DC win by 10 wickets.

Football’s truism - money alone can’t buy you a winning team - found its echo in cricket as the Mumbai Indians, the IPL’s most expensive franchise, lost their third consecutive game in a row to find themselves one place above the bottom of the table. They were outplayed by Kings XI Punjab, who secured their first win of the tournament with a fine team performance studded by some moments of individual brilliance.

For all of that, this match had lots for the purist too, as it showed Test skills can be used to great effect in cricket’s newest format. Kumar Sangakkara used classical shots in his innings, while Piyush Chawla bowled attacking legspin to rattle the Mumbai batsmen and concede just 16 runs off four overs.

At the toss, Harbhajan Singh explained the decision to field first by saying his side preferred chasing. But their pursuit of a competitive, though not impossible, target was crippled by wickets falling at regular intervals - six wickets between the ninth and fifteenth overs - as the line-up, once again lacking Sachin Tendulkar, came up against some inspired Punjab bowling.

Leading the line was Brett Lee, who conceded nine runs off his four overs as he mixed scorching pace with athleticism and exuberance to dismiss the Mumbai openers. After crossing the 150kph-mark in his first over, he took a brilliant return catch in the next to remove Sanath Jayasuriya before running out Luke Ronchi off the following ball with a fluid diving throw, the batsman chasing after him a yard behind.

More athleticism was on display as Yuvraj Singh plucked out a blinding one-handed catch by stretching to left at covers to dismiss Shaun Pollock.

At the other end of the spectrum was the teenager Chawla, all twirls and swirls as he bowled Dwayne Bravo and Saurabh Tiwary with deliveries that stayed straight. His figures at the end read 16 runs off four, incredible for a spinner in Twenty20.

The most consistent display of class and grace came earlier in the day, from Sangakkara. Though he missed getting a hundred, Sangakkara managed to overtake Brendon McCullum as the tournament’s leading run-scorer - and he did it in style.

For his first scoring shot, a drive through extra-cover for four, he transferred his weight perfectly from back to front foot and then arrested his follow-through halfway through the shot. Out of place in such a setting, perhaps, but no one was complaining.

He used his wrists to great effect; to reach his fifty - off 23 balls - with a cut-glide to point and to flick to fine leg. And the purists would have been delighted when he was joined by Mahela Jayawardene, who thrilled with an equally wrist-driven flick for six to fine leg. Jayawardene, though, didn’t stay for long, and was caught for 12 trying to sweep fine. Yuvraj matched them in grace with a six driven over long-on. The biggest six of the innings, though, was hit by Lee - he lifted a fuller delivery off Dhawal Kulkarni in the final over high in the sky over long-off.

But barring Sangakkara, no other Punjab batsman built an innings of consequence - the next highest score was 18. Yet, if you look at their shots, Punjab’s batsmen look like they can entertain and deliver on a good day. Mumbai on the other hand will be desperately hoping Sachin Tendulkar is fit for their next match against the Deccan Chargers on Sunday.

The preparation has been good. Our team is preparing really quietly and we are preparing quite well actually. We have a good bunch of youngsters and it seems like a good team coming along. So we are hoping we’ll have a fantastic first IPL.

Robin, you are basically a Bangalore boy, you grew up in Bangalore and played most of your cricket there. So were you a bit disappointed when you were not selected to be a part of the Bangalore team?

Actually, it is very pleasing to know that I’m appreciated all over the country. It was very humbling for me to know that people around the country want me in their teams because of the way I play. But yes, I was a touch disappointed I wouldn’t be playing for Bangalore. But again, I even got a fantastic compliment from Dr. Vijay Mallya when he said that the Bangalore team is only 96% complete without Robin. So I thank him for that. It feels good to be in Mumbai and I feel at home because I’ve played a lot of my cricket with these guys in Mumbai, so it’s really nice to be here with all these boys. And my corporate team again is from here so its good to be here in Mumbai and play cricket with all these boys.

You’ve had a few practice sessions here with the Mumbai Indians. So how is the team gelling as a unit and how is the confidence level before the start of the tournament?

Confidence level is quite high and the team is gelling quite well. We had a practice session today and it went really well. The team is preparing extremely well and all of us are very keen about this tournament and are looking forward to it.

You’ve shared the dressing room with Sachin Tendulkar and Harbhajan Singh before, but it will be strange and interesting to share the dressing room with Sanath Jayasurya, Shaun Pollock and the likes of Lasith Malinga and Ashwell Prince. What is that feeling like and how are you looking forward to it?

(I am) overwhelmed. I am really looking forward to that one. Its something that is so different and I think a lot of us are really fortunate to have some great cricketers in our team. We have Shaun Pollock who is probably the best opening bowler who’s ever played. He is a fantastic allrounder, and then we have Sanath, who is probably one of the best openers in the world. We have Sachin, who’s probably the best cricketer we have ever seen. So Mumbai team is very fortunate that we have these great cricketers with us. We are all looking forward to it and I am really looking forward to learn a lot from these guys because they all are best in their own way. So I am very keen and very happy. I have already had a few words with them and I am getting to know them really well, so its really nice.

