The local boy Jaiswal clobbTalented youngster Yashasvi Jaiswal's maiden century (124) went in vain as Tim David struck three successive sixes in the final over as Mumbai Indians pulled off a stunning six-wicket win over Rajasthan Royals in their Indian Premier League here on Sunday.
The 21-year-old Jaiswal smashed 124 off just 62 balls, which was studded with 16 boundaries and eight maximums, at a strike rate of 200 to single-handedly take the Royals to 212 for 7 after electing to bat.
Mumbai Indians fought back with crucial knocks from Cameron Green (44) and Suryakumar Yadav (55 off 29 balls) in the middle, before David finished the match off, along with Tilak Varma (29 not out), as the home side chased down the target with three balls to spare.
With 17 needed off the final over bowled by Jason Holder, David hammered three consecutive sixes off the first three deliveries to finish off the game as MI reached 214 for 4 in 19.3 overs to hand captain Rohit Sharma a birthday present.
David smashed an overall five sixes and two fours during his knock of 45 not out off just 14 balls. He added 62 runs from only 23 balls for the unconquered fifth wicket with Varma to turn tables on the Royals.
Sandeep Sharma gave the Royals the perfect start when he cleaned up Rohit (3), who turned 36 on Sunday, but the pair of Kishan and Green led the recovery, taking the hosts to 58/1 in the powerplay.
Green added 62 runs for the second wicket with Kishan, who perished for a 23-ball 28 to Ravichandran Ashwin (4-0-27-2).
With MI needing a Suryakumar special, the batter smacked an incredible six off Ashwin over fine leg off the first ball he faced, and got off the blocks quickly with three fours off Holder as MI reached 98 for 2 at the halfway mark.
But Ashwin struck again to have Green caught at deep midwicket for a 26-ball 44.
With the spin duo of Ashwin and Yuzvendra Chahal not allowing MI to keep up with the asking rate, Suryakumar trained his guns on RR impact sub Kuldeep Sen, hitting the seamer for three fours and a six to collect 18 runs off four balls.
Suryakumar's explosive innings, however, ended courtesy an outstanding fielding effort from Sandeep. The batter tried to lift a short ball outside off from Boult over short fine leg, but Sandeep kept running ahead with his eyes fixated on the ball, putting in a forward dive to complete a spectacular catch.
The local boy Jaiswal clobbered 16 fours and eight sixes to make 124 from just 62 balls to single-handedly power Rajasthan Royals to the big total, while Mumbai Indians conceded their third consecutive total in excess of 200 this season.
Jaiswal, who took his tally past 400 runs to be the highest run scorer this season and also recorded the highest score of this IPL, had a special liking for Riley Meredith (4-0-51-1) as he hit half of his fours and a six against the Australian pacer.
Despite the other Royals batters failing to provide support from the other end, Jaiswal ensured the run-rate never dropped. His knock began with a sturdy 72-run opening stand with Jos Buttler (18).
Buttler got off the mark on his eighth ball while Jaiswal hit a six each off Cameron Green (3-0-31-0) and Jofra Archer (4-0-41-1) in the first couple of overs to provide RR the early
‘grown as a leader’
Mumbai Indians players and coaching staff on Sunday paid glowing tributes to Rohit Sharma after he completed 10 years as captain of the five time IPL champions.
Rohit was handed the leadership role for the first time on April 24, 2013. He went on to guide the Mumbai Indians to titles in 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019 and 2020.
On eve of MI's clash with Rajasthan Royals, the team and coaching staff spoke about captain Rohit's decade at the helm.
"He's grown as a leader. I mean he's grown into leadership," said Kieron Pollard, the team's batting coach who made a huge contribution to the franchise's success in his playing days.
"Obviously, it was entrusted onto him in 2013 in the middle of a season. He was still pretty young at that point in time."
Pollard, who was part of team when Rohit took over captaincy in 2013, said the Mumbaikar was a quick learner.
"That shows you that a person has a great acumen of what he can accomplish and we are lucky to have him as a leader. He has a wealth of experience, so it's a matter of tapping into that and continuing to see him grow."