Post-match analysis with Vettori and Cutting
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Mumbai Indians are off the mark, finally
Tim David has played a little cameo towards the end. And in the process, has shown his spin-game is quite enhanced. His approach against Chahal, who he biffed for a mighty six, was particularly refreshing. Of course he was aided by some luck too, like the french cut that flew past leg-stump for four. Heck, it's about time Mumbai had some luck going their way. And all of this even as Pollard struggled for timing.
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Nerves? What nerves
Daniel Sams pumps the first ball over deep midwicket for six.
Game, set, match - Mumbai Indians.
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Final over thriller?
Four off six.
What does Pollard do? Plays a swivel-pull down to fine leg.
He thinks he's got enough power, but no. Daryl Mitchell stumbles a bit coming in from fine leg but takes it inches from the ground. It needs the third umpire the benefit of multiple replays to confirm that.
Four off five.
A late twist?
First Surya, next Varma. Both caught at long-on looking to go downtown. Surya was out to Chahal's sidespin. Varma to Prasidh's hard lengths. It was no shot to play, especially on a track with bounce. Riyan Parag with both dollies at long-on. Just can't keep him out of the game, can you? From 37 off 31 with eight wickets in hand, it's down to 37 off 28 with six in hand. Both batters Pollard and David yet to face a ball.
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Surya raises fifty
Seventh-stump line. Full ball. Not the ones you can line up to sweep. Yet, Surya gets into a position from where he has several options, including a full blooded sweep. Except he doesn't play it. He decides to swat it over long-on and manages to pick the bones out of it. A half-century is rasied off 35 balls. Mumbai cruising towards their first win.
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Surya keeps Mumbai in control
All the typical elements of his innings early on have been in display. The hard running, the sweeps, the wrists, the whip and the industry. And that has meant Mumbai have chugged along despite losing Rohit and Ishan Kishan, who for a while threatened to take the bowling apart. 70/2 in the ninth.
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Chahal drops, Ashwin strikes
When you're defending a middling score, every opportunity becomes that much more crucial. Royals had one when Ishan Kishan reached out and drove Prasidh Krishna uppishly. It went like a rocket to Yuzi Chahal, who seemed indecisive. He went 'do I catch it Aussie style' or 'do I take it the Indian way'. Ended up spilling it.
But not long after, Royals have their breakthrough as Ashwin gets Rohit. He gives it plenty of revs, lands it on a length, the ball holds onto the surface and Rohit's sweep lands in square leg's lap. 23/1 in the third.
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T20 Time-Out with Vettori & Cutting
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Fine cameo from Ashwin
He was never known to be a big striker in T20 cricket, but Ashwin has proven you need not just be a "striker" to score quick runs. You can do it with clever use of angles, too.
Jasprit Bumrah thought he had foxed a backing-away Ashwin with an off-cutter. I wonder if Bumrah thought he'd slog across the line, too. Ashwin outfoxed him in the process by holding his shape and lofting him inside-out over cover. And then in the same over, Bumrah once again thought he'd nailed Ashwin with a yorker, except Ashwin used his quick hands to scythe him between point and short third.
He's finished with 21 off 8 as Royals have made 158, four less than what our Forecaster predicted at the fall of Buttler's wicket.
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Buttler goes bam bam!
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A wicket at the end of an over Hrithik will want to move on quickly from. He held his own despite the pressure coming into the sixth ball. Went wide of the crease from around the stumps and speared it away from Buttler's hitting arc. He could only toe-end the slog to long-off. Buttler, thoughh, has more than made up for his slow knock by turbocharing past fifty. ESPNcricinfo's Forecaster predicts Royals to get 163 from here. They're currently 126/4 at 16.
The first hit was over long-on, next one straight as a ramrod. Then oveer deep midwicket followed by a full toss that was pumped over long-off. Each of those four were fired in full. The difference between those ansd the wicket ball was the pace on the delivery and the angle.
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Buttler striking at below a 100
Trevor Penney, the Royals assistant coach, reckons this DY Patil surface is a lot slower than some of the other ones they've played on. As a result, they've had to recalibrate their plans.
They believe 170 is an excellent score. Jos Buttler was kept honest early on, and hasn't really been allowed to break free - partly down to Royals losing Samson at the time they did, and due to some excellent bowling from Kartikeya, who has now bowled three overs on the trot.
