Mumbai Indians beat Rajasthan Royals by 57 runs and moved to top of the table with 8 points in 6 matches played. With today’s loss Rajasthan dropped to 7th place in the table with 4 points in five games.
Mumbai Indians Captain Rohit Sharma won the toss and elected to bat first on a tough batting wicket. But his team has managed to put a mammoth 193/4 on the board after 20 overs. In response to Mumbai, Rajasthan scored 136 runs in 19.1 overs and lost all wickets.
Mumbai off to a quick start before losing de kock for just 23 runs in 15 balls. Hit man Rohit (35 runs in 23 balls) failed to convert another good start into a big score. Surya kumar Yadav took the responsibility on his shoulders to put decent score on the board, he scored 79 not out in 47 balls with the help of 11X 4’s and 2 X 6’s.
Hardik Pandya joined Surya Kumar to setup 76 run partnership in final 6 overs. Pandya scored 30 runs in 19 balls. The pair put huge target of 194 in front of Struggling Rajasthan Royals.
Royals chase not started well at all, their top order collapsed against mighty Mumbai bowling attack. Jaiswal and Sanju Samson both got out for duck, Captain Steve Smith dismissed for just 6 runs.
Rajasthan were 3/12 after 2.5 overs, England wicket keeper Jos Buttler’s (70 of 44 balls) fight back stopped the dramatic fall and Royals got all-out for 136 runs in 19.1 overs.
Jasprit Bumrah picked up four wickets on the night and he finished match with best bowling figure of the tournament so far 4-0-20-4. New Zealand lefty Trent Boult impressive form continues with the new ball, he picked up two wickets and finished game with 4-0-26-2.
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Post-Match comments:
Surya Kumar Yadav, Man of the Match:
“[The head injury] Feeling much better now. I felt it was coming in this game. The last few games I was just finding ways to get out. I believed in myself and just tried to bat till the end. I think the added responsibility they’ve given me right now – not pressure, they’ve just told me to express myself. This lockdown helped me with some of my shots. Most importantly the thing that satisfies me is the team winning. Because I knew three wickets down I needed to bat till the end.”
R Sharma, Captain of Mumbai Indians:
“We strive to play with power. We’ve got quality in this squad. We’e given confidence to each on of them because we know they’re very talented. The conditions are quite helpful [for our fast bowlers]. We were not sure how the pitches were going to be, whether it’d be helpful for our pace battery. But it was nipping around and it’s good to have guys who can exploit those conditions. The fielding was brilliant, it’s something we take pride in. We’ve worked hard on it after coming here. I’m glad that we can pull of those magnificent catches. It was coming [for SKY]. I spoke to him today before the match. He was batting really well all these games. It was all about shotmaking – today his shortmaking was perfect. All the innovative shots at the end came in handy.”
T Boult:
“I think the whole pack is working together. I think we have a pretty clear game plan. It’s a good wicket, but the way we’ve managed to take wickets [has been good]. You’re always challenged with quality players, intimidating you a bit. But I think I’d love to see the ball swing around a little more at the top. Hasn’t been a huge feature of this tournament.”
S Smith, Rajasthan Royals Captain:
“I think losing wickets early doesn’t help. We haven’t been able to get a good start in the last three games. Outside of Jos and Jofra at the end, we’ve got work to do. Stokes is not out till the 10th. He’s not too far away. Hopefully we can get a few wins and get some momentum before he comes in. I don’t think we need to panic too much. It’s just about implementing our plans and playing good cricket for longer. Hasn’t been a good last three games. Need to turn it around and get some momentum.”
