MI vs RR: 3 closest encounters

An interesting encounter[Pc: IPLT20.com]

Defending champions Mumbai Indians (MI) will take on the inaugural champions Rajasthan Royals (RR) in Match #20 of the Dream 11 IPL 2020. The Mumbai Indians currently have six points from four games while the Rajasthan Royals have four points from four games.

Two wins in a Ro! 😎#OneFamily #MumbaiIndians #MI #Dream11IPL #MIvSRH @ImRo45 pic.twitter.com/xTD1flijCH
— Mumbai Indians (@mipaltan) October 4, 2020

Both sides have faced each other on the field 23 times and have 11 victories each. One match had no result.

Game #20 of IPL 2020 will allow one of the teams to take the lead in the head-to-head stats.

With the race for the playoffs well underway, both teams will be looking to secure two valuable points. Before the rivalry between the two teams is renewed, we look at three of their closest encounters in the past:

3) Match #21, IPL 2018: RR bt. MI by three wickets

Final scores:

MI: 167/7 (20 overs)
RR: 168/7 (19.4 overs)

This IPL game saw both teams fight tooth and nail to win the match. Youngsters Suryakumar Yadav (72 from 47) and Ishan Kishan (58 from 42) put in strong performances when the mainstays in the team faltered to guide MI to a respectable 167/7. Jofra Archer returned with figures of 22-3 and was the wrecker-in-chief.

😁 like the #RoyalsFamily if you're ready to bounce back. 👇📸#HallaBol | #MIvRR
— Rajasthan Royals (@rajasthanroyals) October 5, 2020

Sanju Samson (52 from 39) and Ben Stokes (49 from 27) fought with the bat for RR. They seemed to be faltering towards the end but Krishnappa Gowtham's quickfire 33*(11) managed to get them over the line. RR went from needing 43 from the last three overs to needing just ten from the last six balls.

Hardik Pandya bowled the last over, taking the wicket of Jofra Archer off the very first ball. Gowtham hit the next ball for a four to keep the drama going. A dot reduced the equation to six required from three and Gowtham smashed the next ball over the mid-wicket boundary for a six to drive RR home with two balls remaining.

2) Match #2, IPL 2010: MI bt RR by four runs

Final scores:

MI: 212/6 (20 overs)
RR: 208/7 (20 overs)

RR ran the marathon but fell short with the finish line in sight in this high-scoring encounter. Ambati Rayudu (55 from 33) and Saurabh Tiwari (53 from 33) put up 110 runs from 63 balls for the fourth wicket to push MI to a mammoth 212/6.

In response, Yusuf Pathan's century (100 from 37) and P Dogra's 41(29) kept RR ahead in the chase before they both got run out. RR was 201/5 at the end of the 19th over, needing just 12 runs from the final over.

Malinga was given the responsibility of bowling the last over. The first two balls resulted in two wickets as RR managed to score just seven runs to reach 208/7 in their 20 overs.

1) Match #45, IPL 2009: RR bt. MI by two runs

Bowling master-class[Pc: Crictracker.com]

Final scores:

RR: 145/7 (20 overs)
MI: 143/10 (19.5 overs)

Durban witnessed one of the closest IPL matches ever seen back in 2009. Rob Quiney (51 from 40) and Ravindra Jadeja (42 from 32) could not go on to put up big scores as RR ended with a below-par total of 145/7.

RR refused to give up as captain Shane Warne spun a web around the Mumbai batsmen. RR kept chipping away at wickets and the highest partnership MI built was 37 runs.

The Mumbai Indians were 142/7 at the end of the 19th over, needing just four runs for a victory. Munaf Patel took the ball for the final over.

The final over read:

0, wicket, wicket, 1, wicket.

The last over resulted in one run, two run-outs, and three wickets in total, finishing Mumbai's innings three runs short of the target.

Fans will not be surprised if there is another thriller on the cards when the two teams face off in this year's IPL.