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Another Mumbai Indians game, another final over finish and a close loss for them yet again.
Rohit Sharma became the second captain this season to win the toss and bat first. However, Dhawal Kulkarni knocked over Even Lewis in the first over of the game to give Rajasthan Royals a good start.
But the uncapped duo of Suryakumar Yadav and Ishan Kishan (who scored fifties) batted superbly and forged a 129-run partnership.
However, after that partnership was broken Mumbai Indians couldn’t gather momentum towards the back end of the innings and finished with 167/7.
Jofra Archer had a very good debut as he took 3/22 as none of MI middle-order batsmen got going.
In reply, RR lost a couple of early wickets, but Sanju Samson and Ben Stokes got the chase back on track with a 72-run stand for the third wicket.
MI then once again pulled back the initiative with some quick wickets. But Krishnappa Gowtham came and struck a magnificent 33 in just 11 deliveries to take Rajasthan home.
#5 Hit: Suryakumar Yadav
Yadav has been excellent for Mumbai Indians this season. He scored 43 and 28 in the first two games batting in the middle-order (at No. 4).
The team management decided to spring a surprise in the third game when they replaced Rohit Sharma with the former KKR man at the top of the order as the MI skipper dropped down to No. 4. He scored a fine 53 against DD in his first game as an opener.
He did fail in the last game falling for a golden duck but he came storming back in this game. After MI lost Lewis in the first over, Yadav took the responsibility of scoring quickly and batting for a long time.
The 27-year-old batsman from Mumbai batted beautifully as he made a superb 72 in 47 deliveries.
He struck six fours and three sixes as he stitched an excelled 129-run partnership with Kishan.
Yadav looked in fine touch as he nonchalantly whipped pacers through fine-leg and square-leg, attacked the spinners and also picked the gaps very well.
But after his dismissal in the 16th over, Mumbai lost track and ended up with just 167 in their 20 overs.
#4 Miss: Ajinkya Rahane
Ajinkya Rahane has batted differently in the last few games. With his opening partner D’Arcy Short (who is now dropped) struggling for form, he became the aggressor. Rahane has got starts in most games but has failed to kick on.
In this game, there was a perfect opportunity for Rahane to bat through and take RR close. However, he struggled in his 17-ball innings.
Rahane had a new opening partner for the game as Rahul Tripathi but it didn’t make a difference as the latter was dismissed early.
After Tripathi’s early dismissal, Rahane needed to take the responsibility of the chase, but the 29-year-old Rajasthan skipper looked scratchy.
He did try to break the shackles as he struck a boundary in the fifth over, but with the dot-ball pressure mounting, he tried to force the issue and heave across the line and eventually was dismissed. He fell for a sluggish 14 as his wicket left RR at 38/2.
#3 Hit: Jofra Archer
Jofra Archer is one cricketer whose debut was one of the most awaited ones. After picking up a side strain in the PSL, Archer’s recovery took a little longer than expected. But it has been a little over a week since he has been practising in the nets.
He finally got a game and made his IPL debut against Mumbai Indians.
He came into bowl in the fourth over of the innings and hit his straps straightaway. He clocked in excess of 140 kmph in his first over.
In fact, his third delivery of his first over was 148 kmph. Archer was hurrying the batsman for pace and was spot on with his line and length.
His first three overs went for 18 runs and despite not picking up a wicket till then, he was quite impressive.
Bowling his final over in the 19th over of the innings, Archer took three wickets and halted MI’s death overs charge.
He dismissed the Pandya brothers and Mitchell McClenaghan. He finished with figures of 3/22 in his four overs and was very impressive on debut.
He bowled fast and with great control. In fact, he also bowled the second fastest delivery of this IPL season (149.8 kmph).
With the bat, Archer scored just eight but he struck a vital boundary in the penultimate over.
#2 Miss: Evin Lewis
Lewis started slowly but he was slowly getting into his groove. He scored a fluent 48 against Delhi Daredevils before he scored a blistering 65 against Royal Challengers Bangalore in Mumbai’s last game after his team was 0/2.
He was once again going to be crucial for MI at the top of the order. But, he was knocked over by Kulkarni.
The West Indian opener was undone by a lovely inswinger from Kulkarni as the former went through with the drive and was bowled through the gate.
For the second consecutive game, a Mumbai opener was out for a first-ball duck and lost a wicket in the first over of the innings.
#1 Hit: Krishnappa Gowtham
Krishnappa Gowtham was picked for a hefty sum of Rs 6.2 crore by Rajasthan Royals in the auction this year.
Before this game, he hadn’t quite set the stage on fire with either bat or ball. He had taken just three wickets and had done very little with the bat in the first five games. However, he delivered when it mattered the most.
The Karnataka off-spinner had a decent outing with the ball where he conceded only 20 runs in his three overs.
There was nothing too special about that performance with the ball, his moment of brilliance came with the bat.
With the inclusion of Archer, Gowtham was pushed down to No. 8 and he walked out in the 18th over with RR still needing 43 in 17 balls.
With 38 needed in 14 deliveries, Gowtham smashed Mustafizur for a six and a four to get going.
In the next over (19th), he hit Jasprit Bumrah for a couple of fours after Archer had struck a boundary early in the over. The equation was reduced to 10 off the final over.
After Archer was dismissed, the 29-year-old all-rounder got a cheeky boundary and then denied a single off the third ball.
With six runs required in three balls, Gowtham struck a huge six off Hardik Pandya to seal the game for RR.
He finished with a stunning 33. He struck four fours and two sixes in his 11-ball knock as he took apart MI’s death bowling.
He was RR’s unlikely hero of the day as his 33 helped the hosts register their third win of the tournament.
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