Under New Captain Smith, Royals Restrict Mumbai Indians to 161/5

Shreyas Gopal bowled a spell of 2/21 for the Royals. 

(Photo: BCCI/IPL)

Winning the toss and opting to bowl first, Rajasthan Royals restricted Mumbai Indians to 161/ 6 at their fortress Sawai Man Singh stadium in Jaipur on Saturday, 20 April. Steve Smith replaced Ajinkya Rahane as the skipper of the side from this game onwards and there was a visible difference in which he used his bowlers.

Leg spinner Shreyas Gopal took the big wicket of Mumbai skipper Rohit Sharma to jolt them early in the innings.

Quinton de Kock scored a 47-ball 65 to take Mumbai’s innings forward. He was ably supported by Suryakumar Yadav who scored 34 and added a 97-run stand with the left-hander.

The Royals bowlers bowled a tight line and length thereby negating the Mumbai batters from hitting big shorts. Mumbai were 112/3 after 15 overs when Kieron Pollard and Hardik Pandya came together at the crease.

The duo had added just 13 before Unadkat dismissed Pollard for 10 in the 17th over after he was smacked for a six. Archer missed a chance to dismiss Pandya in the same over after he dropped him at mid-on off Unadkat’s bowling.

Some lusty blows from Hardik Pandya in the death overs helped Mumbai get passed the 150-run mark. Mumbai ended their innings on 161/6 after their 20 overs.

For Rajasthan, Shreyas Gopal picked up two wickets and was the pick of the bowlers.