Gowtham 11-ball 33 wins it for Rajasthan, Mumbai slip further

Mumbai Indians became the second side to opt batting after winning toss in IPL 2018. Rohit Sharma decided to shake things up to bring their campaign back on track against Rajasthan Royals on Sunday.

Match Summary

Krishnappa Gowtham produced a blinder of a knock after Sanju Samson and Ben Stokes smartly negotiated a slow track as Rajasthan Royals pulled off a nail-biting three-wicket win over Mumbai Indians in an Indian Premier League (IPL) match, on Sunday.

The pitch was not conducive for stroke-making but Samson (52) and Stokes (40 off 27) added 72 runs for the third wicket to push their side close to the finish line and the hosts eventually crossed it with two balls to spare.

Gowtham conjured up an unbeaten 11-ball 33-run knock under pressure, hitting two sixes and four fours to seal a thrilling win for his side.

Krishnappa Gowtham's last over of steel #RRvMI #MumbaiIndians https://t.co/eRB1MOHWJS via @ipl

— Deepak Raj Verma (@iconicdeepak) April 22, 2018

It was not a big target on board as the hosts chased 168 but the wicket had slowed down considerably and required a lot of patience to score runs.

Samson was in control of his innings but Jasprit Bumrah (2/28) dismissed him and Jos Buttler in successive balls in the 17th over to raise his side's hopes. When Samson got out, Royals required 43 runs from 22 balls.

It became 28 from 12 after Gowtham found a six and a four off Mustafizur Rehman. The Karnataka batsman in company of Jofra Archer found scored 18 runs from Bumrah's next over and needed 10 from the last for a thrilling win.

Hardik Pandya was given the ball and removed Archer in the first ball but Gowtham steered the next ball for a four in the third-man region and finished off the match in the fourth ball with a gigantic six.

Royals lost Rahul Tripathi (9) and captain Ajinkya Rahane (14) inside Powerplay overs and were going at about seven runs an over. Samson and Stokes kept the scoreboard ticking, keeping the required run-rate under control.

It was only third win for the Royals in six matches while Mumbai Indians suffered fourth defeat in five matches.

Suryakumar Yadav (72) and young Ishan Kishan (58) hit measured half-centuries in a 129-run partnership for the second wicket but Mumbai Indians frittered away a good platform to settle for a modest 167 for seven.

The partnership broke when Kishan, who led India in the Under-19 World Cup in 2016, lost his wicket while trying an adventurous shot off Dhawan Kulkarni (2/32). From there, the visitors lost track as they lost three wickets in a space of eight balls.

Caribbean paceman Jofra Archer (3/22) was impressive on his IPL debut, troubling the Mumbai batsmen with good pace. He got rid of Pandya brothers -- Krunal (7) and Hardik (4) -- and Mitchell McClenaghan (0) in the penultimate over, denying the visitors a flourishing finish. The 23-year-old conceded just 23 runs in his four-over quota.

Earlier, the stage was set for a perfect finish for Mumbai Indians but after Kishan went back to the dug out, Yadav was dismissed by Unadkat and captain Rohit Sharma ran himself out after misjudging a run.

Kishan's innings came off 42 balls with four fours and three shots over the fence while Yadav faced 47 balls and hit nine boundaries including three sixes.

Kieron Pollard could manage only an unbeaten 21 off 20 balls as Mumbai Indians scored only 32 runs in the last five overs and lost five wickets.

The Royals bowlers were initially successful in keeping the Mumbai batsmen silent, not allowing them to open their arms. Kishan hit Kulkarni for a monstrous six before Yadav sent one soaring off his legs in the fifth over.

Kulkarni was meted out this treatment after he had sent Caribbean batsman Lewis (0) in the fourth ball of the innings. Still, the visitors did not have much runs on the board after Powerplay over with scorecard reading 43 for one.

