03 April,2022 06:59 AM IST | Navi Mumbai | SS Ramaswamy
Rajasthan Royals opener Jos Buttler celebrates his century against Mumbai Indians at the DY Patil Stadium at Nerul, Navi Mumbai, on Saturday. Pic/PTI
Jos Buttler notched up the first century of the 15th Indian Premier League as Rajasthan Royals successfully defended their tall score of 193 against five-time champions Mumbai Indians at the DY Patil Stadium on Saturday.
Put in to bat in the afternoon game, the 2008 champions rode on the England batsman's superbly crafted 100 in 68 balls and a couple of thirty-plus knocks by captain Sanju Samson (30) and West Indian Shimron Hetmyer (35) to end up with a challenging total of 193 for 8.
MI were kept in the hunt by half-centuries from young left handed batsmen Ishan Kishan (54 in 43 balls) and Tilak Varma, who made a highly impressive 61 in only 33 balls with five sixes and three fours.
But once Kishan departed at 121-3 and Varma was dismissed 14 runs later, MI lost their way with leg spinner Yuzvendra Chahal picking up Tim David and Daniel Sams in successive balls only to be denied a hat-trick, thanks to a dropped slip catch.
MI's hopes, then, rested with their big-hitting finisher Kieron Pollard. But the West Indian's best effort to take them home was not good enough and the team fell short by 23 runs to lose their second successive match, having lost to Delhi Capitals in the lung opener.
It was RR's second win on the trot after their winning start against Sunrisers Hyderabad at Pune.
Suryakumar Yadav was not included in the XI on Saturday despite MI director of cricket operations Zaheer Khan confirming ahead of the match that he was fit and available for selection.
Batting first, RR were, in fact, cruising to a total in excess of 200 when Jasprit Bumrah, easily the best bowler on view from either side with a haul of 3 for 17 on a batting-friendly pitch, packed off Shimron Hetmyer and Buttler, who struck five sixes and 11 fours, in the 19th over.
Later, MI were well in sight of the target when Kishan and Varma were involved in a third wicket partnership that was worth 81 in 64 balls and took their team to 121 in the 13th over.
New Zealand's veteran left-arm pacer Trent Boult provided the all-important breakthrough for the Royals when he had Kishan, who tried to hit him over the ropes for his second six, was caught by a tumbling Navdeep Saini in the deep. R Ashwin deceived the left-handed Varma, who had hit him for two sixes including a reverse-swept one, and bowled him after the Hyderabad-born player had struck five sixes and three fours.
Pollard, in the company of Murugan Ashwin, took MI to 165 when the latter was run out in the 19th over, but by then the target looked too far away.
Saini, who had hurt the back of his head in taking Kishan's catch and left the field, came back to bowl the last over to Pollard when MI needed 29 runs. He conceded only five runs before grabbing the big West Indian's wicket off the last ball of the game as MI ended at 170 for 8.
Brief scores
RR 193-8 (J Buttler 100, S Hetmyer 35, S Samson 30; J Bumrah 3-17) beat MI 170-8 (T Varma 61, I Kishan 54; Y Chahal 2-26, N Saini 2-36) by 23 runs
