A dominating performance from Rajasthan Royals (RR) players ensured Mumbai Indians (MI) stayed winless in the ongoing IPL tournament. A combined effort from both bowlers and batters helped RR beat MI by 6 wickets at the Wankhede Stadium. RR leads the points table with three wins in three matches while MI stays at the bottom with their third consecutive loss. The Royals chased down the target of 126 with 27 balls to spare. Riyan Parag played a superb knock of unbeaten 54, giving RR a comfortable win.

RR skipper Sanju Samson’s decision to bowl first worked well as his premier pacer Trent Boult gave the visitors a dream start. The left-arm pacer struck twice in the first over, dismissing Rohit Sharma and Naman Dhir for golden ducks to silence the home crowd. The Kiwi pacer then bagged Dewald Brevis for a golden duck to put the five-time winner MI on the back foot.

However, Tilak Varma and MI captain Hardik Pandya played brilliant shots to keep the scoreboard moving. Both added 56 runs before Pandya departed for 34. Moments later, Shimron Hetmyer took an excellent catch at backward point to send off Piyush Chawla (3), who was promoted up in the batting order. Yuzvendra Chahal then dismissed Varma, who batted well for his 32. MI managed to reach 125/9 in 20 overs. Both Boult and Chahal starred with a three-wicket haul.

Teenager Kwena Maphaka gave MI a fine start by dismissing dangerous Yashasvi Jaiswal (10) early. Akash Madhwal then picked up two wickets in his consecutive overs to put RR under pressure, scalping in-form Samson (12) and Jos Butler (13). However, a 48-run stand between Parag and Ravichandran Ashwin (16) steadied RR’s innings and eventually, they won the game.