The Rajasthan Royals have clinched a thriller at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium and beaten the Mumbai Indians by 3 wickets with two deliveries still to be bowled. This after the Mumbai Indians had clinched three quick wickets to change the face of the game in their favour. But it was not the day for Rohit Sharma and co, but rather for the Ajinkya Rahane led team.
Big big over from the point of view of the Rajasthan Royals as they take 18 runs of the Bumrah over. Archer and Gowtham are throwing the kitchen sink at the Mumbai bowling and it has paid off for them in the penultimate over which has brought them right back into the game. Royals are 158/6 after 19 overs.
Game changing 17th over by Jasprit Bumrah for the Mumbai Indians. He gave away just one run and sent the dangerous Sanju Samson and Jos Buttler back to the hut in a matter of two deliveries to put the defending champions in the drivers seat at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium. Just a matter of closing out the game for Mumbai one would assume from here on in.
Another tidy over from Krunal Pandya who has bowled out his four overs and gave away only 33 runs totally. His final over cost him 6 runs which now puts the pressure back on the Royals who must score at above 10 an runs in the next four. Boundaries are hard to come by which will start to become a worry now. Royals are 124/3 after 16 overs.
5 overs left in the chase for the Royals who have Samson at the crease. Hardik Pandya's over, the 15th over, sees 8 runs and the wicket of Ben Stokes. Samson, who is slowly looking for the big shots, and Buttler will have to up the ante from now on in to achieve this chase. Royals are 118/3 after 15 overs.
WICKET: Hardik Pandya strikes with the first ball as he comes back into the attack. Full and straight at the base of leg stumps is too much for Ben Stokes (40) who tries to walk over and flick it to fine leg but misses and the woodwork is broken much to his disappointment. Royals are 110/3 after 14.1 overs.
Good over for the Royals as Ben Stokes gets another boundary through the off-side of a loose delivery from Mustafizur Rahman. Stokes and Samson have been steadily inching towards the target and playing without risks. Quite like what the doctor would have ordered for the Royals who are 110/2 after 14 overs.
13 overs done in the Rajasthan innings. The Royals have gone past the 100 run mark with the loss of two wickets. Ben Stokes and Sanju Samson are the crease and are slowly but surely ensuring the scoreboard keeps moving so that the pressure at the end isn't too great. They got 5 runs of Bumrah's over and are at 101/2 after 13 overs.
The Mumbai Indians bowlers have definitely dried up the boundaries for Stokes and Samson who are being forced to run more runs as a result. Krunal Pandya's over produced 10 runs as neither batsmen were afforded a chance to free their arms and have a hit. Royals are 96/2 after 12 overs with Ben Stokes and Samson well and truly set.
Mustafizur bowls another tight over and concedes only 5 runs. Mumbai did lose their review on the LBW with Ben Stokes but the tight over does keep things in check so far. Stokes needs a big innings and he looks determined while Samson is striking the ball cleanly. Royals after 8 overs are 58/2.
Rohit Sharma has brought in the rookie Mayank Markande who's leg spin was expected to trouble the new man Ben Stokes. But the Englishman has handled him well in the first over. Stokes and Samson helped themselves to 10 runs including a boundary. Once again both batsmen are being watchful and they seem to be making an effort to play without risks.
End of the power play with McClenaghan's over in which the Royals lost their captain after some smart bowling by the Kiwi. McClenaghan gave away only 6 runs in the over as Samson hit another boundary to ensure the scoreboard keeps ticking at a decent pace. Ben Stokes is the other batsman at the crease. Royals are 43/2 after 6 overs.
Krunal Pandya's second over goes for 9 runs without any success in terms of wickets. Rahane and Samson play out the over watchfully and wait for the bad ball to capitalise and get the boundary. This time it was Rahane who found the boundary with a crisp drive through the off-side. Rajasthan are 36/1 after 5 overs.
Mustafizur Rahman takes the fourth over where he started well with a couple of dot balls to Samson, before the in-form batsman punished a bad ball and sent it flying through the covers for a boundary. Rahman though did not face much more as he restricted Samson and Rahane to 6 runs in the over. Royals are 27/1 after 4 overs.
| Rank | Team | Points | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | India | 5313 | 121 |
| 2 | South Africa | 5154 | 117 |
| 3 | New Zealand | 3886 | 102 |
| 4 | Australia | 4599 | 102 |
| 5 | England | 5029 | 97 |
| FULL Ranking | |||
