MUMBAI, India (CMC):
Neither Jason Holder nor his West Indies teammate Shimron Hetmyer had any real impact as Rajasthan Royals failed to defend a large total, going down to Mumbai Indians by six wickets in the Indian Premier League here yesterday.
Choosing to bat first at the Wankhede Stadium, Royals posted an impressive 212 for seven from their 20 overs, with opener Yashasvi Jaiswal slamming a Man-of-the-Match 124 off 62 deliveries.
Holder managed only 11 and Hetmyer, eight, as no other batsman passed 20.
In reply, Mumbai recovered from an early stumble to overhaul their target with three deliveries to spare, Suryakumar Yadav leading the chase with 55 from 29 balls and Tim David (45 not out) and Cameron Green (44) weighing in with critical knocks.
Holder proved expensive with his medium pace, leaking 55 runs from 3.3 overs – his first three deliveries of the final over disappearing for sixes at the hands of the Australian David – with Mumbai requiring a tricky 17 runs from the final over.
SEVENTH on eight points
The win lifted Mumbai to seventh on eight points while Royals remained third – one of four teams on 10 points – with Alzarri Joseph’s Gujarat Titans on top on 12 points.
Jaiswal controlled the innings for Royals, the 21-year-old left-hander striking 18 fours and half-dozen sixes in notching his first-ever T20 hundred.
He put on 72 for the first wicket with Jos Buttler (18), added a further 40 for the fourth wicket with Holder, before posting 37 for the seventh with Ravichandran Ashwin (eight not out).
Holder drilled Barbados-born England speedster Jofra Archer to long off to depart at the start of the 15th, while the left-handed Hetmyer was caught at mid-wicket off left-arm seamer Arshad Khan (3-39) in the 17th over.
In reply, captain Rohit Sharma perished for three in the second over, with 14 runs on the board before three partnerships salvaged the chase.
First, Green and Ishan Kishan (28) put on 62 for the second wicket, Suryakumar then added 51 for the fourth with Tilak Varma (29 not out), who then helped anchor an unbroken 62-run, fifth-wicket partnership with David – the 27-year-old smacking two fours and five sixes in a 14-ball stunner.