Published: May 01, 2015, 11:52 PM (IST)
Edited: May 02, 2015, 05:24 AM (IST)
Mumbai Indians (MI) have successfully defended 187 against Rajasthan Royals (RR) in Match 32 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2015. They won the close encounter by just eight runs. Sanju Samson played the main innings for the Royals scoring a fluent and measured 76, however Mitchell McClenaghan stole the game away from Royals with three crucial wickets including Samson. LIVE UPDATES: MI vs RR Match 32, IPL 2015
The RR chase was off to a positive start with both Ajinkya Rahane and Shane Watson displaying intent. Rahane, however was gifted a second opportunity when Jagadeesha Suchith dropped a dolly he offered at square leg off McClenaghan’s bowling.
Rahane was dismissed for 16 off 12 balls with Vinay Kumar taking the wicket. Watson was then accompanied by Samson and they started to look very threatening as a pair. However, Suchith compensated for his dropped catch earlier by cleaning up Watson at a crucial stage. IPL 2015 Highest run-scorer: List of best batsmen in IPL 8
Steven Smith was the next man at the crease and he was evidently not at his best even though his innings was punctuated by a few mouth-watering shots. But the confidence from those shots failed to permeate his entire innings and he was ultimately dismissed for 23 off 20 balls. IPL 2015 Highest wicket-taker: List of best bowlers in IPL 8
The onus was then entirely on Samson from there on and he didn’t disappoint. The way he dealt with McClenaghan and Lasith Malinga was particularly impressive. McClenaghan however got the better him in the 18th over. The 18th over was decisive in a lot of ways as McClenaghan dismissed Karun Nair after seeing Samson’s back. RR needed 26 off the last two overs after Samson’s dismissal but Malinga and Vinay Kumar ensured victory for Mumbai Indians. IPL 2015 Points Table & Team Standings
Earlier, MI ended their innings at a challenging total of 187 for five against the RR. The innings started quite well for Mumbai with Lendl Simmons and Parthiv Patel both playing very positively. However, Simmons was gifted a chance by the Royals when Sanju Samson dropped him off the very second ball in the innings to the disappointment of seamer Tim Southee.
Patel was then dismissed for 23 by a class act from Dhawal Kulkarni who took a sharp catch off his own bowling when Patel tried to smash him straight back. Simmons then played a few good strokes and finally lost his wicket to Ankit Sharma thanks to a poor call by the umpire who failed to see the thick edge Simmons got before the ball went on to hit the pad. IPL 2015 Highest run-scorer: List of best batsmen in IPL 8
Rohit Sharma, played quite well for his 27 before becoming Kulkarni’s second victim. Ambati Rayudu took the mantle from there and scored runs very freely, striking a few sixes in his unbeaten innings of 53 from 27 balls. He was particularly impressive in the penultimate over, where he took Tim Southee apart with a couple of boundaries and a six.
Rayudu was well supported by Kieron Pollard at the other end towards the ending overs who also scored runs at a good nick to finally propel MI to a good total. With a strong batting line up, consisting of the orange cap holder — Ajinkya Rahane — Rajasthan Royals will fancy their chances in the chase.
Brief scores:
Mumbai Indians 187 for 5 in 20 overs (Lendl Simmons 38, Ambati Rayudu 53; Dhawal Kulkarni 2 for 26) beat Rajasthan Royals 179 for 7 in 20 overs (Sanju Samson 76, Shane Watson 28; Mitchell McClenaghan 3 for 31) by 8 runs.
(Rishad D’Souza, a reporter with CricketCountry, gave up hopes of playing Test cricket after a poor gully-cricket career. He now reports on the sport. You can follow @RDcric on Twitter)
