After Mitchell Marsh on Saturday and Devon Conway earlier on Sunday, it was Yashasvi Jaiswal’s turn to produce a spectacular, match-defining contribution that would ultimately end up in a losing cause.
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While Marsh’s all-round brilliance couldn’t save Delhi Capitals from succumbing to a narrow defeat against Sunrisers Hyderabad, the in-form Conway’s unbeaten 92 was ultimately overshadowed by Sikandar Raza’s final-over-heroics as Punjab Kings pipped Chennai Super Kings in a last-ball thriller.
Jaiswal, meanwhile, dished out a 62-ball 124 that not only is his first-ever century in the Indian Premier League (IPL) as well as the highest individual score of the 2023 season so far, it also happens to be one of the most defining knocks in the history of the tournament.
That Maiden IPL Century feeling
A TON in 1️⃣0️⃣0️⃣0️⃣th IPL Match 🙌🏻@ybj_19 departs after 124 off just 62 deliveries 👏🏻👏🏻#IPL1000 | #TATAIPL | #MIvRR pic.twitter.com/rV3X7AUSfc
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) April 30, 2023
The southpaw, after all, single-handedly took on the Mumbai attack in their own backyard, which also happens to be his home turf in domestic cricket, smashing 16 fours and eight maximums in a breathtaking display. And what made his knock all the more impressive was the fact that the rest of the batting lineup struggled against this very MI bowling unit, with Jos Buttler’s 18 off 19 deliveries the second-highest score.
Jaiswal had signalled his intention to take on the Mumbai bowlers in the powerplay, where he ended up scoring 41 of the 65 runs that RR had managed including four boundaries in a single over from Riley Meredith. From thereon, Jaiswal held the innings together even as wickets fell at regular intervals at the other end, ensuring Rajasthan’s scoring rate remained as close to 10-an-over as possible.
At no point did Jaiswal appear to be slowing down and taking the cautious route, even when he was getting close to the three-figure mark. On the contrary, he would move into the nineties with a six off a pull and would bring up his maiden IPL ton with back-to-back boundaries, getting a deserved ovation not just from the Royals dugout but also from the Wankhede crowd.
Read | Jaiswal has ‘taken it to the next level’, says MI skipper Rohit
Such was Jaiswal’s confidence on the day that he did not hesitate smashing express pacer Jofra Archer, one of quickest of the current generation, for back-to-back sixes in the penultimate over. And while he got off to a promising start with consecutive fours off Arshad in the final over, the latter had the last laugh as he induced a mishit off a high full toss that was suspiciously close to Jaiswal’s waist and collected a simple return catch. Jaiswal fell just short of batting through the innings, but did an outstanding job of guiding RR to a challenging total after opting to bat first.
SKY and David’s heroics overshadow Jaiswal’s ton
The momentum certainly was in favour of the Royals during the innings break. Additionally, a target in excess of 200 had never been chased at the Wankhede before; Mumbai had come anxiously close against Punjab Kings a few days back, but fell marginally short. And with Sandeep Sharma getting rid of Mumbai skipper Rohit Sharma in the second over of the chase, it was Rajasthan’s game to lose.
The rest of the Mumbai batting lineup, though, had other plans, and would end up scripting a sensational comeback that would ultimately take the game away from the opposition.
Wicketkeeper-batter Ishan Kishan and Cameron Green, who has taken to the No 3 role like duck to water, brought Mumbai back on its feet with a 62-run second-wicket stand. And once they departed, with Green falling short of his third half-century of the season, it was time for Suryakumar Yadav to take over and dazzle the Wankhede crowd with a innings that could be described as vintage SKY knock.
Surya, who had struggled in the first few games before finally breaking the shackles in the chase against Kolkata Knight Riders, smashed eight fours and two maximums and struck at 189.66 for his 29-ball 55, a knock that wasn’t very different from his 26-ball 57 against Punjab at the same venue, both keeping Mumbai alive in a steep run chase and taking the game deep.
In Photos | Mumbai Indians pip Rajasthan Royals in high-scoring thriller
And the way he was motoring along in the middle on Sunday evening, it appeared as if SKY would single-handedly guide Mumbai home. It took a one-handed blinder by Sandeep, pedalling backwards from short fine, off Trent Boult’s bowling for his stay to come to an end.
WHAT. A. CATCH! 🤯
Spectacular effort from Sandeep Sharma to get the wicket of Suryakumar Yadav 👏🏻👏🏻#MI need 43 off 18.
Follow the match ▶️ https://t.co/trgeZNGiRY #IPL1000 | #TATAIPL | #MIvRR pic.twitter.com/0PVyi5z7SB
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) April 30, 2023
The responsibility of finishing the game then fell on the fifth-wicket pair of Tim David and Tilak Varma, the latter going at close to run-a-ball at the time of the hard-hitting Aussie’s arrival. David didn’t waste much time in getting settled at the crease, smashing a six off his fourth ball of the evening. More importantly, David took on Sandeep, who had halted MS Dhoni and Ravindra Jadeja’s charge in clinical style at Chepauk earlier this season, in the crucial penultimate over, smashing a six and a four in a 15-run over, leaving Mumbai 17 to win off six.
David had smashed a lively 25 off 13 deliveries that got Mumbai close to the 215-run target set by Punjab, but remained stranded at the non-striker’s end after deciding to collect a single off the first ball of the final over, and watched Arshdeep Singh smash the middle stump twice in as many balls to bowl PBKS to a 13-run win.
Tim David, take a bow 🔥
What a way to leave Wankhede and Sachin Tendulkar all smiles 😀#IPL2023 #TATAIPL #MIvRR #IPL1000 | @mipaltan @timdavid8 pic.twitter.com/evvQRJCEFu
— JioCinema (@JioCinema) April 30, 2023
This time, he decided to stay on strike for the final over, and finished the job with three consecutive sixes off Jason Holder, resulting in wild celebrations in the Mumbai dugout as the five-time champions boosted their playoff hopes by returning to winning ways after two consecutive defeats.
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