YesterIPL 2021: MI vs RR - Who won today's match?
Defending champions Mumbai Indians (MI) returned to winning ways with a clinical seven-wicket triumph over Rajasthan Royals (RR) in Delhi on Thursday.
After Rahul Chahar (2 for 33) and Jasprit Bumrah (1 for 15) combined to restrict RR to 171 for 4, MI opener Quinton de Kock marked his return to form with a scintillating fifty. De Kock struck 70 not out off 50 balls as MI romped home in 18.3 overs.
After a watchful start, De Kock switched to attack mode. He guided a length delivery past short third man for a four and followed that up by whipping a six over short fine leg. MI captain Rohit Sharma joined the act by launching Jaydev Unadkat over midwicket for a maximum.
De Kock welcomed Chris Morris to the attack by swinging a short ball over midwicket for a six. The over did not end the way MI would have wanted to, though. On the last ball of the over, Rohit Sharma (14) chipped a simple catch to mid-on as MI raced to 49 for 1 at the end of the powerplay.
Despite their captain's dismissal, MI continued to attack. New man Suryakumar Yadav came in and immediately took two boundaries off Rahul Tewatia - the first was chipped over extra over, while the second was late-cut to the fence. In the same over, De Kock brought out a reverse sweep, finding the third boundary of the over by bisecting point and short third man.
Even as De Kock continued to find the boundaries, MI lost Yadav for 16 when the batsman flicked a full delivery from Morris straight to short midwicket. Nevertheless, De Kock carried on and brought up a fluent fifty, turning a length ball from Unadkat to the leg side for a single.
Sent in at no. 4 in the absence of the dropped Ishant Kishan, Krunal Pandya clubbed a full delivery from Rahul Tewatia straight over the bowler’s head.
With the victory becoming a mere formality, Pandya slashed Mustafizur Rahman for a six over deep midwicket. The left-arm seamer hit back with a ripper that beat Pandya’s attempted drive but not before the all-rounder contributed a handy 39 off 26.
Kieron Pollard (16 not out off 8) came in and applied the finishing touches as RR slumped to their fourth defeat in six games.
RR post competitive 171 for 4, batting first
Decent contributions from Sanju Samson (42), Jos Buttler (41), Shivam Dube (35) and Yashasvi Jaiswal (32) lifted Rajasthan Royals (RR) to 171 for 4, after they were asked to bat first by Mumbai Indians (MI).
Although no RR batsman went on to make a big score, the team did well enough to give their bowlers a fighting total to contend with. A good opening stand was something RR missed all season. But they got one against MI, as Buttler and Jaiswal added 66 for the first wicket.
After only 20 runs came off the first four overs, Buttler opened up by crashing Jayant Yadav for a four and a six over midwicket off consecutive deliveries. In the last over of the powerplay, Jaiswal crunched Nathan Coulter-Nile for a boundary through the covers before following up with a handsome six pulled over square leg.
Meanwhile, Buttler deposited a short ball from Rahul Chahar over midwicket for another maximum. The MI leg-spinner had his revenge the very next ball, though, beating Buttler in flight and having him stumped for 41 off 32, as the Englishman stepped out a tad too early.
Jaiswal (32 off 20) also perished to Chahar, doing so immediately after slog-sweeping the spinner for a six over midwicket. The RR opener closed his bat's face too soon on a googly, ending up flicking a catch back to the bowler.
Dube struggled for a while before slogging Yadav over wide long-on for a six. In the next over by Trent Boult, Samson picked up consecutive fours - the first was a low full toss lofted down the ground, while the second was an off-cutter that was guided fine of short third man.
Samson (42 off 27) was knocked over by Boult with a trademark yorker, though. The RR batsman looked to flick the delivery but ended up losing his stumps. After Dube (35 off 31) was caught and bowled by Jasprit Bumrah in the 19th over, Riyan Parag and David Miller hit a four apiece in the last over to take RR past 170.
IPL 2021: MI vs RR - Man of the Match
MI wicketkeeper-batsman Quinton de Kock returned to form with a timely half-century. He guided his team's chase of 172 after MI lost Rohit Sharma and Suryakumar Yadav cheaply.
Meanwhile, MI leg-spinner Rahul Chahar was impressive, claiming 2 for 33, while Jasprit Bumrah gave away only 15 runs and picked up the wicket of Shivam Dube.
For RR, Jos Buttler and Sanju Samson chipped in with decent contributions of 41 and 42, respectively. Chris Morris sent back Rohit Sharma and Suryakumar Yadav with his canny medium pace.
However, it was Quinton de Kock who was the 'Man of the Match' for his match-winning knock.