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IPL 2022: MI gift skipper Rohit their first season win on his birthday
- Mumbai Indians beat Rajasthan Royals by 5 wickets to register first season win
- MI chased down the total with four deliveries to spare, scoring their first points
- A brilliant partnership of 81 runs off 56 balls between Suryakumar Yadav and Tilak Varma that set up the chase
The Rajasthan Royals‘ winning streak was broken by the Mumbai Indians, who halted their eight-game losing streak courtesy of a disciplined effort with the ball and a brilliant partnership of 81 runs off 56 balls between Suryakumar Yadav and Tilak Varma that set up the chase. After holding RR to 158/6, MI chased down the total with four deliveries to spare, scoring their first points.
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Ishan Kishan came out with gusto after struggling to get a move on in the previous games, smashing a six and clipping one for a four-off Trent Boult in the first over. Off Prasidh Krishna, he also went straight and over mid-on for two fours. While birthday boy Rohit Sharma fell early, getting a top edge while attempting a sweep off R Ashwin, Kishan and Suryakumar Yadav kept the boundaries coming. However, with only five runs coming off Ashwin’s first two overs, the strain to accelerate culminated in Kishan being caught by Boult for 26 after being squeezed on the pull.
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MI were 41 for 2 at the end of the powerplay, but they got a much-needed boost from Daryl Mitchell’s 20-run over, with Tilak Varma blasting a maximum over long-off and Suryakumar hitting three fours to the legside. Suryakumar was saved by an umpire’s call when Chahal stepped up for a leg-before appeal in the eighth over, with RR retaining the review. However, only five came in Chahal’s over, four came in Kuldeep Sen’s first over, and Ashwin gave away only five to help RR pull back and leave MI at 75/2 at the halfway point of the innings.
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Suryakumar and Tilak scored a half-century partnership off 33 deliveries, with two profitable overs coming in the 11th and 12th overs, lowering the necessary rate to 8 per over. Tilak hit a four off Kuldeep in the 13th over, while Suryakumar hit a six off Ashwin through deep midwicket in the 14th over to enable him to reach a 36-ball fifty. Ashwin finished with 1 for 21 from four balls, while Chahal dismissed Suryakumar, who holed out to long-on after being smashed for a six by Tilak.
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After Tilak was bowled by Prasidh an over later, the MI camp was tense as they required 35 off 24 balls with two fresh hitters at the crease. However, Tim David’s six off Chahal relieved some of the pressure, and the batter followed it up with two fours off Kuldeep, one via an outside edge, to calm the nerves. Despite battling with his timing, Kieron Pollard managed three pairs off Prasidh in the 19th over with 12 required off 12. He was caught at the fine-leg boundary off Kuldeep, but MI finally had a reason to celebrate in the IPL when Sams struck the winning stroke, clearing the deep midwicket barrier.
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Thanks to some tight bowling from the Mumbai Indians and a wicket that made stroke-making difficult. Despite Devdutt Padikkal hitting three fours in a Daniel Sams over and Buttler hitting a couple of boundaries off Hrithik Shokeen, RR only managed 40 runs on the powerplay and lost the left-handed opener during the session. Kumar Kartikeya, a debutant, bowled superb left-arm wrist spin and effective variations to keep the hitters from cutting loose. He bowled four overs in a row, allowing only 19 runs, and accounted for Sanju Samson, who had just begun to get going, hitting a couple of sixes off Shokeen.
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With Mitchell trying to get going at the other end, RR’s innings were snuffed out by a 37-run partnership off 41 pitches. Mitchell’s battle ended in the 15th over when he mishit a Sams delivery to cover. MI had mainly kept the RR batters in check for the majority of the innings, despite five wides in the same over and a low full-toss that Buttler managed to put away for his fifth four.
In the 16th over, Shokeen hit four consecutive sixes. Buttler brought up a 48-ball fifty with the first two sixes – over long-on and straight – and celebrated with two more maximums as he cleared deep midwicket and long-off. The sixth one was wide of Buttler, so he let it go, only to have the umpire rule it within the line. Buttler attempted a fifth six in the over but was caught at long-off, leaving RR at 126/4.
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R Ashwin finished the innings well, striking a quick 21 off nine balls. In the 18th over, he played a ramp shot for four and heaved one for a six off Riley Meredith, then he hit two fours off Jasprit Bumrah, lofting over extra cover and opening the face of the bat to guide one beyond backward point. However, in the final over, they were defeated by Meredith’s slower short ball. Meredith, who had earlier taken Riyan Parag‘s wicket, bowled an outstanding fourth over, surrendering only three runs as he concluded with 2 for 24 from four overs.
Mumbai Indians have a five-day vacation before their next game on May 6 against the Gujarat Titans at the Brabourne Stadium. Meanwhile, the Royals have only one day off before their match against the Kolkata Knight Riders on May 2 at the Wankhede Stadium.
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