IPL 2021, RR vs MI Highlights: MI defeat RR by 8 wickets

Was it a bird, a plane or a ball? None of these. It was the bat that slipped out of Rohit Sharma’s slippery gloves. It arguably flew higher than the ball he had miscued. Sharma, in pursuit of as many runs as possible in as few balls as he could, threw his bat at a good length ball of Chetan Sakariya. Only that Sharma realised the ball was not quite there, but he had already committed to the stroke. So he tried to bail himself out of trouble by imparting more power into the shot. In the process, the bat flung out of his hands and high into the air. For a split second, it threatened to crash into Sanju Samson, who was halfway into protecting his head with his hands. Sharma was confused: whether to watch the ball or the bat, which could have shattered his own helmet, before slumping midway between Samson and Sharma, not harming either.

And a 4 and a 6 to end the over. MI picks up the win. Kishan picks up his 50 with that 6. MI win by 8 wickets. RR has everything to do now.

And the free kick is punished by a 6. And it's followed by another 6. If this continues, they might end this very soon. Kishan on fire. Might end this in this over only.  But no. MI 84/2 after 8 overs.

Very nice fielding from Phillips. Saved some runs again. Very nice. Sakariya continues and promptly gets hit for a four by Ishan in the third ball. The fourth ball is a no. Royals really don't need these right now. Free hit coming up. And follow it up with anoter No ball. 

A relatively quieter over by Yadav. Just 4 off it. Good over considering the circumstances. MI 60/2 after 7 overs.

Mumbai Indians gets 50 on the board. Mustafizur bowls a wide. This is not what is needed now. And Yadav hits another 4. It's a whirlwhind of runs. But wait, Fizz takes a wicket. SKY is gone. MI 56/2 after 6 overs

Kuldip Yadav is also welcomed with a four as Ishan is in no mood to relent. Add 4 more to that. And another one as well. He has been punished. 13 runs off the over. MI 48/1 after 5 overs

And SKY is off the mark with a 4. And Ishan follows his footsteps and hits his first boundary. Sakariya was having such a good spell but it's not to be. 12 off the over. 35/1 after 12 overs.

And Sakariya gets his wicket. Rohit is gone. Is there a twist in the tale? Most probably not but one can hope. RR 23/1 after 3.2 ovs.

First wicket for @Sakariya55 & @rajasthanroyals! ? ?#MI lose captain Rohit Sharma after a brisk start. #VIVOIPL #RRvMI

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And Sharma hits another 6. Gopal taken to the cleaners. MI intent on finishing this early. Sanju also misses an early stumping chance. MI 23/0 after 3 overs.

The second over is a maiden. Mumbai have all the time in the world though. Good over nonetheless. MI 14/0 after 2 ovs.

And it's a four by Sharma. And a 6 to follow. Just the start MI needed. This match might not last long. 14 to end the first over. MI 14/0 after 1 over.

Fizz has the new ball. Over the wicket to Rohit. Kishan is his batting partner. Let's begin.

Glenn Phillips would not bother watching a replay of his dismissal against Mumbai Indians ever in his life. Even if he is held at gunpoint, he would rather let the bullet pierce through the memory of his dismissal. Phillips pivoted to pull a short ball from Nathan Coulter-Nile. On the choice of the shot, he could not be faulted. But the ball, drugged by the sleepy pitch, didn’t bounce as much he had gauged, and it snuck through his legs, and under his thin-air swipe, to hit the leg-stump. A proper nut-meg, the ultimate weapon of humiliation in football, and here in cricket too, if though not entirely by design. Phillips stood flabbergasted, sneering and sniggering at the pitch, embarrassed. So red-faced that he didn’t even bother stopping by the incoming batsman or the dug-out; he sprinted up the stairs to the dressing room.

