Rohit almost does it for Sambit

Sambit Bal's persistence with Rohit Sharma has paid off: he is now just 130 points behind Ian Chappell.

The Deccan Chargers-Mumbai Indians game was expected to be a big points-scorer, with the heavyweights - Sachin Tendulkar, Sanath Jayasuriya and Adam Gilchrist - all in action. While Tendulkar disappointed, fetching just 17 points, Jayasuriya (Ian's trump) was a shade better with 60. But finally a trump pick that went right for Sambit: Gilchrist managed a reasonable 114 points.

What almost did the trick for Sambit was Rohit's 38 runs, four wickets and Man Of The Match award, which all added up to a whopping 245 points. How Sambit would have rued not picking Rohit as his trump; that would surely have propelled him ahead of Ian. And to think that Ian had persisted with Rohit for much of the tournament, only to drop him a few matches earlier for Tendulkar.

With a double-header today, expect a lot more ups and downs in the points table tomorrow.