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IPL 2021 | MI vs RR: Hits and Flops as defending champions thrash RR to return to winning ways

The change in venue brought a change in fortunes for the defending champions as they eased past the Rajasthan Royals by 7 wickets in the 24th match of Vivo IPL 2021 to return to winning ways. It was a clinical all-round performance from the five-time champions to complete a relatively straightforward run-chase in the end. 

A target of 172 was never going to be enough on a good surface at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi. A quickfire opening partnership of 49 runs between Rohit Sharma and Quinton de Kock set MI up for the run-chase perfectly. De Kock finally found his Midas touch and looked in complete command of proceedings. He found the gaps consistently in the powerplay getting his team off to a flying start. 

The Millionaire Man Chris Morris ended the partnership with the wicket of Rohit Sharma. Suryakumar Yadav started off the innings with his trademark lofted extra cover drive while Quinton de Kock manoeuvred the strike and found the boundaries just when his team needed. SKY had to depart soon after but the move to send Krunal Pandya up the order worked wonders for MI as the southpaw crafted a brilliant 63 runs partnership with Quinton de Kock. 

After a blazing knock, he was dismissed by a good delivery from Mustafizur Rahman but by then MI was close to the victory target. Kieron Pollard came in ahead of Hardik Pandya and slammed his way to a quickfire 16 of 8 deliveries which included a couple of fours and a six. Eventually, MI chased the target down with 9 deliveries to spare. 

Earlier in the day, it was the MI skipper Rohit Sharma who won the toss and opted to field which was a sensible option given what transpired yesterday. Jos Buttler and Yashasvi Jaiswal gave a brisk start to the Royals sharing a 66 runs partnership in less than 6 overs. The youngster Jaiswal looked in brilliant touch and played some delightful shots to get going. Jos Buttler on the other hand struggled a bit to start off but once he was in, he took on the MI bowlers. He belted Jayant Yadav for two sixes after being dropped in the same over. 

It was Mumbai’s go-to man in the season, Rahul Chahar who broke the partnership with a brilliant delivery to deceive Buttler. The leggie also bagged the wicket of Jaiswal to break the shackles. Sanju Samson looked in good touch during a 27 balls 42 which included 5 fours.

 His partnership with Shivam Dube steadied the ship but the hard-hitting left-hander never found his mojo today. He did hit a few sixes but his knock of 35 came in 31 deliveries which made the difference to the end score. Eventually, they put up a competitive score of 171 in their allotted 20 overs. 

Now let us have a look at the Hits and Flops from the 24th encounter

HITS

Jasprit Bumrah

He has done it so many times for his country and his franchise and today was no different. He might have bagged just a solitary wicket but the way he controlled the innings with his four overs conceding just 15 runs set the match up for Mumbai Indians and played an important role in the win. 

Rohit Sharma generally tends to keep Bumrah for the middle and the death overs after giving him his first over. However today he bowled two overs on a trot today and it was some lethal bowling by the speedster. He bowled in the right channels all through the first two overs and never really allowed Buttler and Jaiswal to get away. The pressure of the first two overs made Buttler and Jaiswal take the chances against the other bowlers. 

The middle overs were played well by Sanju Samson and Shivam Dube but they couldn’t get the flurry of runs in the death overs courtesy Jasprit Bumrah and Trent Boult. Bumrah came back in the 17th over and just conceded 5 runs. It was classical death overs bowling which Bumrah is renowned for nailing his yorkers at will. 

He finally got a reward for his persistence bagging the wicket of Shivam Dube in the penultimate delivery of his spell. It was a low full toss which Dube failed to time down the ground and ended up giving a straightforward catch back to the bowler. He conceded just 3 runs in the final over finishing with exceptional figures of 1/15 in his four overs. 

Rahul Chahar

This bloke has been a sensation for the Mumbai Indians this season. Whenever the captain has handed him the ball, Chahar has given him the wickets. Yet again the leggie had a sensational day and broke the backbone of Rajasthan Royals with crucial wickets of Jos Buttler and Yashasvi Jaiswal just when the duo was going great guns. 

He was introduced into the attack in the 8th over and he almost responded immediately bagging the wicket of Jos Buttler. After bowling a half-tracker which was deposited out of the ground for a six, Chahar responded with a beautiful leg break which had dip and turn. He came dancing down the track and missed the line completely only to get stumped by QDK. 

