Sanju Samson-led Rajasthan Royals (RR) were in action against Hardik Pandya-led Mumbai Indians (MI) in match 38 of the Indian Premier League 2024 (IPL 2024) on Monday, April 22 at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur . .
After being invited to bowl first in the match, Sandeep Sharma and Trent Boult shocked MI by dismissing Rohit Sharma, Ishan Kishan and Suryakumar Yadav for 20 runs. The RR players then failed to cope with the threat of youngsters Tilak Varma (65) and Nehal Wadhera (49), who added 99 runs together to take MI to a decent total of 179/9. The top performer in the bowling unit was Sandeep Sharma, considered one of the most underrated bowlers in Indian cricket. He recorded exceptional bowling figures of 5/18.
Chasing the target, Jos Buttler and Yashasvi Jaiswal took RR into a flyer by putting together 61 runs in the powerplay. Buttler failed to score much and was dismissed for 35, but his opening partner Yashasvi Jaiswal returned to form and scored a tremendous ton. He smashed 104 runs and, along with Sanju Samson (38), led RR to a 9-wicket win.
At the post-match presentation ceremony, Sanju Samson credited his players for a surprising victory. He also praised the opposition players Nehal Wadhera and Tilak Varma for playing incredibly in the first innings.
“The credit goes to all the players. We started well in the powerplay. In the middle, the left-handers played incredibly. But the way we came back was where we won the game,” Sanju Samson said.
Talking about the surface, Sanju Samson said that it looked dry and it was better to bat in the second innings. Sanju Samson stated:
“Wicket looked a little dry. But when the lights come on and it gets colder at night, it’s better to bat in the second innings. People are professional enough about what to do when they have a break.”
Sanju Samson also expressed confidence in Yashasvi Jaiswal’s abilities and said that the youngster does not need advice from anyone. Sanju Samson said:
“I don’t think he needs (advice from) anyone (Jaiswal). He is very confident. It was about one game. Let’s see how the wicket is there (Lucknow) and see how it goes.”
IPL 2024: MI vs RR previous meeting result
The previous meeting between RR and MI was in the 14th match of the current edition of the cash-rich league on April 1 at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. The match saw complete dominance by the Royals from the word go and they brutally thrashed the five-time champions by 6 wickets with 27 balls to spare.
After Sanju Samson opted to bowl first in the match, Trent Boult and Nandre Burger made sure to back their captain’s decision and shook the Mumbai Indians in the top order to leave them reeling at 4-20. MI stars Hardik Pandya and Tilak Varma tried to show some fight but were eventually restricted to 125/9 as Yuzvendra Chahal and Avesh Khan also chipped in with wickets.
The chase was not the easiest for Rajasthan Royals as they lost Yashasvi Jaiswal in the first over, Sanju Samson in the fifth over and Jos Buttler in the seventh over. It was Riyan Parag who top-scored with an unbeaten 54 off 39 and helped the Royals chase the target in 16 overs.