Johannesburg: Sachin Tendulkar's blistering 42-ball 69 went in vain as Lions stunned Mumbai Indians by nine runs in the opening Group B match of the second edition of Champions League twenty20 tournament here on Friday.
Tendulkar starred in a 83-run opening stand with Shikhar Dhawan (32) to raise hopes of a successful runchase but Shane Burger's two-wicket burst stole the show.
Put into bat, the Lions rode on opener Jonathan Vandiar (71) and middle-order batsman Neil McKenzie (56) to post a challenging 186 for five.
The local team then returned to restrict the IPL III runners up team to 177 for six to complete a stunning win at the New Wanderers Stadium here.
Chasing 187 to win, Mumbai Indians made a rollicking start and reached the fifty in the seventh over as boundaries came thick and fast.
Tendulkar was at his fluent best early on as the Mumbaikar picked up boundaries at will and with Dhawan by his side, the two sent the bowlers for a leather hunt.
Tendulkar hit Frylinck for couple of fours in his first two overs and then sent Aaron Phangiso for back-to-back fours in the eighth over.
Dhawan (32) also matched with Tendulkar and hit Ethan O'Reilly for a couple of boundaries before sending Shane Burger out of the park in the fifth over.
He picked up his second six in the 10th over, when he smashed Phangiso over wide long-on but an attempted reverse-sweep cost him his wicket.
A few balls later a brilliant piece of fielding by skipper Petersen ended newman Ambati Rayudu's innings in the 11th over.
Tendulkar and JP Duminy then tried to stem the rot and forged a 42-run partnership but the former was soon clean bowled by Shane Burger to deal a huge blow to the visitors.
Trying to make room for himself, Tendulkar saw his woods disturbed by a Shane Burger delivery as MI slipped to 131 for three in 14.3 overs.
Burger struck again 15 balls later to remove Kieron Pollard as Mumbai Indians innings faltered and they lost the plot completely in the end.
Earlier, Vandiar cracked a 48-ball 71 at the top to set the tone for the innings, while McKenzie blasted a whirlwind 30-ball 56 down the order to power Lions across the 150-mark.
Put into bat, Alviro Petersen and Jonathan Vandiar started off on a positive note but a terrible mix up between the two helped Mumbai Indians scalp the first Lions wicket in the fourth over.
Cameron then joined Vandiar and brought his first four when he smashed Lasith Malinga over mid-on. But he couldn't stay longer as going for a big shot off Ali Murtaza he was caught by Zaheer Khan at mid-on.
VB van Jaarsveld and Vandiar then joined hands and brought up the fifty in the eight over.
Vandiar stepped on the gas and smashed Harbhajan Singh for a four at point, before blasting Zaheer Khan for successive boundaries in the eighth over.
The opener then hammered J P Duminy over long-on for his first six of the day in the next over.
Jaarsveld tried to give support at the other end and picked up ones and twos but Malinga send him packing in the 11th over.
Looking to launch Malinga out of the park, Jaarsveld scooped it high in the sky only to be caught by McLaren as Lions reduced to 81 for three.
Vandiar then brought up the hundred for the Lions with a single in the 13th over, before sending Rajagopal Sathish over extra cover to bring his fifty in the next over.
He continued his blitzkrieg and blasted Pollard for a four before clobbering Malinga over midwicket to pick up another six in the 17th over.
But another attempt for a big shot drew curtains on his innings as he tossed one straight to Tendulkar who pouched it without fuss. Malinga struck again in the last ball, removing Robert Frylinck (1).
Neil McKenzie then took the onus on himself and stepped on the acceleration and clubbed Murtaza for consecutive fours in the next over.
McKenzie also blasted Malinga over midwicket and took some cheeky singles and twos, courtesy some poor fielding by Mumbai Indians.
In the 20th over, the South African clobbered Zaheer for a six and brought up another four as Lions posted a challenging total on board. PTI
