Ben Stokes and Sanju Samson on Sunday smashed the Mumbai Indians bowlers all around to get their team a dominating 8-wicket win to keep their hopes alive of making it to the playoffs of the ongoing edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL).
Stokes (107 not out) and Samson (54 not out) made a mockery of 196 runs target set by Mumbai Indians. Their unbeaten third-wicket stand of 151 runs in just 82 balls helped Rajasthan Royals reach the target in just 18.2 overs.
The win at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium helped Steve Smith’s men stay in contention of a knockout berth. They are placed at sixth with 10 points from 12 games. Mumbai, meanwhile, remained first with 14 points from 11 matches.
Stokes’s century not only garnered a much-needed win for the Royals — who are still afloat in the league — but also outshone Hardik Pandya’s blitzkrieg (60 not out, off 21 balls) which had earlier propelled MI to a competitive looking total.
Chasing the challenging target, RR lost opener Robin Uthappa (13) and Steve Smith (11) early with their scorecard reading 44/2 in 4.4 overs. Both the RR players were picked by James Pattinson (2/40).
However, both Stokes and Samson dusted off their rustiness in style as their sensible batting left the MI bowlers struggling.
Earlier, Hardik Pandya’s whirlwind knock along with some valuable contributions from Ishan Kishan (37), Suryakumar Yadav (40) and Saurabh Tiwary (34) powered MI to 195/5 wickets in 20 overs.
After losing opener Quinton de Kock (6) early, Suryakumar and Ishan shared an 83-run partnership to take MI near the 100-run mark.
Kartik Tyagi (1/45) got a breakthrough when he dismissed Kishan in the 11th over, leaving MI at 90/2.
The defending champions then went on to lose Suryakumar and Keiron Pollard (6) in quick succession that left MI at 101/4 in 13 overs. Pollard’s fall brought in Pandya, who started slowly before swiftly shifting gears.
Hardik was in no mood to spare RR bowlers as he smashed Kartik Tyagi for 27 runs off the final over, and in the process also notched up his half-century.
Brief scores: Rajasthan Royals: 196/2 wkts in 18.2 overs (Ben Stokes 107, Sanju Samson 54; James Pattinson 2/40) beat Mumbai Indians: 195/5 wkts in 20 overs (Hardik Pandya 60 not out, Suryakumar Yadav 40; Shreyas Gopal 2/30) by 8 wickets
With IANS inputs