IPL 5: Owais Shah's wicket was the key, says Harbhajan

Mumbai: Mumbai Indians' skipper Harbhajan Singh said that Owais Shah's wicket was the key to their 27-run win over Rajasthan Royals in the IPL 5 match on Wednesday. Shah smashed 76 off 42 before being bowled by Lasith Malinga. Despite chasing a stiff target of 198, at one stage it looked like the Rajasthan batsman would steer his side to an improbable-looking win. However, Malinga dismissed him and Johan Botha in the same over of his second spell to help Mumbai pull things back.
"You can bring him [Malinga] any time. If Shah had batted three more overs, the game would have finished in 19 overs. Lot of credit to Shah for the way he batted," Harbhajan said after the match. "The dew was a problem, but when you have 197 on the board, the opposition still have to keep the score moving," he added.


Rajasthan's skipper, Rahul Dravid, too thought that they could have won the match had Shah batted through the innings. "We thought we had a chance when Shah was batting. [But] Malinga made the difference with his wicket. We needed to bat on. We were under the pump a little bit," Dravid said. He also added that his side drew a lot of positives from the match. "There was a little panic among the youngsters. It is an inexperienced attack. But there are a lot [of] positives. It is a bunch of talented kids who want to do well."
Man-of-the-Match Kieron Pollard, who smashed 64 off 33 and took four wickets, said, "The team needed that impetus. Royals played really well, but we knew 10-11 runs every over would be difficult. [There was] a fantastic atmosphere. You can say that Mumbai is my second home."