Franklin is okay with IPL, unlike his fellow countryman Oram

MUMBAI: Unlike his compatriot Jacob Oram, who said he could not connect with the Indian Premier League, Kiwi batsman James Franklin said he was enjoying being part of the league.

After playing just two IPL games, Oram returned to his country and said he felt disconnected with the event due to after-match parties, heavy presence Bollywood stars and fashion parades.

Franklin yet again played a good hand in Mumbai's win as he scored an unbeaten 29 in a tight situation on Wednesday.

"I have enjoyed it. It's my first experience. I'm with a great franchisee Mumbai Indians. I have really enjoyed thus far. Hopefully we have two games to go and we do go all the way. It's been pretty good fun till now. The passion for the game is amazing here. I have been here for four months since the World Cup. I'm still enjoying my stay here," he said at the post match press conference.

"After nearly every game there's an after party, there's Bollywood stars there and fashion parades; the drinks are free and the cheerleaders are around. It's a different world.

"Sometimes you wonder if you're here for cricket or not. Ultimately you are. It is good fun, but at the same time I don't think it's reality," Oram had said.

About Wednesday's match, Franklin lauded the effort of his bowlers for restricting Kolkata Knight Riders to 147/7 and said it gave them the control of the match.

"I thought we did a really a good job to restrict them under 150. In the last game here between Chennai and RCB the par score was between 160-165. Boys did a great job with the ball. We had a great start with the ball. It got us on the front-foot and we did hold on from there," he said.

The left-hander, however, felt that the team left it till the end and brought themselves under undue pressure.

"We are leaving it too late at the moment. We had a great start with (Aiden) Blizzard and Sachin (Tendulkar). They gave us a good platform. If we are trying to seek perfection we probably lost too many wickets in the middle and put too much pressure on ourselves. Harbhajan came and played a couple of good shots and we crossed the line."

Franklin, who had scored a quick-fire 45 not out in Mumbai Indians' thrilling five wicket win over the same rivals in Kolkata on Saturday, felt that victory didn't mean too much coming into this game.

"Every game is a new start. The boys weren't thinking what happened in Kolkata two nights ago. We started afresh. I'm sure KKR had done the same," he said.

Franklin said he expected a tough challenge from that Royal Challengers Bangalore in the second qualifier.

"That game is sudden death. A semifinal. Royals lost last night. But they have an extra day's rest. They are a tough side. They have done well in the last two-two and half weeks and have won many games in a row. So its going to be a tough game. We are looking forward to it."

Asked about the wild celebrations by Harbhajan Singh after he had finished the match with a six off Shakib-Al-Hasan, Franklin said, "I think when you win tight games like that you are excited and pumped up. Harbhajan is a man who lets out his emotions. The boys are pumped up for the next game."

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Mumbai Indians beat Kolkata Knight Riders by 4 wickets

MUMBAI: Harbhajan Singh hit the winning six for Mumbai Indians, roared, and all but thrust his boot towards the Knight Riders’ dugout. It was his way of telling everybody the kind of frustration his team has endured so far and how they have come out fighting.

Mumbai Indians should have won the contest easily. They however made it tougher for themselves, barely managing to reach the modest target of 148 only in the last over at the Wankhede on Wednesday.

The IPL Eliminator went all the way down to the wire even though, at one stage, MI were cruising at 81 for no loss in 7.5 overs. After losing the hard-hitting Aiden Blizzard for 51 (30 balls, 7x4, 2x6), they lost three quick wickets to land in a familiar position.

But James Franklin rallied around for 29 not out (25 balls, 2x4) to star in the team's rescue act. In the end, the Knights got eliminated and Mumbai Indians squeezed their way into the tournament's second qualifier to be played in Chennai against Royal Challengers Bangalore on Friday. The winner of that clash will face Chennai Super Kings in the grand finale on Saturday.

The contest became all the more close because of a combination of bad batting, bad umpiring and some serious sledging. It provided for the last-over finish.

Mumbai Indians won the toss and decided it would be better to chase. However, when the Knight Riders began, the Wankhede didn't seem all that bad for the team batting first. The ball came on to the bat nicely, the weather cooled down and Ryan ten Doeschate, the best batsman of the day, showed everybody the way.

Yet, it was the Kolkata top-order's suicidal approach that made matters difficult for them early on. Lasith Malinga compensated for what he had missed out in Mumbai Indians' previous match against Kolkata Knight Riders. On Wednesday night, he unleashed all the firepower to once again return with amazing figures of 19 runs from four overs and a wicket. However, it was the manner in which Munaf Patel, Dhawal Kulkarni and Harbhajan Singh supported Malinga that made the Mumbai Indians attack all the more dangerous.

Patel took three wickets in his four overs, most importantly sending back the very dangerous Jacques Kallis early on in the innings to a brilliant Tendulkar catch at mid-off. The very next over saw Harbhajan roar as loudly as possible, castling Gambhir, as the batsman attempted a clumsy slog sweep.

Kulkarni did his bit too, removing Manoj Tiwary - the second highest scorer for Knight Riders this season - and that was when the visitors got into serious trouble. However, nothing of what they did could collectively match the way Knights were ready to throw their wickets. If not for Doeschate's perseverance, they wouldn't even have reached the 100 mark.

Doeschate and gave Malinga the respect he deserved, but Pollard and Kulkarni suffered at the batsman's hands. The Dutchman became the highlight of the evening for his batting also because of the way he handled Harbhajan, who had come into his own.

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Question mark over Gambhir's tour to Windies

MUMBAI: Kolkata Knight Riders captain Gautam Gambhir, who injured his right shoulder while fielding during the IPL game against Mumbai Indians in Kolkata on Sunday, is uncertain to lead the Indian team in the ODI series in West Indies starting on June 4.

Gambhir had undergone an MRI scan in Kolkata, the result of which is yet to be analyzed by the cricket board (BCCI). An official call in this regard will be taken on Thursday.

"It is unlikely that Gambhir will miss out on the tour of West Indies," BCCI sources told TOI. "It does not look very serious at the moment. He'll certainly travel to West Indies and if he has to rest then he'll opt out of a couple of matches," sources added.

However, IANS reported that Gambhir has been advised rest for six weeks to nurse his "sore shoulder". Knight Riders' team physio Andrew Leipus, in a letter to BCCI, said Gambhir needs at least four-six weeks of rest.

"The clinical findings supported the mechanism of the onset of the acute injury. However, he did report having corticosteroid injections on two occasions over the previous few years. In the last match where KKR played MI, Gautam again felt an aggravation of the shoulder pain on one particular throw," Leipus said in his letter.

"On arrival in Mumbai we thought it was prudent to get both an MRI and a consultation with a leading shoulder orthopaedic surgeon. Both the doctor and I believe that he should follow an intensive, supervised and conservative rehabilitation pathway, he will need to avoid both throwing and batting for a period 4-6 weeks," the letter said.

"In this regard, I would expect that the BCCI medical committee would need to consider the ongoing management of Gautam's shoulder injury beyond the IPL and the possibility of his missing any immediate future tours until the shoulder is fully rehabilitated," the letter added.

On Wednesday, Gambhir got out after scoring just four runs while going for a slog sweep. However, at no point during his brief stay did he look uncomfortable. When the Knight Riders walked in to field in the second innings, Gambhir walked out too and seemed to be at absolute ease using his right hand to catch and throw the ball.

Suresh Raina will lead the ODI team in case Gambhir is ruled out. The team will leave for West Indies on May 31.

Gambhir was appointed skipper for the West Indies tour in the absence of Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who was advised rest.

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