90/9 RR vs MI, Sharjah
92 RCB vs KKR, Abu Dhabi
106/8 PBKS vs CSK, Mumbai
111 MI vs RCB, Dubai
115/8 SRH vs KKR, Dubai

Total By | Vs Venue Year
70 RCB | RR Abu Dhabi 2014
84 DC | CSK Abu Dhabi 2014
84-8 KKR | RCB Abu Dhabi 2020
90-9 RR | MI Sharjah 2021
92 RCB | KKR Abu Dhabi 2021

Even Jimmy Neesham could not believe that he struck with his first ball of the night. A flash of shock flickered across his face. If he indeed pinched himself to interrupt a lovely dream, the cameras missed it, but could have been believable. He doesn’t take wickets too often or in a bounty. Samson’s was just his fifth in IPL. Even when his teammates congratulated him, he seemed bemused, even slightly dazed. In that sense, he is antithetical to his chaotically-manicured image on social media, where he is all ballast and bombast. Reasons for which he is the darling of Twitteratis. Few are as much trolled or bantered; fewer still cop the troll and banter as sportively as the Kiwi all-rounder either. So the moment he bagged a wicket with his first ball, dislodging Sanju Samson, all hell broke loose in the twitter-scape. One of them quipped, with a snatch from Manoj Bajpayee in Gangs of Wasseypur with a caption inscribed on it: “Pura ilaka dhuan dhuan kardenge”. Another quipped: “Getting out to Neesham is the biggest crime in the world.” The ridicule had started the moment his name was announced rather surprisingly in the playing eleven, like “Much needed break from Twitter for,” to “He is at least bowling (not on Twitter). Neesham would, of course, come up with something silly/funny/slapstick post-match, but before that Mumbai Indians posted a GIF of him peeling out flying kisses with his eyes almost leaping out of the sockets.

And the last over. Don't think Rajasthan will reach 100. 4 dot balls to start from Boult. And finally a 6. Those have been few and far between. RR ends innings at 90/9 after 20 ovs.

INNINGS BREAK!

Brilliant bowling display from @mipaltan as they limit #RR to 90/9.

4? wickets for Nathan Coulter-Nile
3? wickets for @JimmyNeesh
2? wickets for @Jaspritbumrah93

The #MumbaiIndians chase to begin soon. #VIVOIPL #RRvMI

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— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) October 5, 2021

Finally RR gets a boundary. Sakariya hits one. Just evades Kishan. And he is gone. Bowled him. Brilliant from Coulter-Nile. Sakariya walks. Even 100 looks difficult now. RR 82/9 after 18.4 ovs.

Bumrah has a brilliant over as the Royals' struggle continues. Just 2 off it. RR 78/8 after 18 overs.

Maybe, we have to wait until tomorrow to get a proper reaction. Jimmy Neesham channeling his inner Jimmy Anderson and taking out Sanju Samson probably deserves a Twitter reaction from a prolific Twitterati who revels in the cultured pun on the platform. A huge smile captured his real time emotion. It was about the trickery of a wobble ball that Neesham bowled to the Rajasthan Royals captain, who tried to cut it but was done in by the extra bounce. Anderson isn't the inventor of a delivery of that variety. He learned the ropes from Australia's Stuart Clark. But the England great has mastered the art and in the recently concluded Test series, he teased almost every Indian batsman with the unpredictablity of the wobble seam movement. Neesham, though, was operating with a white ball. It was his first ball of the match, bowled a touch slower and the seam wobbling. It bounced a bit more than what Samson expected, forcing him to slice it rather than play a cut. Jayant Yadav at point took the catch.

Coulter-Nile comes to bowl. And he takes Miller. RR can't find a boundary and can't preserve wickets. RR 76/8 after 16.4 overs.

.@JimmyNeesh gets Rahul Tewatia out, @Jaspritbumrah93 dismisses Shreyas Gopal. ? ?@mipaltan are making merry. ? ?#RR 7 down. #VIVOIPL #RRvMI

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And another one. Bumrah strikes. RR in a quagmire. Important wicket. Will RR even cross 100? Let's see. RR 74/7 after 16 overs.

