IPL 2018: Rajasthan beat MI by 7 wickets, move to 5th spot on points table

In the 47th match of Vivo Indian Premier League (IPL 2018) Rajasthan Royals beat Mumbai Indians by 7 wickets, thanks to unbeaten 94-run knock by Jos Butler

In the 47th match of the VIVO Indian Premier League (IPL 2018), chasing a competitive target of 169, Rajasthan Royals won the match by 7 wickets. Opener Jos Butler was the key player in the run chase as he made unbeaten 94 runs, hitting his 5th consecutive fifty in the IPL, equalling Virendra Sehwag's record. With this win, RR move to the fifth position on the VIVO IPL points table. Butler was well supported by captain Ajinkya Rahane, who made 37 runs. After Rahane's wicket, Sanju Samson supported Butler as well. Butler's fine innings made sure that the run chase was never an uphill task for Rajasthan Royals. Samson was trying to make sure there were balls to spare to make some positive impact on the net run rate. He was dismissed for 26. Butler hit a six to win the game for RR by 7 wickets. 

Earlier, Mumbai Indians were off to a good start as openers Evin Lewis and Suryakumkar Yadav made the full use of powerplay field restrictions by scoring 51 runs. A few chances went down and Evin Lewis changed gear to take on the bowlers. He hit Gopal for two consecutive sixes. MI were 79-0 after 9. Rohit Sharma scored a golden duck once again. Evin Lewis scored a brilliant 60. Ishan Kishan and Krunal Pandya failed to impress. However, Hardik Pandya's cameo of 36 helped MI put up 168-6 on the board. Rajasthan fielders did drop a few sitters in the filed. Samson took a blinder of a catch. Archer bowled decently and took 2 wickets. 

MI vs RR SCOREBOARD

MUMBAI INDIANS vs RAJASTHAN ROYALS (MI vs RR) SCOREBOARD: RR innings
BATSMEN	Dismissal	Runs	Balls	Fours	Sixes	Strike Rate
D'Arcy Short	c Ishan Kishan b Bumrah	4	5	1	0	80
JC Buttler	not out	94	53	9	5	177.35
Ajinkya Rahane	c Yadav b Hardik	37	36	4	0	102.77
Sanju Samson	c sub (Chahar) b Hardik	26	14	2	2	185.71
Ben Stokes	not out	0	0	0	0	-
Total: 171/3 in 18 Overs
BOWLERS	Overs	Maiden	Runs	Wickets	Economy Rate
Jasprit Bumrah	3	0	34	1	11.33
Mitchell McClenaghan	4	0	28	0	7
Krunal Pandya	4	0	24	0	6
Hardik Pandya	4	0	52	2	13
Mayank Markande	3	0	32	0	10.66

Rajasthan Royals innings update: Over by over

Rajasthan Royals playing XI for today's match: Jos Buttler(w), D Arcy Short, Ajinkya Rahane(c), Sanju Samson, Ben Stokes, Stuart Binny, Jofra Archer, Krishnappa Gowtham, Shreyas Gopal, Jaydev Unadkat, Dhawal Kulkarni

Over 1: Darcy Shots and Jos Butler to open the innings for RR. Jasprit Bumrah to start it off for MI. Tries a yorker, and inside edge goes for four. 4 Wides. Good swing for Bumrah. Better lie by Bumrah. Another good ball. Edge and Shorts is gone. Brilliant catch behind the wicket by Ishan Kishan. Shorts was not looking confident at all. MI strike early. Ajinkya Rahane is the man in, Amazing cover drive for four. RR: 13-1

Over 2: Mitchell McClenaghan is the new bowler, Butler defends well. Butler flicks behind the wicket for one. Rahane takes a single. Wild bouncer given as wide. One run to Butler. Just 5 runs from the over. RR: 18-1 

Over 3: Krunal Pandya comes to the attack, just one to Rahane. Easy single to Butler. Butler sweeps, in the air, will be checked. Not out. Dot ball. RR: 23-1

Over 4: Mitchell continues, four to Rahane. WIDE ball. Rahane glances again for four. Single to Rahane. Powerful short for no run. RR: 33-1

Over 5: Krunal continues, Rahane Sweeps, no run. One run taken. Over the in-filed for four, good shot by Butler. Swept, goes for six. Good shot for Butler, making full use of the powerplay. Butler makes room, but fails to find the gap. RR: 44-1

