With hopes to break the losing spree, Rajasthan Royals invited Mumbai Indians to bat first on a batting track of Wankhede Stadium. Rohit Sharma came back with a bang and gave Mumbai a solid start along with Quinton de Kock. Both shared 96 runs for the opening wicket but Rohit couldn’t convert a good start into a big innings. De Kock was unmoved by this and stroked Rajasthan bowlers in all corners of the park. He scored 81 runs in 52 balls, where he hit six fours and four sixes. Hardik Pandya’s cameo at death took Mumbai’s total to 187/5 in 20 overs.
In response, Rajasthan started their run-chase positively. Both openers were rescued by DRS and scored 59 runs inside the powerplay. Ajinkya Rahane got out after scoring 37 runs off 21 balls. Jos Buttler went berserk after his dismissal and tore Mumbai’s bowling lineup apart with a 43-ball 89 runs, where he hit eight fours and seven sixes. Rajasthan stumbled from 170/2 to 174/6 but Shreyas Gopal remained calm to steer RR pass Mumbai’s total by four wickets.
Watch – Buttler smashed Alzarri Joseph for 28 runs in an over
Hits
Quinton de Kock (MI)
South African batsman was in full swing against Rajasthan Royals on Saturday. De Kock was looking good since the beginning and shared 96 runs along with Rohit Sharma for the first wicket. He didn’t stop after Rohit’s dismissal and scored flamboyant 81 runs in 52 balls, which features six fours and four sixes. He glued Mumbai’s batting lineup together to give them a big total to defend.
Jos Buttler (RR)
Explosive Rajasthan opener was on song against his former IP franchise. Buttler was playing shots from the very beginning but Ajinkya Rahane’s wicket brought the best out of him. He smashed Alzarri Joseph for 28 runs before getting out. He scored a swashbuckling 89 runs in 43 balls, which features eight fours and seven big sixes.
Watch – Buttler takes a stunning catch to dismiss De Kock
Jofra Archer (RR)
Archer was expensive in comparison to his regular matches but he broke the momentum of Mumbai’s innings at regular interval. He dismissed dangerous looking Rohit Sharma before removing Kieron Pollard and well-set Quinton de Kock off successive overs. He finished with match figures of 3/39 in four overs.
