Quinton de Kock returned to form by scoring an unbeaten 70 as Mumbai Indians registered a seven wicket win over Rajasthan Royals on Thursday. The loss was a disappointing one for the Royals, who had beaten KKR in their last match.
After being asked to bat first by MI skipper Rohit Sharma, Rajasthan Royals opening pair of Jos Buttler and Yashasvi Jaiswal got their team off to a fantastic start. The pair added 66 runs for the opening wicket before Rahul Chahar broke the stand by dismissing the dangerous Buttler stumped by De Kock for 41.
Jaiswal looked solid in his knock of 32 before being caught and bowled by Chahar. Sanju Samson and Shivam Dube added 57 runs for the third wicket before the former was bowled by a brilliant yorker from Trent Boult for a quickfire 42. His knock came off 27 balls with five fours.
Ace bowler Jasprit Bumrah dismissed Dube in the penultimate over as Rajasthan Royals ended up with a competitive total of 171/4 at the end of their allotted 20 overs. Many of the best IPL betting sites had Mumbai as favourites for this tournament, and having lost their previous two games coming into this clash, it was imperative that the defending champions get back to winning ways, and they did just that.
Chasing 172, Mumbai Indians openers Rohit Sharma and De Kock got their team off to a good start. The duo added 49 runs for the opening stand before the former chipped a Chris Morris delivery to Chetan Sakariya at mid on.
The change in venue from the slow Chennai wickets in particular seemed to suit South African star De Kock, who seemed to be more at home at the Kotla after having struggled in Chepauk.
Rahul Chahar was the pick of the bowlers for Mumbai Indians with figures of 2/32, while Bumrah and Boult claimed a wicket each.
Chasing 172, Mumbai Indians openers Rohit Sharma and De Kock got their team off to a good start. The duo added 49 runs for the opening stand before the former chipped a Chris Morris delivery to Chetan Sakariya at mid on.
Suryakumar Yadav flicked a Morris delivery to short midwicket for 16. Krunal Pandya along with De Kock stitched together a solid 63 runs for the third wicket before the former was bowled by Mustafizur Rahman for a well made 39 off 26 balls.
Kieron Pollard smashed a 8 ball-16 as Mumbai Indians overhauled the target with 9 balls to spare.