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An incisive opening burst by pace ace Trent Boult and magical spin bowling by leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal helped Rajasthan Royals thrash hosts Mumbai Indians by six wickets with 27 balls to spare in the IPL at the Wankhede Stadium on Monday.
Under-pressure MI captain Hardik Pandya made a spirited batting effort, but still failed to inspire his troops as the five-time champions lost their third game in a row. It proved a forgettable home debut for the new skipper who has been booed by fans in each game.
In a lop-sided game, Royals restricted MI to 125/9 after electing to bowl. Powered by Riyan Parag’s unbeaten 54 (39b, 5×4, 3×6), the visitors chased down the target in 15.3 overs. It was Parag’s second successive fifty, having scored an unbeaten 84 versus Delhi Capitals.
Royals went top of the table with their third straight win while MI are at the bottom following their third consecutive defeat. Under pressure to stem the poor start, it was that sort of an outing where nothing worked for the home side starting with the toss.
Boult’s superb spell with the new ball rocked MI and they never recovered from there. The left-arm pacer, who has bowled some inspired spells during his time with MI, silenced the home crowd with his first eight deliveries itself. The New Zealand seamer picked three wickets in four balls to enjoy figures of 1.2-0-2-3 and reduce MI to 14/3. It was a dramatic opening spell with Rohit Sharma, Naman Dhir and Dewald Brevis all out for golden ducks.
Rohit nicked the first ball he faced. It was angled across and he poked at it to be caught by RR skipper Sanju Samson diving to his right behind the stumps. The next ball was a trademark Boult special, pitching in line and shaping in to catch Dhir in front. The No.3 batter unsuccessfully reviewed it.
It left Boult on a hat-trick. Ishan Kishan denied him with a single off the first ball in his second over but on the next delivery the young Brevis, brought in as impact sub, drove uppishly to be caught at point.
To make it difficult for the home side, pacer Nandre Burger produced a beauty to get Ishan Kishan to make it 20/4 after 3.3 overs. The South African fast bowler got the movement and the extra bounce to find the left-handed opener’s outside edge.
Mumbai Indians needed a similar start from their pacers to make a game of it. With just 125 to defend, Jasprit Bumrah was on straightaway for the first time in this IPL, Hardik having faced criticism for holding him back in the previous games. However, he couldn’t get his rhythm, conceding seven extras in his first over. RR batters also focused on negotiating Bumrah safely. He bowled three straight overs in the powerplay, but was denied early success for figures of 3-0-19-0.
Pacer Akash Madhwal did pick two early wickets to reduce RR to 48/3 and keep MI in the game, but Parag played with authority to power RR home.
MI persisted with rookie left-arm pacer Kwena Maphaka despite his nightmarish debut against Sunrisers Hyderabad. The Wankhede bounce suited him and he got his maiden IPL wicket on the final ball of the first over, having Yashasvi Jaiswal (10) caught.
TURNING POINT
Earlier, Pandya had to walk out to bat in the fourth over itself. To his credit, he stayed positive and was in fine touch. He started with three fours off Burger in the sixth over, stepping out and smashing him through the off-side for two and then pulling him to mid-wicket fence.
Pandya however threw away the start he got. In the position MI found themselves in, they needed him to bat on at least till the 14th over and then take his chances in the last six overs.
He was however left to rue his lofted shot off Chahal to gift his wicket at the total of 76 (9.3 overs). It was the fourth time the spinner has dismissed Pandya in 69 balls. He averages 15.75 against the leggie.
SPIN SHOW
Chahal was superb. He kept up the pressure in his first three-over spell, conceding just 10 runs. After bagging Pandya, he also prized out Tilak Varma (32- 29b, 2×6).
He came back to bowl the 17th over and had Gerald Coetzee caught at short cover, finishing with 4-0-11-3.
“It’s a good wicket. I was trying to vary pace and lengths, and bowl good balls. (On Hardik wicket ball) Before that, I saw a couple of balls turn. Thought this was the time to take a chance, so said let’s try this ball (in the slot). I always back my belief and skills. In this format I know we can go for hits and wickets in others but our team wanted wickets at that stage and I went for it. There was a bit of dew after 16th over but we need to have a good first six.” said Chahal.
Pandya said after the defeat: “We should have been a little more disciplined, shown more courage.”
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