Over 6: hardik Pandya comes to the attack. Two runs. Single to Rahane. Missed that one. Over Hardik's head for four. Dot ball. Bouncer to end the over. RR: 51-1

Over 7: Bumrah is back, one run. Another single. Dot ball, good line by Bumrah. Another dot ball. Rahane takes single. Brilliant shot by Butler for four. RR: 58-1

Over 8: Mayank Markande comes to the attack, brilliant four by Butler. Just one. RR: 66-1

Over 9: Krunal is back. One run, Another single. brilliant fielding. Brilliant ball. Five from the over. RR: 71-1

Over 10: Markarnde continues, Butler takes a double. Just one. Swept for one. Six to end the over. RR: 83-1

Over 11: Krunal continues, his last over. Dot to start with. Just one, lofted shot. Rahane sweeps, appeal. MI reviews. Decision stays. MI loses review. One run. RR: 86-1

Over 12: Hardik comes to the attack. One run. Nice square cut, just for one. In the air, just out of the reach of the fielder four runs. Another easy single. 50 for Butler. RR: 99-1

Over 13: Mitchell continues, 100 up for Rajasthan. Brilliant cover drive for four by Butler. Tries to scoop, misses the ball. RR: 104-1

Over 14: Hardik comes to bowl, Rahane tries to clear the fence, and his caught at long-off. Sanju Samson is the new man in. Just one. Huge six by Butler. What an amazing shot. Straight down the ground for four. Same shot, just two this time. Single to end the over. RR: 118-2

Over 15: Bumrah is back, single to Butler. Single to Sanju. Butler is on strike. Makes room, uses the crease and pulls for four. SIX. He is on fire. Inside edge, just one run. Single to Sanju. RR: 132-2

Over 16: Markande is back, and Sanju hits a four. Single. Butler reverse sweeps for one. Sanju steps out and hits it for four. Driven for one. Butler takes a single and keeps strike. RR: 144-2

Over 17: Mitchell continues, One run to Butler. SIngle to Samson. Single to Butler. Wicked bouncer, wide given. Four to end the over. RR: 153-2

Over 18: Hardik comes to bowl, short ball and Sanju wacks it for a huge six. And there is another one. 4 needed from 15 balls. In the air, gone. Samson made 26 runs. Butler hits a six and wins the game for Rajasthan. RR win by 7 wickets.

Rajasthan Royals innings analysis after 16 overs

While chasing a modest target of 180 Rajasthan Royals lost D'Arcy Short wicket early. Ajinkya Rahane and steadied the innings for Rajasthan Royals and had 50 runs partnership. Both the batsmen looked to play with a cool mind as they were dealing in singles and a boundary at regular intervals to maintain the required rate. Mayank Markande came to bowl the 8th over and Butler hit a boundary straight down the ground followed by a single intelligent batting. Markande conceded 8 runs in his first. Krunal bowled the 9th over and bowled with a great line and to concede only 5. Markande continued from other end and RR batsmen didn't take any risk and keep on taking singles and pushing for doubles before the in-form Butler muscled the last ball for six. On the other side of the wicket, Krunal kept things right as Mumbai Indians took a DRS to overturn on-field not out decision but they lost the review. Krunal gave away only 3 runs as he bowled last over of his quota. In a search of wicket MI skipper, Rohit asked Pandya to bowl the 12th over and he does create a chance but Bumrah moved a little late and failed to reach as ball gone to boundary a much-needed boundary for RR. Butler the aggressor of the two RR batsmen on crease hit the last ball of 12th over for 4 to scored five consecutive fifties in IPL 2018

Mitchell McClenaghan bowled brilliantly to give only 5 runs despite getting hit for four off the 4th ball. Hardik continued from other end and got the wicket of the first ball but Butler in red-hot form hit a six and four to keep the momentum in Rajasthan Royals favour. Mumbai Indians need to win this game to keep their contention for playoffs. Bumrah was brought in to get the prized wicket of Butler, but Butler didn't look to have always his wicket rather he hit a four and a six to bring the deficit down to less than 40 runs in remaining 5 overs. Bumrah conceded 14 runs in 15th over of the innings. Markande bowled the 16th over and Samson collected a four off the first ball. Samson continued his form and hit the 4th ball for four as the match was swinging in Rajasthan Royals favour.

