Mumbai reached Final of IPL 2010

The lip-smacking contest turned out to be a one-sided affair with Mumbai scoring an emphatic 35-run victory on Wednesday. Pollard cracked 33 not out form 13 balls and then took three wickets.

After Saurabh Tiwary and Ambhati Rayadu along with the big-hitting Pollard lifted the Mumbai Indians to an impressive 184-5, Bangalore could manage only 149-9.

Bangalore were always behind the asking rate with Mumbai keeping a tight lid over the scoring except for a brief period when Robin Uthappa (26 0ff 13) opened his shoulders. The Bangalore dasher smashed Harbhajan Singh for 18 runs in the ninth over. Uthappa's cameo was the only bright spot in the Bangalore chase.

Jacques Kallis' sudden slump with the bat continued as he could manage only 11, allowing Tendulkar to keep the coveted Orange Cap. Rahul Dravid (23 off 22), who opened the batting, and Kevin Pietersen (19 off 14)held the fort for a while but the absence of big hits forced Pietersen to step out to Harbhajan Singh but the wily tweaker outfoxed the Englishman by bowling it down the leg side, Ambhati Rayadu did the rest.

It was the tenth over that handed Mumbai a very clear advantage. Uthappa, for once, miscued one off Pollard to hole out in the deep. The very next ball, Dravid was run out when he hesitated for a second in the middle of the pitch in what should have been an easy single.

From there on, the run-rate kept climbing up and Bangalore slipped further. Virat Kohli (nine), Manish Pandey (five) and Praveen Kumar (one) departed in quick succession. Ross Taylor (30 not out off 29 balls) struck occasional blows but he was kept in check by the sharp Mumbai bowling.

Earlier, Mumbai's young guns rose to the occasion as Tiwary (52 not out off 31) and Rayadu (40 of 38) set Mumbai up with a brisk 67-run stand before Pollard bludgeoned three huge sixes.

After Mumbai elected to bat, Bangalore struck a crucial blow early when Dale Steyn managed to send back the in-form Sachin Tendulkar for just a run-a-ball nine. The master batsman was dismissed for a single-digit score for the first time this year. Two overs later, a direct hit from Virat Kohli ended Shikhar Dhawan's knock for 12.
Rayadu and Abhishek Nayar revived the Mumbai innings with a 39-run stand before Bangalore spinners got into action.

Pietersen got rid of Nayar (22 off 18) and took a brilliant catch to dismiss new man JP Duminy (three) in the next over. Then it was Mumbai's finds of the season Rayadu and Tiwary to fire in unison. Both played sensibly before Tiwary launched into Jacques Kallis and Anil Kumble to take 17 each from the experienced duo.

The game was closely poised till the 15th over of the Mumbai innings with the score at 107-4. But Bangalore slipped at the death by leaking 77 runs in the final five overs.
Bangalore will now play the losing team of the second semi-final between the Chennai Super Kings and Deccan Chargers. Mumbai will play the winner of that game in the final on Sunday.