The four-time IPL champions Mumbai Indians (MI) were involved in a high-scoring game against Rajasthan Royals (RR) on Sunday at the Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi. Though the Royals managed to register a dominating 8-wicket win, the flamboyant MI all-rounder Hardik Pandya hogged much limelight with his fifty.
Batting first, MI managed to post a huge total of 195 after losing just 5 wickets in their quota of 20 overs. A lot of credit for tge same goes to the insane power-hitting done by Pandya at the end of the innings. Despite losing a series of wickets in the middle order, Mumbai could reach closer to the 200-run mark as Hardik played a whirlwind knock 60* off 21 balls by maintainibg the strike rate of 285.71 including 2 fours and 7 sixes. With this stunning innings, the flamboyabt all-rounder registered his maiden half-century in the 13th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL).
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Rajasthan chased down the mammoth total in the 19th over itself owing to the spellbound maiden IPL 2020 century by England’s all-rounder Ben Stokes. Stokes made a strong partnership with Sanju Samson to smash the MI’s bowlers all-over the park by scoring 107* off 60 deliveries and 54* off 31 balls respectively.
Pandya was seen onterviewing with Bishop after his fifty during the mid-innings break. While giving an interview to the presenter Ian Bishop, the 27-year-old hilariously trolled Ian by concluding their interaction with the statement, “Remember the name.”
Did you pick this up? @irbishi pic.twitter.com/b10vt4JJJS
— Zolani Bongco (@BongcoZolani) October 25, 2020
Interestingly, Bishop wqs tye one who coined this term way back in the 2016 T20 World Cup final for West Indies hard-hitting Carlos Braithwaite who had smashed England’s all-rounder Ben Stokes for four consecutive sixes to help the Windies to win the marquee event. Notably, Hardik had also hit four sixes in Ankit Rajput’s over against Rajasthan. He had achieved this feat in the 18th over of the innings.
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Despite losing the game against Rajasthan Royals, MI is still leading the charts Indians comfortably in the points table with seven wins in eleven matches. Though the top 3 teams have the same number of points i.e 14, MI is ahead of the number two team Delhi Capitals (DC) and number three Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) as they have maintained a better net run rate.