After the end of 16th over Rajasthan Royals needed 25 runs in 24 balls. Mitchell McClenaghan came to bowl the next over and tried to keep the run-rate in check but Butler hit the last ball for 4 which brought the deficit down to 16 runs as McClenaghan conceded 9 runs in his final over of the match. Rajasthan Royals looked to finish the game in 18th over as Samson hammered Hardik Pandya for two sixes before getting OUT while trying to hit the winning runs. Butler completed the formalities as he hit the last ball off the over for six to win the third game for Rajasthan Royals. 

MI vs RR SCOREBOARD

MUMBAI INDIANS vs RAJASTHAN ROYALS (MI vs RR) SCOREBOARD: MI innings
BATSMEN	Dismissal	Runs	Balls	Fours	Sixes	Strike Rate
Suryakumar Yadav	c Unadkat b Archer	38	31	7	0	122.58
Evin Lewis	c Samson b Kulkarni	60	42	4	4	142.85
Rohit Sharma	c Unadkat b Archer	0	1	0	0	0
Ishan Kishan	c Samson b Stokes	12	11	1	0	109.09
Hardik Pandya	c Samson b Stokes	36	21	3	2	171.42
Krunal Pandya	c Gowtham b Unadkat	3	7	0	0	42.85
Ben Cutting	not out	10	7	0	1	142.85
JP Duminy	not out	0	0	0	0	-
Total: 168/6 in 20 Overs
BOWLERS	Overs	Maiden	Runs	Wickets	Economy Rate
Krishnappa Gowtham	2	0	23	0	11.5
Dhawal Kulkarni	4	0	43	1	10.75
Jofra Archer	4	0	16	2	4
Ben Stokes	4	0	26	2	6.5
Shreyas Gopal	2	0	21	0	10.5
Jaydev Unadkat	4	0	37	1	9.25

Mumbai Indians innings update: Over by over

Mumbai Indians playing XI for today's match: Suryakumar Yadav, Evin Lewis, Rohit Sharma(c), Ishan Kishan(w), Hardik Pandya, Ben Cutting, Krunal Pandya, Jean-Paul Duminy, Mitchell McClenaghan, Mayank Markande, Jasprit Bumrah

Over 1: Suryakumar Yadav and Evin Lewis to open for MI. Krishnappa Gowtham to start for RR. Back to back boundaries for Suryakumar. MI: 14-0

Over 2: Dhawal Kulkarni is the new bowler, in the air, did not carry. Cracking short for four. Some swing, Yadav misses. Again on the off side. just one. Lewis hits in the air again, a doesn't carry, Archer reacted late. Full toss, Lewis fails to put it away. MI: 20-0

Over 3: Jofra Archer comes to the attack, good bounce for him. Very good ball. Wide down the leg side. Good ball to Lewis again. It was too high and Binny drops it. Poor approach to take a skier. MI: 25-0

Over 4: Kulkarni comes to bowl. Lewis misses to put away the full toss yet again. Huge appeal against Yadav. Turned down by the umpire. Flicked on the leg side for four, good looking shot. Nicely driven, runs saved on mid-on. Brilliant shot, almost hit Lewis at the non-striker end, goes for four. MI: 34-0

Over 5: Ben Stokes comes to the attack, Lewis slashes and goes for four as there is no slip. Tried to cut that one, missed. Another full toss, and Lewis fails to put it away. Slower full toss, Lewis fails to put it away. MI: 40-0

Over 6: Kulkarni continues, just one for Suryakumar. Fuller length ball, wide away from the off stump, Lewis fails to put it away. Good shot, four runs to Lewis. Chance of a run out, missed. Finally, Lewis puts a full toss away. MI: 51-0

Over 7: Shreyas Gopal is back, one run to Yadav. Good ball. Keeping a tight line. Just four runs from the over. MI: 55-0

Over 8: Jaydev Unadkat comes to the attack. One run to Lewis. Four runs to Yadav, over covers. Lofted in the air and no chance for anyone to stop that. Inside edge, lucky for Yadav it did not go to his stump. Good straight drive for one. One run to end the over. MI: 62-0

Over 9: Gopal continues, and Lewis sweeps him for a six, that was flat and powerful. Lewis steps out and hits it over the long-off for another six. Very well controlled and powerful stroke. Pushed for a single, overthrows, one more added. Played on the leg side for one. Yadav plays it for one. Single to finish the over. MI: 79-0

Over 10: Unadkat continues, brilliant four by Suryakumar, he is in fabulous touch. MI: 86-0

