Mumbai Indians defeated Rajasthan Royals by six wickets in a high-scoring thriller at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai to maintain their chances of making the 2023 IPL playoff while Yashasvi Jaiswal had the most prolific scoring performance of any batter this season with his 124-run innings.
Mumbai Indians defeated Rajasthan Royals by six wickets in a high-scoring thriller at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai to maintain their chances of making the 2023 IPL playoff.
The Royals got off to a great start in the first innings with Yashasvi Jaiswal’s 124 runs (62b, 16×4, 8×6) for the most scored in a single game this season and also securing the Orange Cap in the process.
They set a target of 213, which MI surpassed through a 55-run knock from Suryakumar Yadav (29b, 8×4, 2×6) and a game-winning knock of 45 runs in just 14 balls from Tim David (2×4, 5×6).
Despite the loss, Yashasvi Jaiswal had the most prolific scoring performance of any batter this season with his 124-run innings, which was also his first-ever IPL century.
Former India cricketer Robin Uthappa praised the young opener for his knock.
“He’s one of the next superstars of Indian cricket. He has shown his intent from the word go. Fearless batting and going out there, very brave with the way he approaches it. He’s put in all the work this season and the hard work is finally paying off. Sixteen fours tonight and some scintillating sixes.”
With three balls remaining, Tim David finished the Mumbai run chase-off with three sixes in the final over to win the match. Former India wicket-keeper batter Parthiv Patel praised David’s ability as a finisher and the importance of the role in T20 cricket.
“He can perform under pressure and help them win matches. The role of a finisher is extremely important, especially when you are chasing a massive total. You need a big innings in the lower order with a strong strike rate and Tim David is doing that. Under pressure, a bowler knows that Tim David has the reach and strength to punish you for any mistakes. He can hit a boundary or a six, as we saw today.”
Even though MI can celebrate a win that helped to keep them in the playoff race, Uthappa is worried about the massive cracks in their bowling,
“This game will make it feel like all’s well with the Mumbai Indians, but it really isn’t. They need to figure out their bowling and how they finish overs because they’re doing fairly decent until the 15th over, especially in the last three games, they were on course to defend 170, and 180, and then in the last five over something happens and they kind of lose the plot. Then they give 60, 70, 80, 90 runs in the last five overs, which is diabolical for them.”