As we head into the last round matches in the Indian Premier League 2021, the battle for the fourth playoffs spot has reached a high level of intrigue. MI mowed down the target in just 8.2 overs after restricting RR to 90/9 in 20 overs at Sharjah on Tuesday, October 5.
Mumbai Indians’ bowlers were exceptional, with Nathan Coulter-Nile, Jimmy Neesham and Jasprit Bumrah snaring nine wickets between them to restrict Rajasthan Royals to 90/9. Ishan Kishan scored fifty off 25 balls to reach the target in just 8.2 overs – a massive boost to their playoffs hopes.
As it happened, Mumbai Indians won the crucial toss and decided to field first. RR got off to a very good start, with Evin Lewis and Yashasvi Jaiswal taking down Jayant Yadav for 15 runs in the second over.
MI pulled things back as Coulter-Nile landed the first blow in the fourth over, when Jaiswal (12 off 9) nicked it to the wicketkeeper Kishan. Lewis (24 off 19) followed him in the sixth over when he was struck on the pads trying to slog angling in delivery from Bumrah as RR finished the powerplay on 41/2.
Neesham, brought in for a must win game, struck on the very first ball as Sanju Samson (3 off 6) cut an outside off delivery straight to Suryakumar Yadav at point. Samson has been in outstanding form in this edition and what followed after his dismissal was a total carnage as none of the RR batters could find any timing.
In the ninth over, Shivam Dube, who played a terrific knock in the last game, was chopped on for 3 off 9 by Neesham. Coulter-Nile nutmegged Glenn Phillips to clean him up on 4 off 13 balls. The Royals’ half the side was back in the shed for 50 runs in 10 overs.
David Miller and Rahul Tewatia tried to hang in there, scoring 21 runs in next five overs before Tewatia edged a pull shot to the keeper at the end of 15th over. Bumrah dismissed Shreyas Gopal on a golden duck in the next over while Coulter-Nile trapped Miller plumb in the 17th over for 15 off 23. NCN rattled Chetan Sakariya’s stumps in the 19th over to claim his fourth wicket. Mustafizur Rahman launched Trent Boult for a six in the last over as RR somehow reached 90/9.
MI needed to chase the target down inside 8 overs to get their net run-rate in positive. Rohit Sharma took 14 runs off Mustafizur in the first over, making his intentions clear. Kishan, on the other hand, played out a maiden against Sakariya. Rohit swept Gopal for his second six of the innings in the next over before chipping a Sakariya delivery in the fourth over to cover and walked back on 22 off 13 balls.
Suryakumar and Kishan smashed six fours in the next three overs before SKY ballooned a Mustafizur delivery to mid-off on 13 off 8. Hardik walked in at 4 to close out the game quickly but didn’t have to do much.
Kishan, who was on 21 off 17 balls at one stage, smashed two fours and three sixes in the next eight balls to bring up his first half century of the season off 25 balls. Coulter-Nile was adjudged the ‘player of the match’ for his brilliant spell.
With this comprehensive victory, Mumbai Indians jumped to fifth place, tying Kolkata Knight Riders on 12 points. They also improved their net run-rate significantly from -0.453 to -0.048. KKR occupy fourth place, courtesy of their superior net run-rate of +0.294. The equation for KKR is simple – just win their last game against RR.
For Mumbai, on the other hand, they will have to win the match against Sunrisers Hyderabad. And if KKR win their last match, MI will have to produce another dominant victory to surpass KKR’s net run-rate.
Brief Scores
Rajasthan Royals – 90/9 in 20 overs (Lewis 24; Coulter-Nile 4/14, Neesham 3/12, Bumrah 2/14)
Mumbai Indians – 94/2 in 8.2 overs (Kishan 50*, Sharma 22; Rahman 1/32) won by eight wickets and 70 balls remaining.
