Riley Meredith joins Mumbai Indians as Jhye Richardson's injury replacement
Five-time champions Mumbai Indians have signed Riley Meredith as an injury replacement for Jhye Richardson for the remainder of IPL 2023. The right-arm paceman joins the franchise for 1.5 crore as Richardson's hamstring injury rendered him unfit to play in the tournament.
Richardson joined the Mumbai Indians, fetching INR 1.5 crores in the mini-auction, which was also his base price. The right-arm seamer was also part of Australia's ODI squad to face India and didn't play in the three-game series either due to the hamstring injury.
The West Australian went for a jaw-dropping INR 14 crore to the Punjab Kings ahead of the 2021 edition. However, he didn't make much of an impact.
Meanwhile, Meredith has represented the Punjab Kings and Mumbai Indians before and performed decently for MI last year. The 26-year-old picked up eight wickets in as many games at 29.50. He had a forgettable outing for the Punjab Kings in 2021, managing only four scalps in five games at 42.25 apiece.
Nevertheless, Meredith will be upbeat after a fruitful season for the Hobart Hurricanes in BBL 2022-23, claiming 21 victims in 14 fixtures.
Mumbai Indians under pressure after a tough loss in the first game
After a comprehensive eight-wicket loss to the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in the first game, the Mumbai-based franchise need a quick turnaround in the second.
Batting first, Rohit Sharma and Co. made 171, with the bulk of the runs coming from Tilak Sharma's unbeaten 46-ball 84. The likes of Rohit Sharma, Ishan Kishan, and Suryakumar Yadav not firing proved decisive.
𝙍𝙤𝙝𝙞𝙩 𝙞𝙣 𝙒𝙖𝙣𝙠𝙝𝙚𝙙𝙚 𝙞𝙨 𝙥𝙪𝙧𝙚 𝙗𝙡𝙞𝙨𝙨 🤌💙
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The 172-run target proved nowhere enough for RCB as Virat Kohli and Faf du Plessis forged a 148-run opening stand. Kohli stayed unbeaten at 82, but Faf du Plessis took the Player of the Match award for his 73 off 43 balls.
Mumbai will next face their arch-rivals Chennai Super Kings (CSK) at the Wankhede Stadium on Saturday (April 8).