Highlights, IPL 2019, RR vs MI: Captain Steve Smith guides Rajasthan to 5-wicket win over Mumbai

Highlights, RR vs MI, IPL 2019: Hello and welcome to our coverage of Rajasthan Royals vs Mumbai Indians IPL match from Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur. Rajasthan Royals all set take on high-flying Mumbai Indians in a do or die match at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium on Saturday. Royals have only won two matches till now in IPL 2019 and are on the seventh position on the points table. In their last encounter, the Ajinkya Rahane-led side lost to Kings XI Punjab by 12 runs, a match they threw away chasing 183 for victory after being in the chase till the halfway mark. Royals' batting collapses have cost them as the team is too dependent on Jos Buttler to score runs quickly. While Mumbai will eye for revenge against the hosts as the last time when both teams met Jos Buttler took away match from MI's reach. It will be one cracker of a contest between the two Indian Premier League teams. (MATCH SCORECARD)

Highlights, IPL 2019, RR vs MI: Rajasthan Royals vs Mumbai Indians: RR win by 5 wickets

* Another humdinger which should not have gone the distance. Another humdinger which should not have gone the distance. But those two wickets in the space of 4 balls changed the course of the game slightly. But with Smith around, the skipper ensured that there was no loss of track.

19.37 IST: Lasith Malinga to Stuart Binny, FOUR LEG BYES! RAJASTHAN WIN! What an anti-climax.

19.34 IST: Jasprit Bumrah to Steven Smith, SAFE AS A HOUSE.

* Stuart Binny walks in at number 7, replacing Turner.

19.31 IST: Jasprit Bumrah to Ashton Turner, OUT! PLUMB LBW! Ashton is gone and is this match turning? Wow, probably for the first time in his life, Turner may not like gold. Second consecutive golden duck for him.

 

19.28 IST: Hardik Pandya to Steven Smith, FOUR! 

19.26 IST: Hardik Pandya to Steven Smith, OUT! Scratch the insert below. Parag is indeed short! Probably Hardik did not appeal because it seemed too obvious to him. Outside off, Smith worked it through mid on and took the single. Parag wanted the second and called for it and the skipper obliged. The throw was a good one to Hardik and he took the bails off. Parag was more than a yard short, as per the replays.

19.24 IST: Jasprit Bumrah to Steven Smith, HALF CENTURY FOR SMITH! He has got his milestone. But can he take his team home?

19.20 IST: Jasprit Bumrah to Steven Smith, FOUR! Outstanding batting. Outside off, on a length, Smith just places this behind point. Third man races to his right and dives but in vain.

* STRATEGIC BREAK. 4 overs left, 25 runs needed. Rajasthan cruising. But are they winning? We have seen this before. Remember the Wankhede? 40 needed from 40 and Rajasthan choked? Get Steven Smith and an encore is underway... JASPRIT BUMRAH is back on. 2-0-8-0 so far.

19.16 IST: Lasith Malinga to Riyan Parag, FOUR!  Full and outside off, Parag lofts it over the cover and gets a boundary!

* Malinga is back on.

19.11 IST: Rahul Chahar to Riyan Parag, SIX! Not a bad shot at all. Not a bad shot at all. Short and outside off, Parag swings it over wide long on and it goes all the way!

19.07 IST: Hardik Pandya to Riyan Parag, FOUR! Off the edge this time. Around off, following the batsman, Parag backs away to the leg side and looks to force this through the off side but is beaten by pace. The ball skids through, takes the outside edge and beats short third man!

19.05 IST: Hardik Pandya to Riyan Parag, FOUR! Cheeky! Full on middle, Parag gets across and paddles it over the keeper for a boundary to the fine leg fence.

19.03 IST: Jasprit Bumrah to Steven Smith, Another inside edge. Wicket showing its nature. A back of a length delivery on off, Smith looks for a flick, again gets an inside edge onto the body. Single taken.

19.00 IST: Jasprit Bumrah to Steven Smith, A back of length delivery on middle and leg, Smith flicks this from his back foot towards the mid-wicket for a single.

18.58 IST: Hardik Pandya to Riyan Parag, Short and outside off, pulled through long on for a single. Pollard fires a direct hit at the bowler's end and concedes an overthrow.

18.53 IST: Krunal Pandya to Riyan Parag, FOUR! Again that one compulsory boundary in the over. Full and outside off, Parag gets down and slog sweeps it over mid-wicket for a boundary!

18.50 IST: Rahul Chahar to Steven Smith, A tossed up delivery on off, Smith goes for a flick but as the wicket is slow. The ball gets leading edge towards the cover region.

18.48 IST: Mayank Markande to Riyan Parag, FOUR!

18.47 IST: Mayank Markande to Steven Smith, FOUR! That is way too short, outside off, Smith pulls it over mid-wicket for a boundary!

