In their IPL 2024 encounter, the top-seeded Rajasthan Royals defeated the Mumbai Indians by 9 wickets thanks to a century from Yashasvi Jaiswal.
Yashasvi Jaiswal returned to form with a brilliant century following Sandeep Sharma’s maiden five-for as the Rajasthan Royals thrashed Mumbai Indians by nine wickets in the Indian Premier League on Monday. After Sandeep returned 4-0-18-5 for the greatest bowling numbers of the IPL, Jaiswal recovered form in Rajasthan’s final home game at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium, flaying the Mumbai Indians attack with 104 not out off 60 balls. Despite a weather delay, Rajasthan easily surpassed Mumbai Indians’ 180-run goal, reaching 183/1 in 18.4 overs. Yuzvendra Chahal of India and RR made history by dismissing 200 batsmen during the tournament.
Following his opening-wicket partnership of 79 runs with Jos Buttler (35, 25 balls, 6x4s), Jaiswal scored an additional unbeaten 109 with Sanju Samson (38 not out) for the second wicket.
Jaiswal had blown hot and cold going into this IPL following an incredibly successful five-Test series against England. Jaiswal had a lot of quick starts, but until this competition, he was unable to turn them into anything significant.
In his knock, which featured nine fours and seven sixes, the 22-year-old eventually overcome the challenge by releasing forceful pulls and enjoyable drives.
Jaiswal became the second player for RR this season to achieve a century with this knock, joining Buttler. The two have already shared three hundreds in this IPL season.
On a flat field and against a skewed bowling attack, Jaiswal thrived from the start and went on to record a high-quality knock, putting him back in contention for a berth in India’s T20 World Cup squad.
Meanwhile, the Royals’ enormous margin of victory cemented their position at the top of the points standings.
With the win, the Sanju Samson-led team currently has 14 points and a Net Run Rate of 0.698, bolstering their playoff prospects.
Jaiswal and Buttler, the opening duo for the Royals, set the tone early in the power play by scoring 61 runs off the target before the rain came.
In the power play, MI used their best bowler, Jasprit Bumrah, for two overs and just 11 runs, but the other players were once more exposed.
The other bowlers continued to be subpar, as has been the case with MI this year, even with the addition of Nuwan Thushara (0/28). In the power play, RR scored 50 runs in the final four overs to maintain their lead.
When the rain stopped play, the DRS reading indicated that RR was 20 runs ahead of par.
Continuing where they left off, Jaiswal and the Rajasthan Royals peppered nearly every area with beautiful strokes to keep pushing in the direction of their goal.
Mumbai Indians gave their usual effort on the field to support the Rajasthan Royals.
Nehal Wadhera gave Jaiswal a reprieve when he mishandled a catch close to the ropes that resulted in a six. Shortly after, Tim David, with Samson batting on 19, missed a regular opportunity at long on off Hardik Pandya.
Earlier, Sandeep helped Rajasthan Royals limit Mumbai Indians to 179/9 by taking his first-ever five wicket haul in the Indian Premier League.
Sandeep (5/18), returning after an injury layoff, took three of his five wickets in a fantastic final over. He also removed Tilak Varma, whose 45-ball 65 (4x4s, 3x6s) pulled MI from a precarious position.
MI were suffering at 52/4 at one point, their top-order being destroyed by Rajasthan without any opposition for the second time this season.
Nevertheless, Varma and Wadhera (49) overcame hardships to produce a valuable partnership for the Mumbai Indians, scoring 99 runs for the fifth wicket.
