It was perhaps the most one-sided game of this 2021 season as Team Mumbai handed Team Rajasthan an absolute hammering on Tuesday. The latter were restricted to a mere 90/9 in their 20 overs and the Rohit Sharma-led side raced away to the target in just 8.2 overs, which bolstered their net run rate.
The Team Rajasthan batters just couldn’t get going on what was a slow and low pitch at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium. They couldn’t really adapt and paid their price. The bowlers from Team Mumbai were spot on and had a field day.
his win keeps Team Mumbai in the hunt as they hunted down 91 with 70 balls to spare which has seen their net run rate shoot up from -0.453 to -0.048. They are still behind Team Kolkata who have a net run rate of +0.294. If the Eoin Morgan-led team lose their last game and Team Mumbai win against Team Hyderabad, then Rohit Sharma and co will advance to the playoffs.
Team Mumbai’s support cast stands up alongside Jasprit Bumrah
Team Mumbai’s bowling has not been a big problem this season but there have been quite a few times when they’ve been inconsistent. Jasprit Bumrah was the one doing the heavy-lifting but the others around him blew hot and cold a touch. Trent Boult hasn’t really been at his best in this UAE leg while Nathan Coulter-Nile took just one wicket in the three games that he played prior to this one. The spinners Rahul Chahar, Jayant Yadav and Krunal Pandya didn’t pose any wicket-taking threat as such.
But it all came together superbly in this game against Team Rajasthan. It was not just Bumrah who stood up but the likes of Coulter-Nile and James Neesham came to the party as well. In fact, it was Coulter-Nile who got Team Mumbai their first breakthrough. He dismissed Yashasvi Jaiswal and broke the threatening opening partnership which had raced off to 26 in three overs.
Bumrah then got rid off the dangerous Evin Lewis to end the powerplay on a high. Neesham came in to bowl once the field spread out and he broke the back of the Rajasthan middle-order. He dismissed Sanju Samson and Shivam Dube in successive overs. The New Zealand all-rounder got the wicket of Rahul Tewatia as well as he returned with figures of 4-0-12-3. Meanwhile, Coulter-Nile came back to prize out Glenn Phillips and later, David Miller and Chetan Sakariya, finishing with a four-wicket haul (4-0-14-4). Bumrah also had figures of 2/14 from his four overs as Team Mumbai restricted Team Rajasthan to a mere 90/9.
Team Rajasthan openers get a good start again but team crumbles to record the lowest score of the 2021 edition
As far as the batting is concerned, Team Rajasthan have been solid at the top of the order and it has always been the middle-order muddle that has put them in trouble. It was no different in this game. The inaugural champions of this Indian T20 league got off to a good start once again.
Yashasvi Jaiswal and Evin Lewis helped them race to 26 in the first three overs. Jaiswal struck three fours while Lewis hit one six. However, the former was dismissed by Coulter-Nile but Lewis continued and struck a couple more fours before he was foxed by Bumrah. Once the two openers were dismissed, it was a procession.
On a slow and low pitch, the batters kept coming in and tried to hit across the line and paid the price. Neesham and Coulter-Nile reaped the rewards of some tight bowling. Samson came in and threw it away while the likes of Dube, Phillips, Miller and Tewatia consumed deliveries but just couldn’t get going and perished while trying to go across the line more often than not.
The last three overs were a mere formality as they dragged the game to the 20-over mark and Team Rajasthan could touch 90. Only seven fours and two sixes were hit in the entire innings. Six fours and a six came in the powerplay and all of them from the bat of the openers.
This 90/9 is the lowest score of this 2021 season. Moreover, it is the second-lowest total by any team having batted out the 20 overs in the history of the competition.
Ishan Kishan hits himself into some form as Team Mumbai chase down 91 in 8.2 overs
Ishan Kishan has struggled throughout this 2021 season. The left-hander had a phenomenal run in the 2020 edition where he was the leading six-hitter as he smashed 30 sixes and scored 516 runs at an average of 57.33. He had a superb international debut as well as he struck a half-century on debut.
However, this season, Kishan just couldn’t get going. He mustered a mere 107 runs (averaging 13.38 and striking at 86.99) from eight games. He was dropped for a couple of games before he returned to the side for this game against Team Rajasthan. The Jharkhand wicket-keeper batsman opened the batting and hit himself into some form. He played out a maiden over to start off but once he got his first boundary, there was no stopping him.
He smashed 50 in just 25 balls in a knock that included five fours and three sixes. In addition, his knock along with Rohit Sharma’s blitz at the top (22 off 13 balls) helped Team Mumbai to wrap up the chase in just 8.2 overs.
Also Read: These Players have Captained Mumbai Indians in the Past IPL Editions
