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Mumbai: Mitchell McClenaghan's 3-31 helped Mumbai Indians beat Rajasthan Royals by eight runs despite Sanju Samson (76 off 46-ball).
Sanju Samson played the main innings for the Royals scoring a fluent and measured 76, however Mitchell McClenaghan stole the game away from Royals with three crucial wickets including Samson.
The RR chase was off to a positive start with both Ajinkya Rahane and Shane Watson displaying intent. Rahane, however was gifted a second opportunity when Jagadeesha Suchith dropped a dolly he offered at square leg off McClenaghan’s bowling.
Rahane was dismissed for 16 off 12 balls with Vinay Kumar taking the wicket. Watson was then accompanied by Samson and they started to look very threatening as a pair. However, Suchith compensated for his dropped catch earlier by bowled Watson at a crucial stage.
Steven Smith was the next man at the crease and he was evidently not at his best even though his innings was punctuated by a few mouth-watering shots. But the confidence from those shots failed to permeate his entire innings and he was ultimately dismissed for 23 off 20 balls.
McClenaghan however got the better him in the 18th over. The 18th over was decisive in a lot of ways as McClenaghan dismissed Karun Nair after seeing Samson’s back.
Earlier, MI ended their innings at a challenging total of 187 for five. The innings started quite well for Mumbai with Lendl Simmons and Parthiv Patel both playing very positively.
Patel was then dismissed for 23 by a class act from Dhawal Kulkarni who took a sharp catch off his own bowling when Patel tried to smash him straight back. Simmons then played a few good strokes and finally lost his wicket to Ankit Sharma thanks to a poor call by the umpire who failed to see the thick edge Simmons got before the ball went on to hit the pad.
Rohit Sharma, played quite well for his 27 before becoming Kulkarni’s second victim. Ambati Rayudu took the mantle from there and scored runs very freely, striking a few sixes in his unbeaten innings of 53 from 27 balls. He was particularly impressive in the penultimate over, where he took Tim Southee apart with a couple of boundaries and a six.
Brief scores
Mumbai Indians - 187/5 (Rayudu 53*, Simmons 38, Kulkarni 2-26)
Rajasthan Royals - 179/7 (Samson 76, McClenaghan 3-31)
Result - Mumbai Indians won by 8 runs
Points - Mumbai Indians 2, Rajasthan Royals 0
MOM - Ambati Rayudu Rayudu (Mumbai Indians)
