IPL 2024, MI vs RR: Riyan Parag carries Rajasthan Royals to victory after Mumbai Indians batters falter in first innings. Top takeaways for MI and RR from the game.
Brief Scores: RR 127/4 (Parag 54*, Madhwal 3/20) beat MI 125/9 (Pandya 34, Chahal 3/11, Boult 3/22) by 6-wkts.
Player of the Match: Trent Boult (3 wickets in the powerplay)
Mumbai Indians (MI) didn’t finely celebrate their 250th IPL game at the Wankhede stadium. Starting into batting first, they struggled at the top with 20/4. The Rajasthan Royals (RR) bowlers kept the pressure to restrict the hosts to 125/9. Mumbai spiced up the chase with regular wickets, but the visitors held their nerve for an easy six-wicket victory.
Key Takeaways from MI vs RR, Match 14, IPL 2024- Winning team (RR)
Royals superb powerplay bowling before Chahal’s middle overs contribution
One of the biggest positives for Rajasthan Royals for the last three seasons has been their superb bowling in the powerplay. This evening, against the Mumbai Indians, two left-arm pacers- experienced Trent Boult and young Nandre Burger– did the damage at the top order. Boult found the outside edge off Rohit Sharma on a golden duck before rapping Naman Dhir on the pads in the very next delivery.
In his third over, the Kiwi pacer sent back Dewald Brevis on a golden duck, too. Brevis went for the flashing drive and found the short third man. Burger, from the other end, discovered the outside edge of Ishan Kishan (16). MI found themselves at 20/4 after four overs.
After the end of the powerplay, Yuzvendra Chahal came into the attack. He broke the good-looking 56-run fifth wicket stand with the scalp of Hardik Pandya (34). He gave away just 11 runs in his four overs, besides three wickets to control the middle overs. Boult also finished 3/22 in his four overs to restrict the hosts to 125/9.
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Riyan Parag’s composed innings of 54* under pressure
When Riyan Parag joined Jos Buttler in the middle, Rajasthan lost their second wicket for 42. They further went down at 48/3. However, Parag realized the value of the moment. He was coming on the back of his fine 84* knock against the Delhi Capitals.
The number four batter for RR soaked up the pressure and looked to tick the scorecard with fours and sixes. At one point, he was on 30 in 33 balls. With the wicket of Ravichandran Ashwin, he put his feet on the accelerator. Parag smashed Piyush Chawla over wide long-on for a six before hoisting Gerald Coetzee for two successive sixes.
He celebrated his second fifty of the tournament and carried the Royals over the line with six wickets in hand. Parag also won the ‘Orange Cap’ for 181 runs in the competition.
Read More: IPL 2024: Riyan Parag’s confidence spells good times for Rajasthan Royals
Key Takeaways from MI vs RR, Match 14, IPL 2024- Losing Team (MI)
The Sky void & struggle against left-arm pacers
It hasn’t taken many games for the five-time champions to feel the absence of Suryakumar Yadav. He was why the ‘Blue Brigade’ scored runs rapidly in the middle overs.
Since the start of 2021, Sky has been the second-highest run-getter with 802 runs in 34 innings when batting from the 7th to the 15th. His strike rate of 157.87 has also been a fantastic plus.
Mumbai hasn’t enjoyed a smooth ride in the middle overs in his absence. Only one of their batters in the top five went on to celebrate a fifty in the last two games. This evening against the Royals, they had three golden ducks in the top five.
Mumbai also faces serious batting issues against left-arm pacers. One of the biggest reasons behind this is Rohit Sharma’s poor form against these types of bowlers. In 56 IPL innings facing the left-arm pacers inside the powerplay, the former captain has managed just 280 runs at a strike rate of 111.1.
They need to develop their game against left-arm pacers, or else teams will start attacking them at their weakest point.
Read More: IPL 2024, SRH vs MI: SRH top-order produces masterclass; MI persevere but fall behind
Statistical highlights for MI vs RR, Mumbai
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Since the start of 2020, Trent Boult has been the highest wicket-taker in the first over of the innings during the IPL with 25 scalps. The next best is Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s eight wickets.
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Chahal has dismissed Hardik for the fourth time in T20s.
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Rohit Sharma joins Dinesh Karthik for the most ducks (17) in IPL.
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Points Table Scenario & What’s Next
With three consecutive victories, RR moves up to the top position with six points at a net run rate of +1.249. MI stays at the bottom with a more damaged NRR of -1.423.
After an uneven start both Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) look for smooth sailing. The former will host LSG on April 02 at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium.
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