IPL 2019: Rajasthan recover from late collapse against Mumbai to register 2nd win

From 170-2 to 174-6! Rajasthan Royals were cruising towards a comfortable victory against Mumbai Indians before their middle order collapsed unexpectedly, nearly letting the game slip away. However, Shreyas Gopal took the responsibility to steady the ship and help his team cross the finish line without any further hiccups.

Chasing a target of 188 in 20 overs, Rajasthan openers Ajinkya Rahane and Jos Buttler gave the team a flying start in the powerplay. The duo smashed the Mumbai bowlers for 59 runs in the first 6 overs.

Rahane scored 37 runs off just 21 balls before falling to Krunal Pandya while trying to accelerate further. Buttler, at the other end, continued his assault, scoring 89 runs in just 43 balls. He spared no one and even scored 28 runs off a single over bowled by Alzarri Joseph.

Sanju Samson too played a decent knock of 31 runs which meant Rajasthan, at one stage, needed just 20 runs off the final four overs with 8 wickets in hand.

But Mumbai made a strong comeback by introducing Jasprit Bumrah (2-23) into the attack, who along with Krunal Pandya (3-34) ran through Rajasthan's middle order by scalping 4 wickets for just 4 runs. Fortunately for Rajasthan Royals, Shreyas Gopal held his nerve to arrest the slide and ensure his team crossed the line with 3 balls to spare.

A late comeback was not enough for Mumbai Indians to win the game. (Image source: iplt20.com)

Earlier, having won the toss at the Wankhede, Rajasthan Royals skipper Ajinkya Rahane invited the hosts to bat first. With small boundaries and a batting friendly pitch, it was expected to be a high scoring game and that was indeed the case.

Mumbai's opening duo of Rohit Sharma (47 runs off 32 balls) and Quinton de Kock (81 runs off 52 balls) scored 96 runs in just 10.1 overs to lay the foundation for a big total. Banking on Hardik Pandya's cameo (28 runs off 11 balls), Mumbai posted a competitive total of 187-5 in 20 overs.

Rajasthan fast bowler Jofra Archer picked 3 wickets while Dhawal Kulkarni And Jaydev Unadkat took 1 wicket apiece.

With this win, Rajasthan Royals would have definitely gained some confidence, although their remain concerns over the composition of their middle order.

They are still at the 7th position with only 2 wins from 7 games and they will need to win a majority of their remaining games to keep their chances alive. On the other hand, Mumbai Indians sit in the 3rd position with 4 wins and 3 losses and need to win some more games to ensure their ticket to the playoffs.

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