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Highlights - Rajasthan Royals vs Mumbai Indians - Royals rumble to nine-wicket win
By Andrew MillerRoyals rumble to nine-wicket victory
Rajasthan Royals 183 for 1 (Jaiswal 104*) beat Mumbai Indians 179 for 9 (Varma 65, Sandeep 5-18) by nine wickets
Sandeep Sharma announced his return from injury with the magnificent figures of 5 for 18, the best by any bowler in this season’s IPL, before Yashasvi Jaiswal blazed back to form with a sparkling 59-ball century, as Rajasthan Royals signed off from the Jaipur leg of their campaign with a seventh statement win in eight matches to cement their table-topping status.
Set a middling 180 for victory after a Mumbai Indians’ innings that owed everything to a 99-run fifth-wicket stand between Tilak Varma and Nehal Wadhera, Rajasthan’s chase was signalled and sealed by Jaiswal, who had 31 from 18 balls prior to a 30-minute rain delay, before converting his first fifty of a difficult season into a towering 104 not out from 60 balls.
Jaiswal added 74 in eight overs with the in-form Jos Buttler, who made 35 from 25, and a further 109 in 65 with Sanju Samson, whose terrible reprieve on 19 by Tim David at midwicket was the moment all hope evaporated for Mumbai. By then, Jaiswal had also had a major let-off, on 50, when Wadhera at deep cover dropped a leading-edged swipe off Piyush Chawla over the ropes for six.
Mumbai’s performance was summed up by the deployment of their two outstanding bowlers of the campaign. After being riled by a first-ball slap for six, Gerald Coetzee bowled like the wind in his solitary powerplay over, visibly troubling Jaiswal with his 150kph-plus pace, in particular with a top-edged pull that flew over the keeper for four. Yet he was not given another over until Jaiswal was into the 80s, when he again got a well-set batter flinching, but by this stage the match was already lost.
And though Jasprit Bumrah bowled with his peerless verve up front, including a two-run first over to limit Buttler’s early intentions, he too was held back too late into the chase – and when he did return, his comeback over was not a success. A first-ball no-ball was followed by a second-ball wide on height, whereupon Jaiswal swung the rolled-over free hit for six, en route to a 16-run over, Bumrah’s most expensive of a stellar season.