Champions League T20: Mumbai Indians Outclassed by Highveld Lions

Upsets are what make sports interesting. While the unlikely duo consisting of Pakistan's Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi and India's Rohan Bopanna failed to make it past Bob and Mike Bryan at the US Open finals 7-6 (7/5), 7-6 (7/4), that they made it so far was commendable and made for much excitement.

Across the ocean at about the same time, the much-fancied Mumbai Indians, with its star-studded batting line up took the field against the Highveld Lions, who didn't have as many name-brand stars, apart perhaps from Alviro Petersen. The tournament began against the backdrop of spotfixing allegations marring the Pakistan cricket team, the blighted stars of which returned to Pakistan yesterday.

The opening batsman of the Highveld Lions, 20-year old Jonathan Vandiar brought in a good innings after his shaky start, scoring 71 runs off 48 balls. Neil Mackenzie at the other end stayed unbeaten at 56, with the Lions scoring a creditable 186 for 5. The score was not unsurmountable for a strong batting side, but the Indians teamwork seemed to be off in this opening match, and despite Tendulkar's 69 off 42 balls, the team wasn't able to make the mark, reaching 171 at the end of the 20th over.

The tournament has a long way to go, and it remains to be seen if there will be more underdog-led upsets in store.