Rohit shines as Mumbai Indians beat Perth Scorchers to make CLT20 semifinals

NEW DELHI: The old order seemed to be yielding to the new in fast forward as the Ferozeshah Kotla switched chants midway through Mumbai Indians' whirlwind chase of a 150-run target. The hoary cries of "Sachin, Sachin" are almost a reflex action with Indian crowds, having acquired as much permanence over the years as the brick and mortar of stadiums in which Tendulkar has dazzled with his art. The cries rang more than halfway through Wednesday's game too, mostly when Tendulkar was fielding, and came as welcome relief from the tepid action in the middle. Yet later, as MI skipper Rohit Sharma (51 not out off 24 balls; 3x4, 4x6) and Dwayne Smith (48 off 25; 5x4, 3x6) disdainfully swatted the inexperienced Perth Scorchers bowlers around the park in a desperate bid for a spot in the semis, the Kotla unbelievably switched allegiance. "Rohit, Rohit" rang out louder and fiercer than ever as Mumbai Indians pulled off the chase within the 14.2 overs required to edge out Otago Volts from Group A and qualify for the semifinals of the Champions League T20. In fact, they chased down the target in 13.2, with Ambati Rayudu slamming two sixes of Ashton Agar to complete what turned out to be a remarkably breezy effort. In the end, the crowds didn't seem to mind that the man they had come to see scored a duck. Tendulkar lasted just two balls, cutting one off the backfoot to point before holing out to deep square leg off Behrendorff. His early dismissal in a pressure chase had sent the crowd into funereal silence, but Smith and Sharma's belligerence ensures the Master will get another crack here at hitting T20 form. The less said about the Scorchers attack the better. Justin Langer had talked about keeping Tendulkar quiet before the game, and maybe he should have been careful what he wished for! MI choose wisely to field first and though they were terribly sloppy in the field, Scorchers huffed and puffed their way to 149/6, buoyed by debutant wicketkeeper-batsman Sam Whiteman's unbeaten 52 off 32 balls (6x4, 2x6). Already out of the tournament and looking only to spoil Mumbai's party, Perth lost wickets in clutches, notably off Nathan Coulter-Nile's 16th and Pragyan Ojha's 10th over of the innings.   TOI