Talented youngster Yashasvi Jaiswal’s maiden century (124) went in vain as Tim David struck three successive sixes in the final over as Mumbai Indians pulled off a stunning six-wicket win over Rajasthan Royals in their Indian Premier League in Mumbai on Sunday.
The 21-year-old Jaiswal smashed 124 off just 62 balls, which was studded with 16 boundaries and eight maximums, at a strike rate of 200 to single-handedly take the Royals to 212 for 7 after electing to bat.
Mumbai Indians fought back with crucial knocks from Cameron Green (44) and Suryakumar Yadav (55 off 29 balls) in the middle, before David finished the match off, along with Tilak Varma (29 not out), as the home side chased down the target with three balls to spare.
With 17 needed off the final over bowled by Jason Holder, David hammered three consecutive sixes off the first three deliveries to finish off the game as MI reached 214 for 4 in 19.3 overs to hand captain Rohit Sharma a birthday present.
David smashed an overall five sixes and two fours during his knock of 45 not out off just 14 balls. He added 62 runs from only 23 balls for the unconquered fifth wicket with Varma to turn tables on the Royals.
Sandeep Sharma gave the Royals the perfect start when he cleaned up Rohit (3), who turned 36 on Sunday, but the pair of Kishan and Green led the recovery, taking the hosts to 58/1 in the powerplay.
Green added 62 runs for the second wicket with Kishan, who perished for a 23-ball 28 to Ravichandran Ashwin (4-0-27-2).
With MI needing a Suryakumar special, the batter smacked an incredible six off Ashwin over fine leg off the first ball he faced, and got off the blocks quickly with three fours off Holder as MI reached 98 for 2 at the halfway mark.
But Ashwin struck again to have Green caught at deep midwicket for a 26-ball 44.
With the spin duo of Ashwin and Yuzvendra Chahal not allowing MI to keep up with the asking rate, Suryakumar trained his guns on RR impact sub Kuldeep Sen, hitting the seamer for three fours and a six to collect 18 runs off four balls.
Suryakumar’s explosive innings, however, ended courtesy an outstanding fielding effort from Sandeep. The batter tried to lift a short ball outside off from Boult over short fine leg, but Sandeep kept running ahead with his eyes fixated on the ball, putting in a forward dive to complete a spectacular catch.
Earlier, Jaiswal struck a stunning maiden century (124) to propel Rajasthan Royals to a massive 212 for 7 on the 1000th match of the IPL.
The local boy Jaiswal clobbered 16 fours and eight sixes to make 124 from just 62 balls to single-handedly power Rajasthan Royals to the big total, while Mumbai Indians conceded their third consecutive total in excess of 200 this season.
Jaiswal, who took his tally past 400 runs to be the highest run scorer this season and also recorded the highest score of this IPL, had a special liking for Riley Meredith (4-0-51-1) as he hit half of his fours and a six against the Australian pacer.
Despite the other Royals batters failing to provide support from the other end, Jaiswal ensured the run-rate never dropped. His knock began with a sturdy 72-run opening stand with Jos Buttler (18).
Buttler got off the mark on his eighth ball while Jaiswal hit a six each off Cameron Green (3-0-31-0) and Jofra Archer (4-0-41-1) in the first couple of overs to provide RR the early momentum.
The left-handed Jaiswal hit four fours in an over from Meredith to take RR past 50 inside five overs, as they finished powerplay at a strong 65 for no loss.
Archer hit 149.3 kmph early on, as the MI pacer, having undergone a minor surgery in Belgium on his right elbow recently, looked to be hitting his straps in his third game of the season.
However, Archer struggled for line in his first spell (2-0-21-0) but used the short ball against RR’s left-handed batters, and also claimed the wicket of Jason Holder (11).
Veteran spinner Piyush Chawla bowled an impressive first over and reaped the benefit in his next, getting Buttler caught at long-on to break the opening partnership in the eighth over.
Royals’ captain Sanju Samson (14) began with a first-ball six but had a short stay in the middle, chipping one straight to deep midwicket off Arshad Khan (3-0-39-3) in the 10th over.
Before the start of play, the BCCI marked the occasion of the 1,000th match of the IPL with its secretary Jay Shah presenting mementos to the two captains — Rohit Sharma and Samson — as well as Royals head coach Kumar Sangakkara and MI team icon Sachin Tendulkar.
Rohit, who was elevated to Mumbai Indians’ captaincy back in April 2013, also completed his 150th match as the skipper of the five-time title winners.