Jaipur: Left-handed batsman Yashasvi Jaiswal’s brilliant century steered Rajasthan Royals to a commanding nine-wicket victory over Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 match at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium on Monday.
Chasing a target of 180 runs set by the Mumbai Indians, Rajasthan Royals got off to a flying start with openers Jos Buttler and Yashasvi Jaiswal putting on a strong performance. The duo scored 61 runs without losing a wicket in the powerplay, with Jos Buttler contributing 28 runs and Yashasvi Jaiswal adding 31 runs to the total. However, RR lost their first wicket when Buttler was dismissed for 35 runs off 25 balls with the team score at 74.
Following Buttler’s dismissal, RR skipper Sanju Samson joined Jaiswal at the crease, and together they continued to build on the momentum. Jaiswal reached his fifty in the 10th over, and the pair brought up the team’s hundred in 10.3 overs. They went on to complete the 150-run mark in the 15th over. In the 19th over, Yashasvi Jaiswal completed his century, guiding Rajasthan Royals to a comfortable 9-wicket victory alongside skipper Sanju Samson, who remained unbeaten on 38 runs.
Earlier in the first innings, Sandeep Sharma showcased a stellar performance by securing a five-wicket haul, including three crucial wickets in the final over. His impressive bowling helped Rajasthan Royals limit Mumbai Indians to a total of 179/9.
Despite a shaky start that saw Mumbai Indians losing early wickets, Tilak Varma and Nehal Wadhera formed a resilient recovery partnership in the middle order. Varma played a crucial innings, scoring 65 runs off 45 balls, anchoring the MI middle-order recovery. Wadhera provided valuable support with a brisk 49 off just 24 balls. Their partnership not only stabilized the Mumbai Indians’ innings after the early dismissals but also propelled them to a respectable total of 179 against the Rajasthan Royals.
Earlier, MI skipper Hardik Pandya won the toss and elected to bat first against the Sanju Samson-led RR. After winning the toss MI captain Hardik Pandya said, “We are gonna bat first, looks like a good wicket, we didn’t see dew in the last couple of days hence the decision to bat first. It’s a very surreal feeling to play the 100th game for the franchise, started my journey with MI, I’m very grateful. We got three changes – Nuwan, Wadhera and Piyush Chawla come in. Shepherd, Madhwal, and Shreyas Gopal go out.”
RR skipper Sanju Samson at the toss said, “We had a slightly different idea about the toss so it’s okay. You know the nature of the tournament, it’s a very long tournament, we had a five day break and we discussed about our plans, it’s about focusing about the system and the process. We have played lots of games here, we know how the wicket behaves. MI are known to come back hard in the tournament so we have to play well. We have had Sandeep Sharma back to our side and Kuldeep Sen misses out.”
Rajasthan Royals (Playing XI): Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sanju Samson(w/c), Riyan Parag, Dhruv Jurel, Shimron Hetmyer, Rovman Powell, Ravichandran Ashwin, Trent Boult, Avesh Khan, Sandeep Sharma, Yuzvendra Chahal
Mumbai Indians (Playing XI): Ishan Kishan(w), Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya(c), Tim David, Nehal Wadhera, Mohammad Nabi, Gerald Coetzee, Piyush Chawla, Jasprit Bumrah