You’ve played a lot of Twenty20 cricket and you are quite an aggressive batsman, so this format really suits your style. Do you enjoy this format?

Yes, but not as much as the Test matches or the One Day games. I like the longest version the most and then comes One Day Cricket. Twenty20 is basically entertainment. There’s a lot more for the crowd than the cricketers. Not that the cricketers don’t enjoy it, we do enjoy, but its lots more entertainment than cricket.

Has it been decided what position you’ll be batting on?

Not yet, because Sachin is still injured. So we don’t know where and when (I’ll be batting).

So if Sachin doesn’t get to play, will we see you open?

Hopefully. Let us see!

And will we get to see Robin Uthappa bowl in this tournament, because even though you haven’t bowled in international cricket, we know you can roll your arm over a bit.

Yes, you might see me bowling here actually.

Are Mumbai Indians really confident of being the team to beat?

Yes, absolutely! Like our slogan goes, We’ll rock the world!

And are there any goals that your team has set for themselves?

We do have goals. We’re looking to get into the last four right now. That’s the initial goal and the team seems to be working towards it already. So it’s all looking bright and good right now.

Thank you so much Robin and wish you all the best not only for this tournament but for your entire career.

A spirited late assault from Abhishek Nayar and Harbhajan Singh threatened to gatecrash the Chennai Super Kings’ first home game but, with the match in the balance in the final over, Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s side held their nerve to clinch a thrilling six-run win. A 104-run stand between Matthew Hayden and Suresh Raina took Chennai to an imposing 208 for 5 that was nearly overhauled by Nayar’s 20-ball 45.

With Mumbai needing 62 off the last four overs, with four wickets in hand, the contest seemed pretty much over. Nayar and Harbhajan, captaining again in Sachin Tendulkar’s absence, had other plans. P Amarnath had conceded 36 off his first three overs but that was miserly compared to what he was subjected to in his final over. Harbhajan clubbed a six over long-off before Nayar, the left-hander, hit two fours through the leg-side, and made it 21 for the over by launching an overpitched ball over long-off. Amarnath finished with 57 off his four, the most runs conceded by a bowler in a match for the tournament.

Jacob Oram was next; he hadn’t been thrifty in his first spell, going for 40 off his three, and two sixes from Harbhajan saw him finish with 53 off his quota. That brought the target down to 28 off 12, and it brought Muttiah Muralitharan on to bowl. There was a bit of gamesmanship between him and his rival offspinner Harbhajan but Murali won the round, giving away only nine and leaving Nayar having to get 19 off the final over.

As he had done during the World Twenty20, Dhoni entrusted the final over to Joginder Sharma but the returns weren’t immediately as successful; Nayar, in the manner of Lance Klusener, carved boundaries off the first two balls and then Joginder overstepped. That no-ball probably decided the match; Nayar drove it straight to Badrinath at backward point but took the single, leaving Ashish Nehra on strike for the following free hit. Joginder committed no errors from there on, sealing the six-run win.

Chennai had been put in by Mumbai Indians at the toss, but Harbhajan needed to utilise eight bowlers to stem the flow of runs as the batsmen made merry. Hayden came up against old nemesis Shaun Pollock, who knowing the Australian’s tendency to stand out of his crease, summoned Luke Ronchi up to the stumps. Hayden responded with a deft paddle sweep for four before smashing two fours over the bowler’s head. To make matters worse, four byes came off the final delivery of the over, which cost an expensive 18 runs.

Michael Hussey, top scorer in Chennai’s previous game, failed to cash in, bottom-edging one onto the stumps while giving Dhawal Kulkarni the charge, but Hayden was muscling the ball cleanly, biffing a short one from Nehra to bring up the 200th four of the tournament. He was joined by Suresh Raina, who was content with pushing the ball into the gaps for singles. Kulkarni varied his length to good effect in his first spell, and wasn’t afraid to push in the occasional bouncer, including one that surprised Raina.

Matthew Hayden targeted the straight boundaries, his favoured area, but to everyone’s surprise, he came up with some cheeky shots behind the wicket © Cricinfo Ltd

Harbhajan brought himself on in the eighth over and Raina, stepping out, nearly found the fielder in the deep. Dwayne Bravo, a last-minute addition to the Mumbai Indians squad, came on at the other end, and Hayden nearly cleaned up Raina with the straight boundary. Harbhajan conceded only 14 off his two overs but Raina broke the shackles by clubbing a low full toss over long-off. The 50-partnership came off 35 balls, and Chennai were set once again for a big score.

After ten overs, they were at 82 for 2, and it soon became 112 for 2 after 12. Bravo was pulled for six over midwicket by Raina before Vikrant Yeligati gave away 16 off his only over. Pollock came on for his second spell, and this time Hayden brought out the reverse-sweep, a shot that would have surely deflated the South African. Raina cashed in as well, guiding one past through the short fine leg, and Pollock was to finish with 0 for 32 off his three overs. Of all the bowlers used by Mumbai, only Nehra bowled out his four, while Harbhajan surprisingly bowled only two.

