IPL 2024: Royals go 3-0 to top table; Mumbai Indians remain bottom with 0-3

Rajasthan Royals (RR) maintained their victorious run at the Tata Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 with a six-wicket win over Mumbai Indians (MI) in Match 14 at the Wankhede Stadium. Led by the bowlers, RR restricted MI to 125, and chased it down with 27 balls to spare.

Royals’ third victory in as many games puts them top of the table, while Mumbai Indians’ third defeat from consecutive matches leaves them in the cellar position.

RR’s opening bowlers repaid the faith of their captain Sanju Samson after he won the toss and elected to bowl. There was a lot of movement on offer, and the RR opening bowlers used it to great effect to set the tone for their team. Trent Boult struck in the very first over- with Rohit Sharma caught behind and Naman Dhir dismissed leg-before.

The dismissal of Naman Dhir prompted MI to bring on Dewald Brevis as an Impact Player. That move did not pay dividends for MI as Brevis hit his first ball to short third-man off Boult in the third over. The first three batters dismissed were all off their respective first deliveries.

In the next over, Nandre Burger struck as Ishan Kishan (16 off 14 balls) edged one to the wicketkeeper. At 20-4 in the fourth over, MI captain Hardik Pandya walked in with a huge task before him.

What followed was a counterattack, with both Tilak Varma and Pandya trying to capitalise on the last two overs of the Powerplay. Tilak smashed one over fine-leg off Boult for six.

The last over of the Powerplay, bowled by Burger, saw Pandya picking three boundaries- even using his feet and charging the bowler a few times.

MI continued to bat positively even after the Powerplay as the runs kept flowing. Varma and Pandya put up 56 in tandem before Pandya (34 off 21 balls) was dismissed, trying to hit Yuzvendra Chahal over long-on. It was Chahal’s spell that then vanquished any hopes of MI posting a big score.

In the middle overs, the leg-spinner kept it tight and accounted for three wickets. He was also well supported by Ravichandran Ashwin, who went wicketless but conceded only 27 runs in his four overs. RR’s fielders backed up the efforts of their bowlers. The highlight was Shimron Hetmyer’s catch at point off Avesh Khan’s bowling, which dismissed Piyush Chawla.

Tilak (32 off 29 balls) was eventually dismissed in the 14th over, leaving the burden of scoring on Tim David. The big-hitting middle-order batter only managed 17 in the slog overs before being dismissed by Burger. MI finished on 125-9.

The MI bowlers were getting some movement from the wicket, particularly Jasprit Bumrah. Kwena Maphaka struck in the first over when Yashaswi Jaiswal tried to go over cover.

Jos Buttler and Sanju Samson were tested by the movement in the initial overs. However, with the target not daunting enough and the batters picking their opportunities to score, they rallied through that phase.

Samson played some typical drives through the off-side, before inside-edging one onto the stumps off Akash Madhwal, who was playing his first match of the tournament. A couple of overs later, Madhwal struck again when Buttler pulled one straight to fine-leg. RR were 48 for three in the seventh over.

Ashwin and Riyan Parag put up a partnership of 40 that took the match away from MI. Madhwal struck again to break the partnership when he had Ashwin caught for 16. The right-arm pacer showed great application is his first match of the season.

Parag’s great run of form continued. This time, he had to tweak his strategy and be watchful to begin with. As the target approached, he picked up pace, getting to his half-century with two consecutive sixes off Gerald Coetzee. Victory was achieved when Parag pulled one through fine-leg for four.

On a day when most batters struggled, Parag’s innings rallied RR through a few nervous moments. When victory was achieved, he remained unbeaten on 54 off 39 balls- the highest score across the two sides on the day. With that performance, he took the Orange Cap at the end of the game. (IPL)