Over 11: Archer is back, Lewis cuts but it is well fielded. One run. Suryakumar pulls, and Unadkat takes a brilliant catch, Archer strikes. Suryakumar goes for 38. Rohit Sharma is the new man in and he is gone for a golden duck yet again. Bouncer to Rohit, he pulls hard and it goes straight to Undakat who takes it brilliantly. Archer is on a hat-trick. Ishan Kishan is the new man in. He plays a brilliant cover drive to deny Lewis the hat-trick. MI: 89-2

Over 12: Gowtham comes to bowl. Lewis plays two dots and takes a single. Dot ball to Ishan. Wide. Lewis hits over the bowler's head to reach fifty. MI: 98-2

Over 13: Stokes is back, one run to Kishan. Lewis makes some room to cut through to off side, gets just one. Single to Kishan as he pushed the ball on the leg side. MI: 102-2

Over 14: Kulkarni is back and Lewis hits a six over his head. Lewis tries to clear the fence on the off side and this time he is caught on well inside the boundary by Sanju Samson. Hardik Pandya is the new man in. Appeal for run out, Safe. Mis-hit on the leg side by Kishan, yet goes for four. Just one this time. Hardik smashes it for four. MI: 119-3

Over 15: Stokes is back, Kishan hits it in the air, and Samson takes a wonderful catch. Kishan is gone, Krunal Pandya joins his bother. Dot ball. One run to Hardik. Wide. One run. MI: 123-4

Over 16: Archer is back, Hardik takes a single. Krunal takes a single as well. Another single off the short ball to Hardik. Pandya bothers dealing in singles. MI: 128-4

Over 17: Unadkat continues, two runs for Hardik. Quick single. Good bouncer to Krunal. Swing and a miss. Krunal hits high in the air, Gowtham takes it on the second attempt. Ben Cutting is the new man in. MI: 132-5

Over 18: Archer comes to bowl his last. Wide. Dot ball. Single taken. Another single. Bouncer to end the over. MI: 136-5

Over 19: Unadkat comes to bowl the penultimate over. Hardik hit over his head for a huge six. Slower one outside the of stump, Hardik hits it for four. 10 runs from two balls. This is not expected from Unadkat. Wide, Unadkat comes round the wicket. Another slower one, Hardik hits it for a six again. High in the air, falls in no man's land. Cuttings hit in the air, and Archer has dropped the sitter. Unadkat is devastated. Good bouncer to end the over. 19 came from it. MI: 155-5

Over 20: Stokes comes to bowl, he gives a half volley to Cutting, and he sends it flying for a six. Single to Cutting. Pandya scoops for four. Hardik flicks and Sanju Samson takes a blinder. What an amazing diving catch. MI: 168-6

Mumbai Indians innings: Analysis

Rajasthan Royals produced a disciplined bowling effort to restrict Mumbai Indians to 168/6 in an Indian Premier League (IPL) encounter at the Wankhede Stadium. Asked to bat first, Mumbai were off to steady start with Evin Lewis and Suryakumar Yadav coming up with an opening partnership of 87 runs off 64 balls. Lewis, who narrowly survived being caught by Stuart Binny in the third over, made good use of the reprieve to blast his way to 60 runs off 42 deliveries. His quick-fire knock included four boundaries and as many sixes. Suryakumar, who also got an early let-off, being dropped by Krishna Gowtham off Dhawal Kulkarni early in the second over, went on to post a steady 38 off 31 deliveries.

Although the opening duo gave the hosts a strong platform for a big total, the rest of the Mumbai batsmen failed to capitalise. The Rajasthan bowlers did well to bag five wickets over the next six overs to make a strong comeback. Jofra Archer was the most impressive of the bunch, giving away a mere 16 runs in his four overs while claiming the crucial wickets of Suryakumar and Rohit Sharma. Fellow pacer Ben Stokes bowled well in the late stages to return figures of 2/26. Indian pacers Jaydev Unadkat and Dhawal Kulkarni also got a wicket each as Mumbai seemed in real danger of failing to cross the 150-run mark.However, Hardik Pandya helped the hosts to a competitive total with a late charge, scoring 36 runs off 21 balls before holing out to Stokes in the penultimate ball of the innings.

