The 45th match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) brought out contrasting fortunes for the Mumbai Indians (MI) as well as the Rajasthan Royals (RR). The latter was almost playing a do-or-die game and they needed their top guns to fire and Ben Stokes and Sanju Samson didn’t disappoint as they smashed the MI bowlers from the word go. It was once again Kieron Pollard was leading the MI squad in the absence of injured Rohit Sharma.
Choosing to bat first, MI was sent on a backfoot by Jofra Archer, who castled the in-form Quinton de Kock with a ripper of delivery. Jolted by early dismissal, Mumbai made a comeback owing to a solid partnership between Ishan Kishan and Suryakumar Yadav as they added 86 runs. However, just when Kishan (37 off 36) started to shift gears, a one-handed blinder by Archer at third-man undid him. A couple of overs later, Yadav (40 from 26)was dismissed by Shreyas Gopal.
WATCH – Jofra Archer Pulled off The Catch Of The Tournament Against MI
Gopal also got the prized wicket of Kieron Pollard cheaply in the same over, it seemed that MI would undergo a collapse. Although, Hardik Pandya had some belligerent plans. At the 16-over mark, MI was 121/4. After 20, they reached 194, thanks to some insane hitting by Pandya, who smoked Ankit Rajput and Kartik Tyagi for 27 runs apiece in the 18th and the 20th over.
Chasing a huge target of 195 wasn’t going to be an easy task and RR suffered an early blow in form of Robin Uthappa (13 from 11) being dismissed cheaply by James Pattison. His wicket also followed the dismissal of the skipper, whereas Steven Smith (11 from 8), who was cleaned up by Pattinson in the fifth over.
RR’s stubbornness with Stokes (107 off 60) finally paid off for them as the English all-rounder smashed a dominating century against the star-studded bowling attack of MI with ridiculous ease. He was well assisted by Sanju Samson (54 off 31), who was hungry to score runs for his team.
ALSO READ: Match 45 (RCB vs CSK) – Hits And Flops Of The Game
Both the batsmen batted sensibly and made sure that the required run-rate never get outside their reach. After a fiery opening spell, Pattinson was battered by Stokes and Samson for 18 runs in the 13th over that led to a complete change in momentum. While increasing the momentum, the duo added 19, 13, and 15 runs in the next three overs. After a 28-ball half-century from Stokes, Samson brought up his fifty in 27 balls when RR was left to score merely 24 of the last four and they finished the job with 10 balls to spare.
Here’s how Twitter reacted RR’s comprehensive win:
THE ROYALS WIN BY 8 WICKETS! 💗#RRvMI | #HallaBol | #RoyalsFamily | #IPL2020
— Rajasthan Royals (@rajasthanroyals) October 25, 2020
Class act … @benstokes38 #IPLinUAE
— Michael Vaughan (@MichaelVaughan) October 25, 2020
HE'S BACK!
Stunning innings by @benstokes38 – 107* off just 60 balls to win the match. #IPLT20 pic.twitter.com/7zP4ZmtGu0— Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) October 25, 2020
First time in the IPL history Chennai Super Kings will not be in the Semi-finals or the Play-offs. In all the previous 10 occasions CSK had made it to the SFs or the Play-offs
— Sarang Bhalerao (@bhaleraosarang) October 25, 2020
This man is an entertainer and he has come to win! Made that look unbelievably easy! Some very proud people in England & NZ! Feel very fortunate to have witnessed that! 🔥🔥🔥🔥 @benstokes38 @rajasthanroyals @mipaltan #stokes #IPL2020 #RRvMI
— Isa Guha (@isaguha) October 25, 2020
That was top effort from #rr vs #mi chasing mammoth total against the strong bowling unit. #benstokes #sanjusamson
— Irfan Pathan (@IrfanPathan) October 25, 2020
Ben stokes @benstokes38 scores a quality 💯! What a timely knock when team needed it great partnership with @IamSanjuSamson another cool and composed knock ! And this #IPL2020 table is getting interesting ! Great hitting by @hardikpandya7 to set up a big total for #rr #RRvsMI
— Yuvraj Singh (@YUVSTRONG12) October 25, 2020
Incredible batting from @benstokes38 for @rajasthanroyals. Scored his second 💯 in #IPL. Helped RR to reach 6th position on the points table #MIvRR #IPL2020
— Vinay Kumar R (@Vinay_Kumar_R) October 25, 2020
Fantastic run chase and tremendous win for #RR . Looked out of the game after #MI scored 195. Ben Stokes magnificent century showing why he is rated as best contemporary cricketer. Two upset results opens up IPL to intriguing possibilities again!
— Cricketwallah (@cricketwallah) October 25, 2020
The top-3 teams in the Points Table have all lost this weekend.
Delhi against KKR
RCB against CSK
MI against RR#IPL2020— Bharath Seervi (@SeerviBharath) October 25, 2020
What an amazing knock from both @benstokes38 & @IamSanjuSamson to make @rajasthanroyals win 👏
This weekend, the bottom teams have outperformed top teams and this means the competition is getting intense!#RRvMI
— Vinod Kambli (@vinodkambli349) October 25, 2020
Big ben @benstokes38 rings the bell tonight in the iplThis is the best 100 i have seen in the Ipl,sensational would be an understatement! @IamSanjuSamson when you are on song , the talent you have just overflows! Brilliant victory for @rajasthanroyals! #RR #RRvMI #IPL2020 pic.twitter.com/QScKdJKx81
— Kris Srikkanth (@KrisSrikkanth) October 25, 2020
Dilli Metro mein baithne ko Seat , Zindagi me sachha pyaar aur IPL Playoffs mein jagah itni aasani se nahi milti.
Rajasthan still very much alive. Outstanding innings from Ben Stokes. #MIvsRR— Virender Sehwag (@virendersehwag) October 25, 2020
Serious batsmanship @benstokes38 @IamSanjuSamson this tournament is 🔥🔥🔥🔥 up towards the business end.. @hardikpandya7 that was proper striking. @IPL
— JP Duminy (@jpduminy21) October 25, 2020
Everyone in the commentary box up and clapping this 50 by @IamSanjuSamson. Very pleasant player to watch
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) October 25, 2020
