Rajasthan Royals clinched their third consecutive victory in the IPL 2024 by defeating Mumbai Indians by six wickets. Rajasthan Royals won the toss and opted to bowl first. They managed to stop Mumbai Indians at a score of 125 for nine and then chased down the target with 27 balls remaining. Riyan Parag remained unbeaten after scoring 54 runs off 39 balls. Mumbai Indians had a terrible start as they found themselves struggling at a score of 20 for four in the fourth over of the innings. MI skipper Hardik Pandya responded with a 21-ball 34, while Tilak Varma contributed 32 runs in 29 deliveries. Veteran pacer Trent Boult bowled extremely well and ended with 3/22, while leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal took 3/11 with excellent figures.
Miller, Sai, Mohit take Titans home
Despite being pegged back in the middle overs by Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) bowlers, Sai Sudharsan and David Miller stitched a crucial 64-run partnership off 42 balls to guide the Gujarat Titans to a comfortable seven-wicket win over Punjab Kings at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. The 16th over, bowled by leg spinner Mayank Markande, saw the pair taking the Punjab bowler to the cleaners. Miller began with boundaries on either side of the ground before Sudharsan lifted Markande for a maximum between long on and deep mid-wicket. The South African then lifted him over the long-on fence off the last ball to tilt the chase in Titans’ favour. The duo came together after captain Shubman Gill (36) departed. Earlier, cameos from Samad (29) and Ahmed (22) guided SRH to 162-8 after they had slipped to 114-5 in 14.4 overs.
Pant, Khaleel star in DC’s first win
Delhi Capitals recorded their first win of the season by defeating Chennai Super Kings by 20 runs at Visakhapatnam on Sunday. After posting a challenging 191-5 riding on fine half-centuries by skipper Rishabh Pant and David Warner, Mukesh Kumar (3-21) and Khaleel Ahmed (2-21) restricted the defending champions to 171-6. Super Kings had the worst possible start to their chase. Khaleel Ahmed used the bounce in the wicket to good effect, dismissing Ruturaj Gaikwad (1) in the first over and Rachin Ravindra (2) in the third to reduce them to 7-2 in three overs. Ajinkya Rahane (45) and Daryl Mitchell (34) kept them in the hunt with a 68-run third wicket stand. But Axar Patel foxed the New Zealand batter. Seamer Mukesh Kumar then tilted the match in favour of Capitals with a double strike in the 14th over. He got rid of Rahane and Sameer Rizvi off successive deliveries to reduce them to 102-5.
Mayank's pace scorches Punjab
India unearthed a new fast-bowling star in Mayank Yadav (3/27), who stole the limelight with his searing pace amid the usual flurry of monstrous hits as Lucknow Super Giants humbled Punjab Kings by 21 runs in the IPL on Saturday. Asked to bat first, floater Krunal Pandya’s late blitz powered LSG to a competitive 199/8. Opener Quinton de Kock top-scored for LSG with a 38-ball 54 and it was stand-in skipper Nicholas Pooran’s 21-ball 42 which infused life into his team’s innings in the middle overs. On the back of two sixes and four boundaries, Krunal then scored at a strike rate of 200 to finish on a 22-ball 43 and give his side extra cushion. That total proved to be enough for LSG, who registered their first win of this IPL thanks to Mayank’s exploits. Punjab, who ended at 178/5, missed Liam Livingstone’s service at No.4 as he could not bat in the position due to an injury.
Kolkata beat Bengaluru by 7 wickets
Kolkata Knight Riders crushed Royal Challengers Bengaluru by seven wickets in their match at M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Friday. Asked to bat first, RCB posted 182/6 riding on Virat Kohli's 59-ball unbeaten 83. KKR started off on a rousing note as the opening duo of Philip Salt (30 off 20 balls) and Sunil Narine (47 off 22 balls) added 86 runs in just 6.3 overs. Later, Venkatesh Iyer (50 off 30 balls) and skipper Shreyas Iyer (39 off 24 balls) helped KKR complete the task with 19 balls remaining for the side's second win in three games. Earlier, star batter Kohli top-scored for RCB while Cameron Green (33 off 21 balls) and Glenn Maxwell (28 off 19 balls) made useful contributions, the latter while getting two reprieves.
Sunrisers post highest ever total
Sunrisers Hyderabad posted 277-3 for the highest-ever Indian Premier League total and went on to beat Mumbai Indians by 31 runs in a six-hitting festival on Wednesday. Australia's Travis Head made a 24-ball 62 to lead the assault after Hyderabad batted first and went past the previous IPL best of 263-5 by Royal Challengers Bengaluru in 2013. Mumbai replied strongly in the match which witnessed 38 sixes for another IPL record, bettering the 33 hits over the fence clubbed three times in earlier seasons. Left-handed Tilak Varma stood out with his 64 in 34 balls for Mumbai but the effort was not enough on a batting-friendly pitch in veteran batsman Rohit Sharma's 200th IPL match. Rohit smashed a 12-ball 26 and fellow opener Ishan Kishan made 34 to give Mumbai a flying start but the innings lost momentum after 10 overs due to the ever-increasing asking rate.
