Shared News: October 7, 2020 12:43:16 am
Pacers swing it Mumbai Indians’ way after Suryakumar Yadav comes to the party.
Trent Boult has been a brilliant acquisition for Mumbai Indians this season. (Source: Twitter/mipaltan)
There were two swashbuckling half-centuries – from Suryakumar Yadav and Jos Buttler – and two out-of-the-world catches – by MI substitute Anukul Roy and Kieron Pollard – in the game. But ultimately, on a slow Abu Dhabi pitch, the difference between Mumbai Indians and Rajasthan Royals was in their pace attacks. While the Royals pacers struggled, their counterparts turned the tide in their favour. Trent Boult, James Pattinson and Jasprit Bumrah took eight of the 10 wickets to fall. Resultantly, Royals, in pursuit of 194, went down by 57 runs.
Pacers swing it MI’s way
Boult has been a brilliant acquisition for Mumbai Indians this season. The left-arm pacer has made it a habit of getting wickets upfront. The Kiwi prised out Yashasvi Jaiswal and Sanju Samson in the first two overs of his spell that left the Royals with a mountain to climb.
👆 Steve Smith
👆 Rahul Tewatia
👆 Shreyas Gopal
👆 Jofra Archer4/20 👉 This is Bumrah's best performance in the #MI Blue & Gold 💥💥💥💥#OneFamily #MumbaiIndians #Dream11IPL #MIvRR @Jaspritbumrah93 pic.twitter.com/tyVWMfRjhl
— Mumbai Indians (@mipaltan) October 6, 2020
Boult’s incisive start has given captain Rohit Sharma the luxury of holding back Bumrah for later in the innings. The 31-year-old New Zealander finished with figures of 2/24, to take his tally to 10 wickets from six games in this tournament. What makes Boult’s achievements even more impressive is that there’s hardly been any lateral movement on offer in the three venues at the UAE. Instead, he has relied on yorkers, clever use of the crease, and slower deliveries to fox batsmen.
Suryakumar comes to the party
In the five games before Tuesday, Suryakumar Yadav had registered scores of 17, 47, 0, 10 and 27. Nothing much to write home about for the Mumbai Indians’ batsman. It was not as if he was struggling for form. In fact, barring the game against Royal Challengers Bangalore, Yadav has looked in pretty good touch in every outing. But a sizeable score had eluded him. But against the Rajasthan Royals on a warm, humid evening in Abu Dhabi, his stars finally aligned.
🔥 Best @IPL performance ✅
🏆 Man of the Match ✅What a night for @surya_14kumar 💙#OneFamily #MumbaiIndians #MI #Dream11IPL #MIvRR pic.twitter.com/4ffagLM9xx
— Mumbai Indians (@mipaltan) October 6, 2020
The 30-year-old unfurled his impressive array of strokes. In fact, he hardly put a foot wrong on a slowish track where the two Royals leg-spinners Shreyas Gopal and Rahul Tewatia had put the brakes on Mumbai’s scoring for a brief period in the middle overs. Yadav’s unbeaten 79, his highest score in the IPL, saw him score as many as 51 runs behind the wicket. He was involved in two key partnerships – a 39-run stand for the second wicket with captain Rohit Sharma and an unbeaten 76-run alliance with Hardik Pandya – that were instrumental in propelling Mumbai to 193/4, a match-winning total.
This knock also showcased Yadav’s mental fortitude in equal measure. In the penultimate over, he looked rattled after being struck on the helmet by a Jofra Archer bouncer. However, on the very next delivery, he unleashed a sensational reverse lap against Archer’s express pace that sailed over wicketkeeper Buttler for a six. Surya’s act tonight is the final piece in Mumbai batting’s jigsaw puzzle. In half a dozen games so far, all their top six batsmen have come good and look in ominous form.