18.44 IST: Rahul Chahar to Ben Stokes, OUT! Drags it on! One brings two and Chahar has a double-strike. RR 77/3 in 8 Overs

18.42 IST: Rahul Chahar to Sanju Samson, OUT! Taken in the deep! Samson holes out! Full on middle, Samson comes down the track and looks to go downtown. Is nowhere near the pitch of the ball and skies it high up in the air. Simple catch for Kieron Pollard at long on. The 37-run stand is broken. Does this bring Mumbai back into the game? 86 more needed from 76 balls.

18.37 IST: Mayank Markande to Steven Smith, SIX!

18.34 IST: Lasith Malinga to Steven Smith, FOUR! Supreme batting! Not a bad ball at all.

18.32 IST: Lasith Malinga to Steven Smith, FOUR! MURDERED! Short and wide outside off, Smith latches onto the width and crashes it behind point for a boundary!

18.30 IST: Jasprit Bumrah to Steven Smith, A back of a length delivery on off, Smith flicks it towards the mid-wicket region and takes a double.

18.27 IST: Rahul Chahar to Sanju Samson, FOUR! Risky but effective. Full on middle, Samson gets down and gently paddles it fine. Had he missed it, he would have been a goner. Short fine leg puts in a chase, gets to the ball and dives but in vain. 13 from the over but a wicket as well.

18.26 IST: Rahul Chahar to Ajinkya Rahane, OUT! Rahul Chahar removes Rahane! Excellent catch from Suryakumar Yadav. A nicely floated leg spinner, landing full on off, Rahane strides forward to play it through the line but does so aerially in the direction of extra cover. Suryakumar Yadav there dives to his right to catch it superbly. Chahar continues from where he left off in the last match.

18.24 IST: Rahul Chahar to Ajinkya Rahane, FOUR! Short and outside off, Rahane rocks back and cuts it behind point for a boundary!

18.17 IST: Lasith Malinga to Ajinkya Rahane, NOT OUT! Indeed it is height. On a length outside off, cutting in, Rahane looks to tuck it to the leg side but misses and is hit on the pads. The ball rolls to the off side and the batsmen take a single, as Malinga continues appealing for LBW. Rohit is not interested but Malinga convinces him to go for it. Hawk Eye shows that it is going over the top.

18.15 IST: Review time! Isn't that too high? Rohit reckons but Malinga is confident. Mumbai take the review.

* Lasith Malinga on to bowl.

18.14 IST: Krunal Pandya to Sanju Samson, FOUR! RR 24/0 in 2 overs

18.13 IST: Krunal Pandya to Sanju Samson, FOUR.

18.12 IST: Krunal Pandya to Sanju Samson, FOUR! The arm ball, Samson looks to play this inside out but the ball skids on and takes the inside half of the bat and skews off the inner half of the bat over the bowler. Down the ground for a boundary.

18.10 IST: Hardik Pandya to Sanju Samson, FOUR! Two in two! The length is on the shorter side again and there is plenty of width available as well. Samson sticks back and opens the face of his bat to run it down to third man for a boundary.

18.09 IST: Hardik Pandya to Sanju Samson, FOUR! Samson begins his innings with a boundary! Short in length and on off, Sanju stands tall and pulls it through mid-wicket. It races away and the fielder in the deep fails to cut it off.

18.06 IST: Hardik Pandya to Ajinkya Rahane, Starts with a back of a length ball on off, Rahane remains on the back foot and pushes it out to covers.

* Welcome back to the chase. Mumbai is on the field and out comes Rajasthan openers Ajinkya Rahane and Sanju Samson. Hardik Pandya will start the proceedings for Mumbai. Here we go...

* Shreyas Gopal says that surface is pretty okay and 160 is just about par. Informs that if you bowl slow, it's gripping but not that difficult to bat. On his bowling plans against Quinton de Kock, Gopal replies that it's holding up a bit and his plan was to make him play against the spin towards the longer part of the ground. Hopes that he won't be required with the bat and if that happens, his side will win.

* Unfortunately for Mumbai, they could not get a flying start today. Rohit was dismissed early but then de Kock and Suryakumar got into the rebuilding zone. That got Mumbai on track as the 97-run stand got them with a predicted score of 170. But then, twin strikes pushed the visitors back a touch and they could not quite get the big-hitting they needed. Even the likes of Hardik and Pollard could not get going and probably, Mumbai would not have reached even 150, had Rajasthan not dropped 3 catches. Quinton de Kock was sublime today, probably an innings which will need to be aped by one of Rajasthan's top 3 batsmen.

17.53 IST: A very competitive total on a very slow surface. Mumbai will believe that they have done very well to get to 161. It is not the easiest of pitches to bat on and Rajasthan will have their work cut out.

