IPL 2018, MI vs RR: 5 talking points

With both Mumbai Indians and Rajasthan Royals tied at 10 points from their 11 matches in IPL 2018 so far, their contest at the Wankhede Stadium would be crucial to their dreams of securing a spot in the play-off stages of the competition.

The hosts made a good start after being put into bat, with the openers putting on an 87-run stand for the first wicket.

But, a flurry of wickets after that meant that Rajasthan Royals were able to pull things back before Hardik Pandya produced a late onslaught to help the side reach a total of 168 in their 20 overs.

Still, it was an under-par score at the high-scoring stadium, and so it proved as Jos Buttler continued his scintillating form to score his fifth consecutive half-century to earn his side a very crucial win.

Here are the 5 major talking points from tonight's match.

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#5 Suryakumar Yadav and Elwin Lewis get MI off to a flyer

Mumbai Indians started out the campaign with skipper Rohit Sharma opening the innings alongside Suryakumar Yadav, but the former has since moved down the order with West Indian Elwin Lewis being chosen to partner Yadav.

The pair has given the side a few decent starts playing their part in the side's revival off late, and tonight saw them giving their best outing together as a partnership as they added 87 runs for the first wicket in a little over ten overs.

Yadav was in his stylish self during his knock of 38 which saw him achieve the record of most runs scored by an uncapped player during an IPL season while Lewis was the aggressor, hitting 4 sixes, during his knock of 60 off 42 balls.

#4 Mumbai loses wickets in a jiffy

Rohit Sharma was dismissed for a golden duck against the Royals for the second time this season

After the 87-run opening partnership between Yadav and Lewis was broken, the hosts suffered another setback right after with skipper Rohit Sharma fell for a golden duck against Rajasthan Royals for the second time this season.

Jofra Archer was the one who dismissed Yadav and Sharma off successive deliveries, with both batsmen falling in similar fashion caught by Unadkat at the fine-leg boundary.

Ishan Kishan survived the hat-trick ball but couldn't repeat his big-hitting heroics against KKR tonight, as he was caught brilliantly by Sanju Samson at the long on boundary, an over after Lewis was caught by the very same fielder at the sweeper cover boundary.

The successive loss of wickets did affect the run-rate of the Mumbai Indians innings. If not for some big-hitting from Hardik Pandya towards the end, Rohit Sharma's side could have ended up with a much lower total than the 168 they eventually managed.

#3 Sanju Samson shows his teammates how it's done

Sanju Samson dived full length to his right to complete a stunning catch of Hardik Pandya

Rajasthan Royals had an indifferent day on the field, as moments of brilliance were followed by silly mistakes, which allowed the Mumbai Indians to get away to a good start, and also finish off on a high, after the opposition bowlers were able to pull things back with a number of wickets after the half-way mark.

The Royals' fielders missed several chances, some difficult and some pretty catchable at this level, but Sanju Samson for one had a very good day on the field picking up three catches, two of them which was very difficult opportunities.

His catch at the sweeper cover boundary to help dismiss Ewin Lewis was his first of the day and the easiest of the three chances. But, he still had some distance to cover to his right and he did just that and more importantly, clung on to the ball as he completed a slide.

Ishan Kishan was the next to fall with Samson, this time fielding at the deep mid-wicket boundary ran in after, Ishan miscued an attempted pull shot and almost overran the ball before completing the catch in superb fashion.

Samson was not done yet as he saved his best for last, putting in a full-length drive after covering plenty of ground to his left from the mid-wicket boundary to help dismiss Hardik Pandya in the final over of the Mumbai innings.

#2 Buttler and Rahane's partnership help build RR's run-chase

Rahane proved the ideal foil for Buttler during the pair's 95-run stand for the second wicket

After D'Arcy Short's latest failure in the 2018 IPL, Rajasthan Royals skipper Ajinkya Rahane walked into the middle to join an in-form Jos Buttler.

The duo did a good job of building a solid partnership that avoided further inroads into their batting line-up.

Rahane played the ideal second-fiddle to Buttler, with the latter going for the big shots while the skipper did a job of rotating the strike around.

The duo did well with their running between the wickets, converting the ones into doubles, as they kept the required run-rate in check and within achievable limit at all times.

Rahane scored only 36 runs off 35 balls, but along with Buttler, added 95 runs for the second wicket that put his side in a position of strength before Buttler finished the job for his side.

#1 Jos Buttler makes it 5 50's in a row

Buttler led his side to victory once again in a run-chase remaining unbeaten on 94 off 53 balls

The move by the Rajasthan Royals team management to promote Jos Buttler up the order to the opening slot has to be the masterstroke of this IPL season as the English wicketkeeper-batsman hasn't looked back since, going on to complete his fifth half-century in a row tonight.

He started off slowly compared to his lofty standards, forming a solid partnership with skipper Ajinkya Rahane, following the early loss of D'Arcy Short. The pair added 95 runs for the second wicket before Rahane was dismissed by Hardik Pandya.

It was after the skipper's dismissal that Buttler got into his usual self, taking the attack to the opposition and unlike his skipper, stuck around to finish off the job for his side, deservedly scoring the winning runs with a huge six.

Just as was the case against Chennai Super Kings on Friday, Buttler was left unbeaten in the 90s yet again when the knock truly deserved a hundred but the Royals fans will undoubtedly be grateful to Buttler for keeping their side in the competition.