RR vs MI Highlights, IPL 2024: 3 moments that generated buzz among fans in Match 38
The Rajasthan Royals (RR) extended their lead at the top of the 2024 Indian Premier League (IPL) with a thumping nine-wicket win over the Mumbai Indians (MI) at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur on Monday.
MI skipper Hardik Pandya, playing his 100th match for the franchise, won the toss and elected to bat first. The visitors were off to a horrid start, losing Rohit Sharma and Ishan Kishan inside the first couple of overs. MI were reduced to 20-3 in no time after Suryakumar Yadav also returned a poor score.
MI's innings was revived courtesy of the left-handed duo of Nehal Wadhera and Tilak Varma. The duo put on 99 runs for the fifth wicket to dominate the middle overs. Tilak Varma converted his start to a fifty and stayed till the end, but MI's innings lacked the final push and had to settle for 179/9 after 20 overs.
RR's opening combination, despite their prowess on paper, had struggled to give good starts this season so far. However, Jaiswal and Buttler put on 74 runs for the first wicket to lay a solid foundation in the run chase.
The contest was, however, interrupted in an unprecedented manner when rain graced its presence. The slight drizzle took some time to fade away, but luckily no overs were reduced.
RR maintained the same approach even after the end of the fielding restrictions and the rain. Although Buttler departed for a well-made 35 runs off 25 deliveries, Sanju Samson took over the baton.
Yashasvi Jaiswal continued his rampage from the other end, putting an end to his string of low scores, and announced his timely return to form. The left-handed batter scored a ton to wrap things up and prolong MI's quest for momentum.
On that note, here are three moments that generated buzz among fans in the contest between MI and RR in IPL 2024.
#1 Yuzvendra Chahal's 200th IPL wicket
The leg-spinner scripted history during the contest by becoming the first bowler in the competition's history to reach the 200-wicket landmark. After being introduced in the eighth over of the innings, he struck off the third delivery to dismiss Mohammed Nabi.
Chahal managed to outfox Nabi with a classic leg spin delivery for the historic wicket. The all-rounder, attempting to nudge the delivery to the leg side was too early into his stroke and the ball looped back to Chahal after claiming the thick outside edge.
The leg-spinner slumped down to his knees after securing a place in the history books and was swamped by teammates to mark the occasion. However, the rest of Chahal's spell was hardly noteworthy as he finished with an economy of 12, and was one of the most expensive bowlers on show.
#2 Sandeep Sharma claims three wickets in the final over to end up with a fifer
Sandeep Sharma returned to the playing XI in place of Kuldeep Sen for the clash against MI. The veteran seamer missed a string of games due to a side strain, but showed his impact straightaway, with the new ball as well as in the death overs.
The right-arm pacer did not allow MI to settle down in the powerplay, with two crucial wickets. He dismissed Ishan Kishan and Suryakumar Yadav, to help RR claim an early advantage after losing the toss.
He returned in the death overs to inflict more damage. The MI batters struggled to tonk away Sandeep Sharma's off-pace deliveries as all of Tilak Varma, Tim David and Gerald Coetzee holed out as MI ended with a below-par total.
#3 Yashasvi Jaiswal roars in delight after scoring his second ton against MI
Jaiswal's 2024 IPL campaign was underwhelming until the midway mark of the season, to say the least, especially after his breakthrough 2023 season. Over the course of the ongoing season, he has had trouble converting his starts and throwing his wicket away rather cheaply.
However, he buried both of those claims simultaneously by scoring a memorable hundred to lead RR's comfortable run chase. He got off to a good start, and made the most of it to record his second IPL ton, and his second against MI as well. He took off his helmet, roared, and jumped in delight after reaching the landmark.
Jaiswal's unbeaten knock of 104 runs off 60 deliveries included nine fours and seven sixes. The youngster got some reprieves courtesy of MI's shambolic fielding, which included a couple of dropped catches among many other misfields.
He also finished the chase off in style with a sublime boundary to mark RR's seventh win of the season.