Neesham comes to bowl his final over. It's been a while since there has been a boundary. And he takes his third wicket. What a spell he has had. RR 71/6 after 15 overs.

Boult is brought back into the attack. Rajasthan can't seem to buy boundaries when they really need some. Just 6 off this over. RR 62/5 after 13 overs as we go for timeout again.

The danger man Neesham back in the attack. Gives just 4 off his third over. RR 54/5 after 11 overs.

Coulter-Nile bowling to Miller. One run off the second ball. Now, Coulter-Nile to bowl to Phillips. And he has taken him. Rajasthan in big trouble. Clean bowled. RR 50/5 after 9.4 ovs.

.@mipaltan are chipping away here in Sharjah! ? ?

NCN scalps his second wicket. ? ?

Glenn Phillips departs. #VIVOIPL #RRvMI

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Neesham's second over is just as good as the first. Ends with just 2 runs. Pressure piling for the Royals. RR 49/4 after 9 overs.

Neesham is out to attack again. And takes his second wicket. What a match he is having. Chopped on! From around the stumps. RR 48/4 after 8.3 overs as Dubey is gone for 3 runs.

WICKET No. 2? for @JimmyNeesh! ? ?

The @mipaltan all-rounder gets Shivam Dube out. ? ?#RR 4 down. #VIVOIPL #RRvMI

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Pollard starts well. Stifles the RR batsmen. Just 4 runs off his first over. It's going according to plan for MI. 8 overs gone. RR 47/3 as we go to strategic timeout.

Great over from Neesham. Just 2 off it and a wicket. What a start. RR 43/3 after 7 overs.

Neesham strikes first ball. Sanju is gone. Sliced, and Yadav at point dives forward to get the Royals captain. RR 41/3 after 6.1 overs

2? wickets in quick succession for @mipaltan! ? ?@Jaspritbumrah93 & @JimmyNeesh strike. ? ? #RR lose Evin Lewis and captain Sanju Samson. #VIVOIPL #RRvMI

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And a 4 to start te 6th over. Lewis is quick to pick the length up, and swivels to pull to square leg for four. Lewis might be out. LBW. On-field umpire says out. Lewis is reviewing. And he's gone. RR 41/2 after 5.3 overs.

Boult in the attack fotr the penultimate over before powerplay ends. Pretty great over. Just 5 off it. RR 37/1 after 5 overs

Lewis hits a four to break Coulter-Nile's rhythm. MI will need this wicket. Over ends at 32/1. Just 6 off it.

Nathan Coulter-Nile brought into the attack. And Jaiswal is gone. An important breakthrough. Jaiswal wants to cut, but its taken a bottom edge to Kishan. RR 27/1 after 3.4 ovs

Edged & taken! ??

Nathan Coulter-Nile strikes in his first over as @ishankishan51 takes the catch. ? ?

First strike for @mipaltan ? ? #RR lose Yashasvi Jaiswal. #VIVOIPL #RRvMI

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And Bumrah has a rude welcome. Lewis puts him away for a 4 in the first ball. Sweet strike. Bumrah recovers well. Just 1 off the other 5 balls. RR 26/0 after 3 overs.

Jaiswal follows Lewis' stead and hits back to back fours to end the over. Yadav thinking what just happened. 15 off the over. RR 21/0 after 2 overs.

And a 6 in the second ball of the over. He probably does not want to run with that injured leg. RR 12/0 after 1.2 ovs.

Lewis and Jaiswal are both getting some treatment. Lewis inside-edged a shot onto his pad earlier in the over. Jaiswal also got a knock on his leg in the last ball. Jayant Yadav has the ball, and is talking to Rohit Sharma.

Jaiswal hits a 4 off Boult. First boundary of the innings. Pulled pretty well. RR 6/0 after 1 over.

