NEW DELHI, India, CMC- West Indies batsman Dwayne Smith hammered a half century and paved the way for Mumbai Indians to eke out a crucial five wicket win over Kolkata Knight Riders in the Indian Premier League yesterday.
Smith led the chase with a top score of 62 that anchored Mumbai’s charge to 162 for five after Kolkata made 159 for six at Eden Gardens, Kolkata.
He raced to fifty in just 34 balls, in the eleventh over as the hosts rocked the Mumbai run chase.
Smith was in his element as he smashed five maximums and three boundaries in his quick-fire 45 balls innings before he was caught, one of three wickets taken by West Indian counterpart Sunil Narine.
Narine, who turned the game around every time he was called upon, finished with three wickets for 17 runs including the prize scalp of Sachin Tendulkar on his 40th birthday.
Smith innings helped keep the Indians on course to victory and by the time he got out – in Narine’s second over, in his second spell – he had left them 78 to get in nine overs.
Another West Indian player, Kieron Pollard, contributed 33, which included two forus and a six and teamed up with Rohit Sharma to keep Mumbai in sight of the target.