As often expected from legging, Chahar bowled a few poor deliveries but that is part and parcel of the game but he got the wickets just when his team needed. Chahar returned in his next over with the wicket of Yashasvi Jaiswal. The left-hander was unable to read the googly and ended up giving a straightforward catch back to the bowler as he tried to work this down the on side. Eventually, Chahar finished with figures of 2/33 in his quota of 4 overs. 

Quinton de Kock

Coming into the match, the swashbuckling left-hander was woefully out of touch returning with three single-digit scores in four matches. However, the persistence of MI with the flamboyant Protea opener paid dividends today as the southpaw returned to his fluent best taking to his side over the finishing line. 

Chasing a target of 172, the wicket-keeper batsman came out to open the innings with his skipper Rohit Sharma. The skipper took his time while De Kock went along his merry way, finding the boundaries on a consistent basis. His wide array of shots was out of his cabinet as he pulled, ramped and nudged his way to an unbeaten 70 of 50 deliveries which included 6 fours and a couple of sixes. 

A partnership of 49 runs with Rohit Sharma laid the foundation for the run-chase. After the skipper’s dismissal, it was QDK and Suryakumar Yadav who shared a brief stand before the dismissal of SKY. De Kock was never bogged now and played some delightful shots in the process. A brilliant partnership with Krunal Pandya got them within touching distance and in the end, it was Kieron Pollard who sealed the deal with some mighty blows.

FLOPS

Shivam Dube

There was no other option but to include Dube in this list as it was his relatively low-risk approach that didn’t allow the Royals to post a big total on the board.  The southpaw came into the middle at the fall of Yashasvi Jaiswal’s wicket. Jaiswal and Buttler had got them off to a great start and Dube and Samson needed to find the boundaries especially in the middle overs to keep the run rate well over 8. 

Dube did smash a couple of fours and sixes but his 31 balls 35 halted the momentum for the Rajasthan Royals. He tried to heave everything out of the ground but was left bamboozled in front of the brilliance of Jasprit Bumrah and Trent Boult. 

Dube had to depart in Bumrah’s penultimate delivery as he failed to time a quick full toss and ended up giving a straightforward catch back to the bowler. He was given a solitary over by Samson where he conceded just 6 runs but all in all, his dodgy innings did break their momentum.

Mustafizur Rahman

The Bangladesh cutter specialist Mustafizur Rahman had a rare off day given the fact he has been quite brilliant in the tournament so far. Quinton de Kock looked in complete command against the left-arm pacer and Mustafizur failed to hit his lengths and ended up conceding boundaries on a consistent basis. 

He was brought into the attack in the 4th over and he was greeted with a four and a six. Quinton de Kock started off with a deft touch to find the boundary and then helped one along the deep square leg region for a maximum. It was exceptional batting from the southpaw as Mustafizur ended up conceding 13 from his opening over. 

He was brought back in the 8th over where he conceded just 8 runs but failed to nail his lengths. The cutters came out nicely but the MI batsmen were picking him. He was greeted with a six in his third over but came back nicely bagging the wicket of Krunal Pandya and just conceding 7 runs. It was Kieron Pollard who sealed the deal in his final over collecting two boundaries in the first three deliveries. A spell of 1/37 in 3.3 overs was not what Mustafizur and the Royals would have hoped for.

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IPL 2021: Adam Zampa clarifies 'most vulnerable' comment on biosecure bubble

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IPL 2021 RCB vs PBKS Preview - With contrasting traits, frenemies lock horns in Ahmedabad

