A commanding performance from Rajasthan Royals (RR) guided them to a dominating 9-wicket win over Mumbai Indians (MI) on Monday. With 7 wins out of 8 games, RR leads the table with 14 points and is just a win away from 16 points, a number that has ensured qualification for the playoff every season. Young opener Yashasvi Jaiswal’s masterclass unbeaten knock, 60-ball 104 helped RR successfully chase 180 with 8 balls to spare. Earlier, Sandeep Sharma starred with a fifer for the Royals.

Hardik Pandya’s decision to bat first went wrong as the Mumbai side lost three quick wickets inside the powerplay overs. Known for taking wickets in the first over, Trent Boult dismissed the in-form Rohit Sharma for just 6 in the fifth delivery of the innings. In the next over, RR skipper Sanju Samson took a review to send off Ishan Kishan for a duck. Sandeep then stunned the MI dugout by dismissing dangerous Suryakumar Yadav for 10.

Mohammad Nabi chipped in with 23 to steady MI’s innings before Yuzvendra Chahal produced a fine caught and bowled, the leg-spinner’s 200th wicket in IPL. However, Tilak Varma and Nehal Wadhera batted brilliantly to put MI on top, adding 99 runs for the fifth wicket. Varma departed after playing a fighting knock of 65 while Wadhera missed his half-century by 1 run. Although MI kept losing regular wickets, they reached a competitive 179/9.

Riding a streak of low scores, Jaiswal was cautious against the flinging rookie Nuwan Thushara and Jasprit Bumrah before capitalizing on Gerald Coetzee’s slow speed. In a flash, he delivered five fours and a six, returning to his greatest form. Jaiswal and Jos Butler propelled RR to 61 in the powerplay before the heavens opened for about 40 minutes. Butler’s (35) game was hampered by the rain break, but the hungry Jaiswal was not about to give up. Jaiswal and Samson (38) completed the chase without breaking a sweat.