After Jos Buttler’s first century in this edition of the Indian Premier League guided Rajasthan Royals to 193 for 8, Mumbai Indians was cruising at 129 for three after 14 overs, with youngster Tilak Varma batting on 55. With 65 runs required from the last six overs and the seasoned Kieron Pollard joining Varma at the crease, Mumbai Indians camp believed that they were still in the game.
However, R. Ashwin had other plans.
Scorecard and ball-by-ball commentary
Coming on to bowl in the 15th over, Ashwin’s first delivery was hit for a six by Tilak (61, 33b, 3x4, 5x6), drawing huge applause from the spectators. Tilak looked set for another big shot, but it wasn’t to be; instead, Ashwin’s conventional off-break rattled Tilak’s off-stump. That set the tone for the Rajasthan Royals, which eventually managed to pull off its second consecutive win, defeating Mumbai Indians by 23 runs.
With Varma, who forged a 81-run stand with Ishan Kishan (54, 43b, 5x4, 1x6) for the third wicket, back in the dugout, Mumbai needed to rebuild. But Yuzvendra Chahal spun a web in the 16th over, removing Tim David and Daniel Sams off consecutive deliveries. The India international missed out on a hat-trick as substitute Karun Nair dropped a catch of M. Ashwin.
Taking advantage of some shoddy fielding by the Royals, Pollard kept his team in the hunt till the last over - 29 were needed for a win off six deliveries. However, a disciplined show by Navdeep Saini, who replaced the injured Nathan Coulter-Nile, in the final over, saw Mumbai falling short of the target.
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Coming into the game after a defeat against Delhi Capitals, Mumbai Indians’ decision to field backfired with Buttler (100, 68b, 11x4, 5x6) and Shimron Hetmyer (35, 14b, 3x4, 3x6) tearing apart the Mumbai bowlers. They forged a 52-run stand for the fourth wicket before Jasprit Bumrah dismissed both, in a span of four deliveries. However, by then, Rajasthan was already in command.
Put in to bat, the team lost Yashasvi Jaiswal and Devdutt Padikkal inside the first six overs, but captain Sanju Samson walked out to bat with a mission. While Samson took a bit of time to settle in, Buttler relied on his natural game to keep the scoreboard ticking. They built an 82-run stand for the third wicket to launch a fightback. The duo was brutal on M. Ashwin, hitting him for 21 runs in the 11th over, before Tilak caught Samson at deep midwicket off Pollard.
However, Buttler, who hammered Basil Thampi for three sixes and two boundaries in the fourth over, paced his innings well to reach the three-figure mark with a single, and eventually paved the way for the Royals’ win.
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