It’s the tale of two Rahuls hailing from the same state but played the game in two different eras. While Dravid had accumulated heaps of runs in his cricketing career, KL is on the similar path. The senior Rahul had just one blot in his illustrious career. He captained India in a World Cup edition which was full of sorrow, anger and disarray. The 2007 World Cup. Well, we have moved on from there. Dravid has now retired and is nurturing the young talent and also has an U19 World Cup trophy as a coach in his kitty. It’s all good for him. But nothing is really good for the younger Rahul. While he is at par with his batting and the runs that he has scored till date, KL has had a struggling time with his captaincy duties despite having some of the finest players in the ranks just like his mentor. Where did it all start? KL was making a mark for himself slowly and silently. He had received his maiden India call-up for the Test series against Australia and he stamped authority with a ton in his second game itself to give the glimpse of what he was capable of. The right-hander had scored tons in each innings for South Zone in the Duleep trophy final that year. He had all the possible strokes in his armour. He could cut, pull and drive the ball to perfection.Though, the right-hander stood on the losing side eventually in the Duleep Trophy final but his performance didn’t go unnoticed and this led him to land in Australia. Some 6-7 years later, he was spoon-fed with the crown of the leader. But with the power comes the responsibility and KL has a huge one on his tattooed shoulders. He is so far faltering with his on-field decisions which have created some chaos. 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Rahul has notched up three half-centuries in the six matches that he has played but his team is in a spot of bother in the very early stage of the tournament. Sapped Punjab Kings Remember a slang that was used by a popular commentator for an Indian cricketer, “bits and pieces”. These three not so magical words surely explain the present condition of the Punjab team. The Punjab Kings are genuinely struggling in all departments for now but batting has been a major cause of concern. If they put runs on the board, their bowlers leak away runs as we saw in the first game against RR while the batting is anyhow fumbling not giving anything feasibly defendable to their bowlers. Having played together for such a long time, KL and Mayank Agarwal who open the innings for Punjab have failed to deliver to their potential. The two right-handers haven’t really put up a partnership that has dominated the opponents. If Rahul goes all guns blazing, Mayank is the weak link. 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The right-hander just needs to capitalise on the starts he gets just the way he did against Rajasthan Royals. In the bowling department, Harshal Patel is on song in this IPL 2021. Except for that one over against Ravindra Jadeja, he has been performing consistently and this is what T20 format demands. Apart from Harshal, Mohammed Siraj has also shaped up into a brilliant bowler especially after he made his India debut in Tests. The right-arm seamer has himself acknowledged the fact that playing Test cricket has helped him improve his bowling in the T20s. While Patel and Siraj are in good touch, RCB have the services of another fast bowler who was recruited from DC, Daniel Sams and Kyle Jamieson in the fast bowling line up. The spin attack comprises Sundar who is an able bowler in the Powerplay overs while Yuzvendra Chahal is lethal with his line and length on his day. He too can deceive the batsmen with his pace and turn with precision. Chahal has looked a bit out of touch but a couple of good matches for him will get him back in form. Match Details Match: PBKS vs RCB, 26th Match, Indian Premier League 2021 Date: Friday, April 30, 2021 Time: 7:30 PM Venue: Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad Pitch and Toss The Narendra Modi stadium in Ahmedabad has seen two totally different kinds of matches. The encounter between Punjab Kings and Kolkata Knight Riders had nothing for the batsmen while the clash between RCB and Delhi Capitals saw some good amount of runs being scored. The track can be helpful for the spinners as we have seen that in the Test series between India and England but dew will play a major role as well only if a sand storm doesn’t affect it. There was an occurrence of a sand storm during the match between RCB and DC just before the start of the chase by the Delhi side. The sand storm certainly nullified the dew factor and this was also pointed out by Virat in the post-match presentation. Nevertheless, giving dew its due, if you win the toss, bowl first. Team News Punjab Kings The Punjab Kings have players who can bring stability in the side but a lot depends on KL Rahul’s captaincy. Removing a bowler had just given 5 runs in one over and has scalped a wicket won’t really work for him. There is a void in the middle-order as well and Mandeep Singh seems the ideal player to get a place in the XI to balance that. Ofcourse, Pooran would have to sit out for that. RCB RCB are in a good space and they haven’t been making much of a tweaks in this competition. The one slight change that might be made is getting Shahbaz in as he gives an option of a spinner as well but to give him a place in the XI, Kohli will have to bench a fast bowler because Rajat Patidar played a good innings at a very crucial stage and deserves to stay in the side. Probable XI Punjab Kings: KL Rahul (c & wk), Mayank Agarwal, Chris Gayle, Deepak Hooda, Mandeep Singh, Moises Henriques, Shahrukh Khan, Chris Jordan, Mohammed Shami, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh RCB: Virat Kohli (c), Devdutt Padikkal, Rajat Patidar, Glenn Maxwell, AB de Villiers (wk), Washington Sundar, Daniel Sams, Kyle Jamieson, Harshal Patel, Yuzvendra Chahal, Mohammed Siraj Fantasy XI KL Rahul (VC), AB de Villiers, Devdutt Padikkal (C), Virat Kohli, Mayank Agarwal, Rajat Patidar, Deepak Hooda, Harshal Patel, Kyle Jamieson, Mohammad Siraj, Arshdeep Singh

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