Set to score a modest 140 to win the title, RCB were never in the hunt on a dicey pitch where the ball kept low and did not come on to the bat. The Bangalore outfit was dismissed for a paltry 108 in 19.2 overs and ended up losing the final by 31 runs.

The low-scoring final turned out to be a bit of an anti-climax as there were few big hits on display. But in the end Mumbai Indians were the ones who were busy with the celebrations having won the title convincingly. MI skipper Harbhajan Singh did most of the damage with three wickets.

Earlier, Mumbai Indians struggled to a modest total of 139. Electing to bat, MI batsmen found the going tough on a slow and low pitch and only James Franklin managed to get the scoreboard moving, topscoring with 41.

The RCB bowlers led by their captain Daniel Vettori and Dirk Nannes were bang on target and stifled the run flow. The MI side were bowled out off the final delivery of the 20th over.

Mumbai Indians lost both openers early as they were off to a bad start. RCB pacer Dirk Nannes rattled Sarul Kanwar's (13) wickets in the fourth over soon after Mumbai lost Aiden Blizzard (3) in the second over. Kanwar hit a six and a four in his 14-ball stay on the crease. An unnecessary mix-up between Mumbai openers Blizzard and Sarul Kanwar led to the former's run out early in the match. Mumbai skipper Harbhajan Singh won the toss and decided to bat with both sides fielding unchanged sides for the final.

T20 is all about momentum and Royal Challengers did have that going into the final but all that came unstuck on the big occasion. Dilshan played some rousing shots but the all-important wicket of Chris Gayle came via a dubious decision as the tall left-hander was way out of his crease.

But the wheels really came off when in-form Virat Kohli went for an injudicious shot to throw his wicket away. at that stage MI smelt victory and went for the kill. The slow pitch too was in favour of the Mumbai team.

RCB's success story had revolved around three top-order players — Chris Gayle, Virat Kohli and Tillakaratne Dilshan. All three failed to come good today. — Agencies

The game started on a slow note as a result of which the first half of the play remained goalless. However, the second half saw good hockey as both teams picked up pace. It was in the 42nd minute of the game that BSF took the lead and opened its account with Mandeep Singh sounding the board (1-0).

In the 55th minute, Gagandeep Singh of RCF scored second goal to make it 2-1. Six minutes later Deepak completed the scoreline with a field goal.

BRIEFLY

Murray beats Nadal for title
TOKYO: Red-hot Andy Murray battled back from a set down against defending champion Rafael Nadal in thrilling fashion at the Japan Open on Sunday to claim his second consecutive title. The British world number four, fresh from winning last week's Thailand Open, put an end to a five-match losing streak against Nadal with a 3-6, 6-2, 6-0 victory over the top seed in Tokyo. — AFP

India win U-19 tournament
Visakhapatnam: A disciplined bowling effort by India colts helped them beat Sri Lanka by five runs in a low-scoring final match of the U-19 quadrangular one-day cricket tournament here today. The Indian boys, who had topped the league stage, scored a modest 168 all out, thanks to Akshdeep Nath's patient 55, who resurrected his side's innings from 37 for five in the 14th over after they were asked to bat. The bowlers then defended the small total by skittling out the Sri Lankans for 163 with 3.1 overs to spare at the Y S Rajasekhara Reddy Cricket Stadium. — PTI

NZ’s Richie McCaw (above) is tackled by Argentina's Juan Manuel (c). — AFP

NZ, Aus in semifinal
WELLINGTON: Hosts New Zealand and twice champions Australia set up their third World Cup semifinal on Sunday after the All Blacks defeated Argentina 33-10 and Australia scraped an 11-9 win over defending champions South Africa. Battle will resume at Auckland's Eden Park next weekend where Wales will play France on Saturday followed by the All Blacks versus the Wallabies a day later. — Reuters

Anand slips to fourth
BILBAO: World Champion Viswanathan Anand played his fourth draw on the trot, sharing the point with tournament leader Vassily Ivanchuk of Ukraine to slip to the fourth spot after the eighth round of the fourth Final Masters chess tournament. The draw as black came easy in the return game and Ivanchuk completed a 1.5-0.5 victory over Anand in the two games played. — PTI

‘GC to decide on Pak players’
NEW DELHI: A decision on the Pakistani cricketers' participation in the next Indian Premier League would be taken at the event's Governing Council meeting on October 14, says IPL chairman Rajiv Shukla. Pakistani cricketers have not participated in the IPL since the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks but Shukla said it does not mean that players from across the border won't be allowed at all. "This decision has to be taken by the Governing Council and Governing Council will have to take a view on it," Shukla said. — PTI

Durand: Salgaocar crash out
New Delhi: I-League and Federation Cup champions Salgaocar today crashed out of the Durand Cup football tournament after suffering a 0-2 loss at the hands of Prayag United here. With today's win, their second in the quarterfinal league, Prayag qualified for the semifinals from Group I while Salgaocar are out of the tournament even though they have one match left -- against Border Security Force. Prayag had defeated BSF in their first match. Yusif Yakubu and Gouranga Biswas scored for Prayag in the 65th and 69th minutes respectively. Shillong Lajong FC also qualified for the semifinals from Group II after recording their second win with a 3-1 victory over United Sikkim. — PTI

Hero cyclothon a huge draw
New Delhi: Over 5000 cyclists of various age groups poured in for the 'Hero Cycles India Cyclothon', in which Harpreet Singh (Center of Excellence) emerged triumphant in the Elite National Race here. The event was held under the aegis of Cycling Federation of India (CFI) and promoting the cause of cycling and a greener environment. — PTI