Brief Scores: Mumbai Indians 193/4 in 20 overs (Suryakumar Yadav 79*, Rohit Sharma 35; Shreyas Gopal 2/28)
beat
Rajasthan Royals (Jos Butler 70, Jofra Archer 24; Jasprit Bumrah 4/20) by 57 runs.
Mumbai Indians passed their test against Rajasthan Royals with flying colours to bag a 57-run victory and recapture the throne of the points table in the twentieth match of the Indian Premier League. Suryakumar Yadav's gallant 79* and Jasprit Bumrah's 4/20 took the biscuit, notwithstanding Jos Butler's six-laced 70 in RR's error-strewn 194-run chase on Tuesday, October 6 at Dubai.
MI pace arsenal a force to be reckoned with
MI's laser-guided new-ball salvo almost had RR filing a mercy petition. Offered a chance to shine after having warmed the bench for a couple of games, Yashasvi Jaiswal came a cropper as Trent Boult's mischievous away-slanter grazed his outside edge. Bumrah then took control of the steering wheel, banishing Steve Smith as keeper Quinton de Kock plunged to snaffle the lemon-cut.
MI had done their homework for Sanju Samson too, with an angling Boult bouncer rushing him into submission. If red-hot bowling had inflicted the damage hitherto, a gravity-defying pouch from substitute Anukul Roy brought Mahipal Lomror's downfall to leave RR gasping for breath.
Butler wages a lone war to no avail
The scoreboard now looming a pathetic 42/4, the onus was on Jos Butler to yield a divine intervention. And boy he did that in some style. The long-levers were deployed to a full monty as the right-handed behemoth pulverised anything a touch short over mid-wicket en route his savage 70 off 44 balls.
A sense of calm was instilled in MI's dressing room when James Pattinson capped the lid on Butler's torment, his flat shovel blocked by Kieron Pollard at long-on. The catch looked spectacular in real-time, albeit replays suggested that he misjudged the trajectory at first and recovered later to make a straightforward grab deem brilliant. Once last-resort Rahul Tewatia bit the dust, the tail was nothing but cannon fodder for Bumrah & co. as MI rollicked to their fourth victory of the campaign.
Mumbai go haywire after initial burst
Harsha Bhogle had just cooed on-air that Mumbai Indians tend to adopt a rather conservative approach to begin with when the openers proved otherwise. An effortless extension of the arms fetched Rohit Sharma six over long-off while Quinton de Kock pulled a cheeky ramp out of his bag of tricks. The velocity of Jofra Archer wasn't spared either as the left-hander carted him for a four and a maximum with gusto.
Kartik Tyagi, who replaced Jaydev Unadkat to make his IPL debut, was into the thick of the action early. The youngster played into Rohit's hands by banging one short and duly bore the brunt of a mighty deposit over square leg, albeit de Kock floundering a trigger-happy jab lent him his maiden IPL scalp in the very first over itself. Shreyas Gopal's double whammy then nipped MI in the bud, with a seemingly ominous Rohit and Ishan Kishan perishing to miscued hoicks. For a batsman of such grand stature, it's a tough pill to swallow that the captain has been dismissed by leg-spinners on ten occasions since the onset of 2017.
Cometh the hour, cometh Surya
The brains at MI promoted southpaw Krunal Pandya ahead of brother Hardik Pandya and Kieron Pollard to nullify the threat of Gopal. Though the gamble didn't quite bear fruit as Archer exploited his obvious weakness against the short stuff, Suryakumar Yadav traded vigilance with panache to hold MI's fort. His invigorating fifty was constructed on the grounds of whippy flicks, backfoot crunches and premeditated dabs. Tom Curran splurging 19 in the 18th over pomped the blue jerseys to cloud nine, with Yadav manufacturing a couple of lap-sweeps after Hardik was reprieved off a skier by the fast bowler himself.
Suryakumar Yadav wears concussion as badge of honour
Archer returning for the death-over duties was a spiteful episode which might've transported either of the two batsmen to a nearby hospital. He inadvertently let slip a 147kmph beamer as Hardik had his heart in his mouth before somehow ducking for cover. Yadav then copped a blow flush on the helmet badge, flummoxed by the deception of Archer's well-hidden knuckleball.
As the old adage goes, revenge is a dish best served cold. Yadav exhibited nerves of steel to unfurl a 'Dilscoop' the very next delivery as even the opposition captain, Steve Smith nodded his head in acknowledgement. The lethal 76-run association for the fifth wicket compensated for the brief slug during the middle-phases, shepherding MI to a delirious 193/4, a total which proved more than enough for a self-deprecating RR batting unit.
What's next in store?
Both teams will meet the same opposition next as the IPL caravan rolls forward. Outplayed in all three departments tonight, Rajasthan Royals have no respite in store as they lock horns with an on-song Delhi Capitals on October 9, Friday. Mumbai Indians have four days to refill their tanks before they hit the field again in a blockbuster coup on Sunday, October 11.
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