Yadav and Kishan kept finding odd boundaries to maintain a healthy run-rate and more importantly they had wickets in hand to go for a kill towards the end. The duo found runs on all sides of the ground and the steady partnership meant that run-rate improved gradually. However, once the partnership ended, Mumbai Indians' innings fell apart.

Mumbai Indians innings

Mumbai Indians squandered a wonderful start yet again allowing Rajasthan Royals to make a comeback and restrict them to 167 for 7 in match No. 21 of IPL 2018 in Jaipur.

Mumbai got themselves to a strong position despite losing Lewis for a duck in the first over only to lose their way in the last five overs.

Young Suryakumar Yadav and Ishan Kishan put on  129-run stand for the second wicket. Yadav scored a whirlwind knock of 72 runs, smashing six boundaries and three hits into the stands during his 47-ball stay in the middle.

Kishan posted a steady 58 off 42 balls which included four boundaries and three sixes.

For Rajasthan, young West Indies pacer Jofra Archer, who is making his IPL debut, was the most successful bowler with figures of 3/22. He was on a hat-trick in the penultimate over of the match dishing out toe crushing yorkers that cleaned up Hardik Pandya and Mitchell McClenaghan.

Fellow pacer Dhawal Kulkarni returned 2/32 while Jaidev Unadkat also got a wicket. 

Kulkarni struck the first blow for the hosts in the very first over when Lewis dragged an inside edge on to his stumps.

However, while Yadav and Kishan laid the foundation for a big total in the vicinity of 200 runs, the rest of the Mumbai batting line-up failed to provide the big final push. The Rajasthan bowlers did well to stage a strong comeback by picking up quick wickets in the late overs.

Kulkarni finally brought the partnership to an end when Kishan botched up a cheeky reverse scoop from outside the off-stump, only to hand an easy skier to Rajasthan wicket-keeper Jos Buttler.

Kishan's dismissal seemed to break Mumbai's momentum as Rajasthan staged a strong comeback with two quick wickets in a span of three balls.

Yadav departed soon after when Unadkat outfoxed him with a slower ball. The Mumbai opener went for a big shot but was fooled by the lack of pace and the ball went flying high into the night sky before Buttler pulled off another easy catch.

Rohit Sharma was dismissed in his very first ball when he went for an ill-judged quick single but excellent fielding by Ajinkya Rahane at cover caught the Mumbai skipper short of his crease.

Archer extinguished any chances of a late surge by Mumbai with three wickets in the second last over.

Toss Report

Mumbai Indians became the second side to opt batting after winning toss in IPL 2018. Rohit Sharma decided to shake things up to bring their campaign back on track against Rajasthan Royals on Sunday.

The shakeup though, was only limited to the decision after winning the toss. The visitors fielded the same team that won them their first match of the season against Chennai Super Kings. JP Duminy still has to wait as Mumbai decided to persist with Pollard.

"It's a good pitch, runs on the board is always nice. It's a big ground. I think we can defend the target in bigger grounds. Not really worried too much about Pollard's form. He hasn't got enough time with the bat. He's been a crucial part of the team. We back him and he's a match winner for us,” said Rohit.

Royals, equally desperate for a win after couple of losses, made two changes to their team. Jofra Archer will make his IPL debut, he replaces Ben Laughlin and the experiment of playing Binny was ended after just one match. Dhawal Kulkarni got his place back in the side.

Rajasthan Royals (Playing XI): Ajinkya Rahane(c), Heinrich Klaasen, Sanju Samson, Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler(w), Rahul Tripathi, Krishnappa Gowtham, Jofra Archer, Dhawal Kulkarni, Shreyas Gopal, Jaydev Unadkat

Mumbai Indians (Playing XI): Suryakumar Yadav, Evin Lewis, Ishan Kishan(w), Rohit Sharma(c), Krunal Pandya, Kieron Pollard, Hardik Pandya, Mitchell McClenaghan, Mayank Markande, Jasprit Bumrah, Mustafizur Rahman