Royals haven't scored a boundary from over 9.1 to 13 and counting. Can Buttler bat till the end and make up for a slow first half?
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Dream initiation for Kartikeya Singh
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He bowls left-arm orthodox, mixes them up with wrong'uns and seam-ups - essentially, he seems to be a jack of all trades. Also hearing he has a deceptive carrom ball which we're yet to see. His first over goes for just three, but in taking out Samson, he has given Mumbai some breathing space just as Royals were looking to accelerate.
David, who put down a sitter to reprieve Padikkal at deep point, takes a similar catch. Samson had the width but was hitting it uppishly towards the longer boundary. Lost power as he made contact and it ended up being an easy catch. Sometimes long hops like those get you the big wickets.
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First ecstasy, then agony
In his first over, he enticed Devdutt Padikkal to step out and clear the long-off fence only to beat him in the air. The tactic hasn't worked against Sanju Samson, who takes young Hrithik Shokeen for two colossal sixes in his second over as Royals get a move on after a relatively slow powerplay. 53/1 in seven overs.
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BREAKING NEWS:
This ain't an April fool's joke.
Ravindra Jadeja has relinquished CSK captaincy. He has "handed it back" to MS Dhoni for the remainder of IPL 2022.
This is what the statement from the team reads:
"Ravindra Jadeja has decided to relinquish captaincy to focus and concentrate more on his game & has requested MS Dhoni to lead CSK. MS Dhoni has accepted to lead CSK in the larger interest & to allow Jadeja to focus on his game."
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Sloppy Mumbai start poorly
Already two chances have gone begging in three overs.
The first was the tougher of the lot - the one Sams put down at deep square leg after misjudging the trajectory to reprieve Buttler.
The second one, off Sams, should've been taken by Tim David. Running in from deep point, Padikkal's uppish cut was headed straight down his throat. But he got a tad too close to the ball as it burst through his palms to give Padikkal three fours in a row instead.undefined
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Bumrah v Buttler
In eight meetings, Buttler, the season's orange cap holder, has been out to him four times, while only striking at 89. Here, he takes him on off the very fourth ball and pulls him over deep square leg where Daniel Sams midjudged the ball and back-tracked, only to let it hit the skirting on the half volley. A huge opportunity lost. Royals 7/0 after 2 overs.
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A tribute to Warne
Both teams line up for a minute's silence to honour Shane Warne, who at this very venue (DY Patil Stadium, Navi Mumbai) vaulted the Royals to the title at the inaugural IPL. The Royals are wearing specially crafted jerseys with the number 'SK23' in memory of their "first Royal" - their inspirational captain, mentor and friend.
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ESPNcricinfo's T20 Time-Out
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In the USA, you can watch the action live on ESPN+.
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Luck of the coin goes Rohit's way
Mumbai Indians opt to bowl. Two changes:
Kartikeya Singh, their latest signing, comes in for Jaydev Unadkat. That means a left-arm spinner for a left-arm seamer. The second change is the big one. Finally, Tim David, one of their big-ticket auction buys, comes in place of young South African sensation Dewald Brewis.
In what counts as a definite sign of stability, Rajasthan Royals ain't fixing things that ain't broken. They are unchanged.
Mumbai Indians 1 Rohit Sharma (capt.), 2 Ishan Kishan (wk), 3 Tim David, 4 Suryakumar Yadav, 5 Tilak Varma, 6 Kieron Pollard, 7 Daniel Sams, 8 Kumar Kartikeya Singh, 9 Hrithik Shokeen, 10 Jasprit Bumrah, 11 Riley Meredith
Rajasthan Royals 1 Jos Buttler, 2 Devdutt Padikkal, 3 Sanju Samson (capt. & wk), 4 Shimron Hetmyer, 5 Daryl Mitchell, 6 Riyan Parag, 7 R Ashwin, 8 Trent Boult, 9 Prasidh Krishna, 10 Yuzvendra Chahal, 11 Kuldeep Sen
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Happy birthday, Rohit Sharma
Thirty-five years young today. He may have aged a few years though over the past month or so. The five-time champions Mumbai Indians have started poorly and are winless with six games to go. A play-off is out of the picture, but there's an opportunity to build towards next year should they try and find answers to a few questions.
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