Chennai, Apr 9: Harshal Patel produced a death over masterclass with a five-wicket haul as Mumbai Indians achieved a par score of 159 for nine against Royal Challengers Bangalore in the IPL opener here on Friday.

Harshal picked up 5 for 27 in his four overs and was brilliant at the death as he became the first player to get a five-for against Mumbai Indians.

Reserve opener Chris Lynn (49 off 35 balls) partially made amends for his part in a horrible mix-up that led to skipper Rohit Sharma's (19 off 15 balls) run-out, by adding 70 runs in seven overs for second wicket with Suryakumar Yadav (31 off 23 balls).

That stand was the platform that MI needed to fire during the back-end.

Fresh from his exploits for India, Ishan Kishan blazed his way to 28 off 19 balls but Harshal got a few wickets in the final over to prevent MI from inflicting bigger damage.

On a Chepauk track where a good score is anything in the region of 150, the total was certainly par for the course.

Kyle Jamieson (1/27 in 4 overs) had an impressive IPL debut with his disconcerting bounce but the seasoned Yuzvendra Chahal (0/41 in 4 overs) has clearly lost his bearings for some time now.

But Harshal, Chahal's Haryana teammate made it up with some accurate wicket-to-wicket bowling in the 18th and 20th over.

Lynn, who looked shaky during the first few overs, stepped out to loft Chahal for a six over long-on and another over wide of long-on off left arm spinner Shahbaz Ahmed to get his rhythm back.

This was after he called Rohit for a non-existent single and then sent him back, only to find the skipper yards short of his ground.

Suryakumar (31 off 23 balls), at the other end, took off from where he left against England as he clipped Jamieson for a boundary, punched Chahal through covers off the back foot and then back-cut Dan Christian for another four.

The pitch that looked slow during the first four overs went out of the equation as runs came at a fair clip. The 50 partnership for the second wicket came off 27 balls.

The shot of the innings was Suryakumar's effortless clip over deep mid-wicket for a six off Jamieson. But the giant Black Cap got his first IPL wicket when the extra bounce produced by his 6 feet 8 inch frame had the Indian edging one behind the stumps.

Washington Sundar was brought as late as the 13th over and while Lynn made a statement with a straight boundary, the slowness did get to him with the ball stopping before he could execute the lofted shot.

Washington took a brilliant catch running backwards, preventing Lynn from scoring a half-century before Quinton de Kock comes back to take his place after serving his hard quarantine.

Brief scores:

Mumbai Indians: 159/9 in 20 overs (Chris Lynn 49, Suryakumar Yadav 31; Harshal Patel 5/27).

Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.



Panaji (PTI): As part of a crackdown against tourist establishments violating laws and safety norms in the aftermath of the Arpora fire tragedy, Goa authorities on Saturday sealed a renowned club at Vagator and revoked the fire department NOC of another club.

Cafe CO2 Goa, located on a cliff overlooking the Arabian Sea at Vagator beach in North Goa, was sealed. The move came two days after Goya Club, also in Vagator, was shut down for alleged violations of rules.

Elsewhere, campaigning for local body polls, AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal said the fire incident at Birch by Romeo Lane nightclub at Arpora, which claimed 25 lives on December 6, happened because the BJP government in the state was corrupt.

An inspection of Cafe CO2 Goa by a state government-appointed team revealed that the establishment, with a seating capacity of 250, did not possess a no-objection certificate (NOC) of the Fire and Emergency Services Department. The club, which sits atop Ozrant Cliff, also did not have structural stability, the team found.

The Fire and Emergency Services on Saturday also revoked the NOC issued to Diaz Pool Club and Bar at Anjuna as the fire extinguishers installed in the establishment were found to be inadequate, said divisional fire officer Shripad Gawas.

A notice was issued to Nitin Wadhwa, the partner of the club, he said in the order.

Campaigning at Chimbel village near Panaji in support of his party's Zilla Panchayat election candidate, Aam Aadmi Party leader Kejriwal said the nightclub fire at Arpora happened because of the "corruption of the Pramod Sawant-led state government."

"Why this fire incident happened? I read in the newspapers that the nightclub had no occupancy certificate, no building licence, no excise licence, no construction licence or trade licence. The entire club was illegal but still it was going on," he said.

"How could it go on? Couldn't Pramod Sawant or anyone else see it? I was told that hafta (bribe) was being paid," the former Delhi chief minister said.

A person can not work without bribing officials in the coastal state, Kejriwal said, alleging that officers, MLAs and even ministers are accepting bribes.