Here are a few things to know about the Mumbai Indians vs Rajasthan Royals (MI vs RR) match to be played at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, the two teams' players who could prove handy, and who has said what before the clash:

 
India A selection a step closer to national team, says Krunal Pandya: Mumbai Indians all-rounder Krunal Pandya today termed his selection in the India A squad for the tour of England as a "step closer" to realising his dream of playing for the senior team. It feels really good. Last year after the IPL, I got picked for the India A's tour of South Africa. It was a good tour for me. The ultimate dream is to represent India and that is still there, Pandya told reporters here when asked about his India A selection. And it is just one step closer to the senior team. I will try to give my best when I go there (to England) but right now this is an important stage of the tournament (in IPL). I want to do well for MI first and then I will see how it goes, the all-rounder noted. Krunal has scored 189 runs in 11 matches and bagged 11 wickets with his orthodox left-arm spin.
 
What Stephen Fleming said about Jos Butler knock against CSK: Losing team Chennai Super Kings head coach Stephen Fleming has praised Rajasthan Royals opener Jos Buttler for his match-winning unbeaten knock, saying the English batsman was a class apart during their IPL game. Butler's superb 60-ball 95 not out guided Rajasthan Royals to a thrilling 4-wicket win over Chennai Super Kings in their IPL match. "We had a lot of plan for him (Buttler), left arm spin was one of them we were looking at but they did not work. Butler was a class apart on a difficult track. He batted through the innings. Had we got him earlier the result could have been different," Fleming said after his side lost by four wickets. Fleming said the team plan was to get Buttler and Ben Stokes out early but only one part was successful. "We got (Ben) Stokes early but could not get Buttler who settled down nicely, got the momentum in the first six overs. It was a great game of cricket which went to the wire. We could have done better but we were simply not good enough to capitalise on the chances we had," he said at the post-match press conference.
 
Kishan credits Rohit for backing him after ballistic show against KKR: Young Ishan Kishan, whose batting pyrotechnics played a part in Mumbai Indians massive win last night, has credited skipper Rohit Sharma for backing him despite his repeated failures. After some below-par outings, Kishan's day of reckoning finally came against KKR with the 19-year-old smashing a brilliant 62 off just 21 balls to help Mumbai Indians' cause. "Rohit bhaiya told me to just back yourself and attack. When your skipper and teammates are backing you, it's just about playing your natural game," Ishan said after MI thrashed Kolkata Knight Riders by 102 run. Picked up by MI for Rs 62 million (Rs 6.20 crore) after an intense bidding with Royal Challengers Bangalore, the Jharkhand wicketkeeper-batsman struggled initially with three ducks, forcing his team management to drop him down in the batting order from no. 3 to 4.
 
Hardik 'pressure moment' player for MI, says Duminy: Heaping praise on India and Mumbai Indians all-rounder Hardik Pandya, Jean-Paul Duminy on Tuesday termed the Baroda all-rounder as "pressure-moment" player during the business end of the Indian Premier League (IPL) season. Pandya, last Sunday, starred with bat and ball to help Mumbai record their second win on the bounce against Kolkata Knight Riders (KK. "Those are type of players that we need specially at this time of the tournament where you kind of refer to them as pressure players or pressure moments (player) and you like those pressure moment players to step up and execute their skills to the best of their abibilty," South African Duminy told reporters.

BCCI treasurer raises questions about timing of IPL play-offs: The friction between Committee of Administrators (CoA) and principal office bearers of BCCI came to fore once again after treasurer Aniruddh Chaudhry questioned the decision of advancing the timing of IPL play-off matches to 7 pm instead of the usual 8 pm start. The IPL Governing Council headed by Rajiv Shukla had decided that the matches during the business end of the tournament would start early. While CoA chief Vinod Rai in his reply to the treasurer said that the decision was taken in consonance with Shukla, the treasurer alleged it as an "ad-hoc decision making" process without confirming if other GC members are in concurrence or not. Rai said that since double-headers are not involved and prize distribution ceremony takes a lot of time, the 7 pm start looks practical. The treasurer however feels otherwise. "A decision such as this ought to have been taken well before the tournament started after proper consideration of all factors. We cannot really make up things as we go along as it is not a good practice in my view. It does give an impression of ad-hoc decision making. We are half a month away from the finals and we cannot be deciding on the timings right now," Chaudhry wrote in his mail to the CoA, a copy of which is in possession of PTI.
 
The team head to head ahead of today’s IPL match Mumbai Indians vs Rajasthan Royals (MI vs RR)
 
Overall:
Matches – 18, Mumbai Indians won – 10, Rajasthan Royals won – 8
 
At the Wankhede Stadium:
Matches – 6, Mumbai Indians won – 4, Rajasthan Royals won – 2