Mumbai lost Ronchi early in their reply, and Jayasuriya, who made full use of Oram’s poor control, departed trying to pull one shot too many against Manpreet Gony. A rather unknown entity, the tall Gony was excellent with his line and length, using his height to good effect. His first over was a maiden, and Dhoni bowled him through his four, after which his figures were an impressive 4-1-18-1.

Robin Uthappa led a revival with his 43, taking 19 off an Oram over, but he was bowled trying to guide Joginder over midwicket. Pollock took 11 singles before carting Amarnath for a six, but the bowler had the last hurrah, castling the South African.

After two games, Mumbai, whose owners paid the highest for the franchise, find themselves without a win. It’s not the present they will want for their captain the day before his birthday but the present everyone wants to see is Tendulkar’s return to the side.

Five unauthorised persons, wearing Mumbai Indians T-shirts with captain Sachin Tendulkar’s name behind their backs, came and occupied seats inside the box and started making announcements about on-field activities before the match, much to the chagrin of accredited mediapersons.

After a lot of discussions, it was finally decided that two persons belonging to the event management company would be allotted space inside the media box to make announcements from time to time on the public address system.

Strangely, some of the Mumbai Cricket Association officials were silent spectators to the proceedings, giving the impression that the franchise owners are running the show and the owners of the stadium have little say in the matter.

In a match dominated by South African stars, the batting efforts of Mark Boucher and Jacques Kallis edged the all-round contribution of Shaun Pollock, as Bangalore Royal Challengers recovered from Friday’s mauling to register their first win of the tournament. Set a challenging 166 by the Mumbai Indians, Bangalore rode on an unbeaten 39 from Boucher, and his 55-run stand with Kallis sealed a five-wicket win with two balls to spare.

The absence of Sachin Tendulkar would have been a huge downer for the crowd at the Wankhede Stadium, but none of them could complain about the quality of action. The bounce on the pitch kept the bowlers interested, and the batsmen on their toes - one of them, Mumbai’s Dominic Thornely, was so surprised by a Zaheer Khan bouncer that he copped a blow above the eye which required 15 stitches. Robin Uthappa and Pollock were the two major contributors for Mumbai, with Sanath Jayasuriya chipping in with a cameo at the start.

A target of 166 suggested a close finish, and that’s exactly how it panned out. Bangalore had contributions from all their batsmen, though none of the top five stayed through the chase. Shivnarine Chanderpaul biffed a few before getting a painful blow on the knee, while Rahul Dravid alternated between the sublime - with glorious straight- and extra-cover drives - and the tentative - five runs from 14 balls off Pollock. Ross Taylor and Virat Kohli both made 23 in identical fashion, but when Kohli fell, the match hung in the balance, with 60 needed from 39 balls.

While Kallis played a typically patient hand, Boucher put in the decisive knock which turned the match Bangalore’s way. Striking the ball freely and cleanly, he ensured the asking-rate never climbed beyond ten, and got the boundaries so regularly that the pressure slowly moved to the home team. Harbhajan Singh, the Mumbai captain, was creamed through point in the 15th over, while Jayasuriya was clubbed for a straight six. When Nehra was pulled for four and blasted out of the ground for the biggest six of the game in successive balls, the requirement had suddenly come down to 11 from 12 balls, after which the result was never in doubt.

Mumbai’s innings was built largely around Uthappa’s 48, which held the innings together, and a whirlwind 12-ball 28 from Pollock which turned an average total into a substantial one. The absence of Tendulkar was felt at the top of the order, as Luke Ronchi, his replacement as opener, lasted just ten balls before falling to an outstanding catch by Kohli. Jayasuriya gave every indication of making up for Tendulkar’s absence, creaming the hapless Kallis for three fours - two bludgeoned down the ground, one flicked fine - and a huge six over long-on. When he fell against the run of play, run out by a direct hit from Zaheer, Mumbai needed a steady hand to guide the innings, and Uthappa played that part well.

The over-wise runs scored for the two teams shows how close the contest was (click here for a larger image) © Cricinfo

His familiarity with the opposition bowlers - Vinay Kumar, Sunil Joshi and B Akhil are all state-mates in first-class cricket - helped him along too, as Vinay was late-cut delightfully and then hooked for six off successive balls. Uthappa improvised cleverly, moving to leg to clip the ball fine, or walking down the pitch to upset the bowlers, but he also reined in his attacking instincts, knocking the ball in the gaps during the middle overs.

When he fell just two short of his half-century, though, Mumbai only had 125 on the board with just 19 deliveries to go. Enter Pollock, who immediately turned it up a few gears. After Abhishek Nayar had creamed a straight six off Vinay, Pollock dismissed the same bowler for a four and a six off consecutive balls. Praveen and Zaheer were taken for boundaries as well, as 40 came off the last five overs. The opposition team, though, had two other South African heavyweights to seal the deal.