Kolkata (3/11).
The top four sides advance to the semi-finals.
Australian opener Rob Quiney and Indian middle-order batsman Ravinder Jadeja earlier boosted Rajasthan with a 61-run stand for the third wicket off just six overs.
Quiney top-scored with a 40-ball 51 for his maiden half-century of the tournament, while Jadeja scored 42 off 32 balls.
Earlier, Ross Taylor hit a crucial 46 to steer Bangalore Royal Challengers to an exciting two-wicket win over Chennai Super Kings.
The New Zealander added 56 for the fourth wicket with Virat Kohli (38) as Bangalore achieved a 130-run target with two balls to spare to keep alive their hopes of qualifying for the semi-finals.
Man-of-the-matc h Taylor fell in the final over after hitting one six in his sensible 50-ball knock, but his team needed just five to win at that stage. Vinay Kumar completed the victory when he smashed Jacob Oram for a four.
Kohli cracked two sixes in his 35-ball knock.
Veteran Indian leg-spinner Anil Kumble earlier led Bangalore's fightback with two wickets for just 12 runs off four overs.
Chennai were strongly placed at 101-3 following Australian opener Matthew Hayden's brisk half-century, but lost the last seven wickets for 28 in a sensational collapse.
Kumble started the slide when he had in-form Hayden caught by Kumar at deep mid-wicket. Hayden smashed three sixes and five fours in his 38-ball 60 -- his fourth half-century of the tournament.
Hayden propped up the innings after South African seamer Jacques Kallis had bagged two early wickets, but received no support from the other end. Skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni was the second-highest scorer with 18.
AFP
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