IPL 2021: Match 51, RR vs MI – Who Said What

The Mumbai Indians needed to win and win big, and that is precisely what they did as they mauled Rajasthan Royals by eight wickets and whopping 70 balls to spare after the bowlers restricted their adversaries to a paltry 90/9, the second-lowest total for a team playing full quota of 20 overs.

On an extremely treacherous Sharjah surface, the runs for the batting-first Royals came at an excruciatingly slow pace, with Nathan Coulter-Nile returning with a career-best 4/14 from his four overs. He was equally well assisted by Quinton de Kock’s replacement James Neesham, who bagged 3/12.

Only one batter, Yashasvi Jaiswal, managed to cross the 20s, and once he and his partner Evin Lewis perished, the Royals’ struggle to score continued as long as their innings. With combined produce of 9/40 in 12 overs, the Bumrah-Coulter-Nile-Neesham trio ensured that Mumbai batters had a complete chance to script a net-run-rate-boosting win, and that’s exactly appeared to be Ishan Kishan’s agenda, who smothered an unbeaten 25-ball 50, including five boundaries and three sixes.

The chase began with a fluent knock from Rohit Sharma, who struck a couple of sixes in his 13-ball 22 before being undone by Chetan Sakariya. Suryakumar Yadav was the only other wicket to fall, sent back by Mustafizur Rahman for 13 off 8 before Kishan finished things off. The victory means Mumbai’s hopes to qualify further stay alive provided they win their next encounter against Sunrisers Hyderabad, and Rajasthan Royals defeat Kolkata Knight Riders in their next game.

Losing skipper Sanju Samson:

It was a bit challenging wicket to bat on, it was tougher in the first innings. Coming from Abu Dhabi, playing in Sharjah was a massive difference. Can’t blame the batsmen a lot, but it was tough to bat in the first innings. Abu Dhabi had one of the best batting wickets, switching to Sharjah was tough. Mindset – it’s a bit cloudy right now, we need to take some time off and then think about the next game. We’d definitely like to play a better game of cricket in the next game. We knew that they’ll be coming strong, in the powerplay they wanted to increase the run-rate. The wicket was a bit better than the first innings but they batted really well.

Winning skipper Rohit Sharma:

We had to come here and do what we had to do. The two points were very crucial for us. Once we had them bowled out for 90, we had a chance to finish it early. It is important to seize the game. We had to come out and bat freely. We had a chance to get the run rate in order. Was a perfect game for us. He is playing after a couple of games. I was there to take the risks. We know his ability. We wanted him to spend some time and that is exactly what he did. If Jimmy wants to do another one, I will be happy. He is a solid guy and keeps the atmosphere buzzing. You need talks like these and got all the guys going after that. When you are under the radar, you need to get the job done. All the bowlers came together and did it for us. I feel in this tournament, any team is capable of beating anyone. KKR is playing before us and we will know exactly what to do.

Player of the Match Nathan Coulter-Nile:

 Just tried to keep it simple. Was a tough wicket to bat on. Just tried to change the pace a little. It was sticking a little. I am not fussed when I am bowled. There are world class bowlers in our side and hope they can pick a few more and I will have my job easier.