Evin Lewis and Yashasvi Jaiswal come to open for Rajasthan Royals. Trent Boult to open the attack.

Rajasthan Royals become the first team to play five left-arm seamers in one IPL season (Fizz, Kuldip, Akash, Sakariya, Unadkat). Four was the previous record (Pune Warriors India 2011, Mumbai in 2014 and Sunrisers in 2016)

A captain's knock on the cards ?#VIVOIPL | #RRvMI | @IamSanjuSamson pic.twitter.com/ED8a0fJ5JV

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Getting into the groove, be like ? ?#VIVOIPL #RRvMI pic.twitter.com/B5yZ9RcMKh

— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) October 5, 2021

Rajasthan Royals XI: E Lewis, Y Jaiswal, S Samson, S Dube, G Phillips, D Miller, R Tewatia, S Gopal, K Yadav, C Sakariya, M Rahman 

Mumbai Indians XI: R Sharma, I Kishan, S Yadav, S Tiwary, K Pollard, H Pandya, N Coulter-Nile, J Yadav, J Neesham, J Bumrah, T Boult 

Team News

2? changes for @rajasthanroyals as Shreyas Gopal & debutant Kuldip Yadav picked in the team.

2? changes for @mipaltan as Ishan Kishan & Jimmy Neesham named in the team. #VIVOIPL #RRvMI

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Here are the Playing XIs ? pic.twitter.com/jEBlgFZd4R

— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) October 5, 2021

"We are going to bowl first. We have tried everything in this UAE leg. The wicket doesn't change too much, so we thought having a target in front of us when we bat. We know where we stand at the moment. Every individual knows what to do. It's about coming here and executing. We need to read situations, not to worry about the table, if we play well the results will take care of itself. Two changes: Ishan comes back for de Kock and Neesham from Krunal. We looked at how the game is being played here. The pacers have done well with the slower balls."

Mumbai win toss. Elect to bowl against Rajasthan

? Toss Update from Sharjah ?@mipaltan have won the toss & elected to bowl against @rajasthanroyals. #VIVOIPL #RRvMI

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— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) October 5, 2021

Outstanding bowling displays, sensational batting performances & stunning fielding efforts. ? ?

This week of #VIVOIPL had it all. ? ?

Take a look ? ?

— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) October 5, 2021

"When I get an opportunity, I genuinely have the feel that it's my day." ?@hardikpandya7 reminisces his whirlwind knock of 60* (21) against RR in Abu Dhabi last year ??#OneFamily #MumbaiIndians #IPL2021 #KhelTakaTak @MXTakaTak MI TV pic.twitter.com/11IR0ohuaH

— Mumbai Indians (@mipaltan) October 5, 2021

MI Predicted XI: Rohit Sharma (c), Quinton de Kock (w), Suryakumar Yadav, Saurabh Tiwary, Hardik Pandya, Kieron Pollard, Krunal Pandya, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Jayant Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Trent Boult

RR Predicted XI: Evin Lewis, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sanju Samson (c/w), Shivam Dube, Glenn Phillips, David Miller, Rahul Tewatia, Akash Singh/Shreyas Gopal, Mayank Markande, Chetan Sakariya, Mustafizur Rahman

RR and MI have faced each other 23 times in the IPL and Mumbai lead the overall head-to-head battle 12-11.

Hello and welcome to the live commentary of the IPL contest between Rajasthan Royals and Mumbai Indians! Both the teams are still vying for a place in the play-offs. DC, CSK and RCB have already qualified. Stay tuned for more!

Hello & welcome from Sharjah for Match 5?1? of the #VIVOIPL ?

It's @IamSanjuSamson's @rajasthanroyals who will square off against the @ImRo45-led @mipaltan in what promises to be a fascinating contest. ? ? #RRvMI

Which team will come out on top tonight? pic.twitter.com/fhtP6U0nkY

— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) October 5, 2021