17.52 IST: Jofra Archer to Ben Cutting, SIX! Finishes it in style! A length delivery in the line of the stumps, Cutting swivels on the back foot and dismisses it over square leg for biggie. 9 from the last over, Mumbai end on 161/5!

17.46 IST: Krunal Pandya is the new man in

17.46 IST: Jofra Archer to Hardik Pandya, OUT! No, this one is found to be plumb in the replays! Now then, this wicket will at least cost Mumbai 10 runs. A corker of a yorker, at 150.8 kph, Pandya is beaten in pace and is late in bringing his bat down. He is hit on the pads, they appeal but the umpire shakes his head. Archer is very sure and Steven Smith decides to take it upstairs. The replays roll in and it shows the door to Hardik Pandya.

17.43 IST: Jaydev Unadkat to Hardik Pandya, SIX! Adding insult to injury. Slower delivery again, a touch short in length, Hardik this time goes straight and dispatches it over the bowler's head for a biggie.

17.42 IST: Jaydev Unadkat to Hardik Pandya, DROPPED! What's happening here? Third catch dropped by Jofra Archer. Talk about butter fingers. A slower back of a length ball on middle, Pandya turns inside the crease and has a real crack at this. Although he fails to middle his shot properly and it flies towards wide long on. Archer runs forward and across in the deep, goes down low to take the catch but fails to hang on yet again. This is becoming embarrassing for the him. Two more added to the total.

17.40 IST: Jaydev Unadkat to Hardik Pandya, FOUR! EDGY FOUR! This is what Hardik Pandya wanted to do on the first ball. A wide delivery outside off, Pandya chases it this time, throws his bat at it and the outside edge goes between the diving keeper and short third man for a boundary.

17.39 IST: Jofra Archer to Ben Cutting, The batsman goes for the pull but misses it completely. Excellent over yet again from Jofra, only 5 from it, and four came off the first ball.

17.33 IST: Jofra Archer to Hardik Pandya, FOUR! Those wrists of Hardik Pandya, ufff! Archer serves a shortish ball on middle and leg, Pandya shuffles across just a bit and swings it behind square leg for a boundary.  

17.31 IST: Jaydev Unadkat to Ben Cutting, FOUR! Look at the timing on this shot. It has just raced away off the turf. A delivery angling away from the batsman, Cutting opens the face of his bat, finds the sweet spot and it speeds away past the diving short third man fielder for a boundary. Eventful over, 14 runs, a dropped catch and a wicket from it!

17.31 IST: Ben Cutting is the new man in

17.30 IST: Jaydev Unadkat to Kieron Pollard, OUT! Sound of timberrrr and Unadkat is all pumped up. It could have been even better for Jaydev had Archer not dropped the catch two balls back. Excellent bowling from the left-armer. Yet another cutter from him has done the trick. It lands on middle and cuts away a bit, Pollard is too early into the swing of his bat and hence misses. The ball goes right through to destroy the stumps. A big blow to 

17.29 IST: Jaydev Unadkat to Kieron Pollard, SIX! IMPERIOUS! This is called rubbing salt on the wound. A long hop, on middle, Pollard swivels and pulls it flat, just over the man at deep mid-wicket. Got to feel for Unadkat. Could have had Hardik...

17.28 IST: Jaydev Unadkat to Hardik Pandya, DROPPED! Archer has put down Pandya. Huge, huge miss that for Rajasthan. A cutter from Unadkat, on a length outside off, Pandya rocks back to heave it across the line but fails to middle it properly. It flies down to deep mid-wicket where Archer takes it too casually and drops a sitter. This is the second catch he has dropped this evening. One run added to the total.
 
17.23 IST: Strategic time-out! The match is evenly poised where Rajasthan have bowled well to restrict Mumbai. Quinton de Kock and Suryakumar Yadav stitched a 97-run stand which gave hope to Mumbai to score 170. On the other hand, the hosts will look to take the wickets of Hardik Pandya and Keiron Pollard to bring themselves back into the match. Jaydev Unadkat to resume after the break

17.21 IST: Jofra Archer to Kieron Pollard, NOT OUT! Hardik has his bat parked in! Archer delivers a fullish ball on off, Pollard strokes it straight to covers and decides to take on the fielder. Hardik responds to Kieron's call for a run and scampers across. Rahane picks up the ball and scores a direct hit at the striker's end, pinging the middle stump. They appeal and the square leg umpire takes it upstairs. The replays roll in and they show that Pandya has stretched well forward to drag his bat inside the line. Fine technique.

17.18 IST: Jofra Archer back on to bowl his second over

17.15 IST: Kieron Pollard is the new man in

17.14 IST: Shreyas Gopal to Quinton de Kock,  OUT! De Kock holes out and now Mumbai will have two new batsmen in the middle. Gopal serves it flat and a bit short wide outside off, de Kock hangs on the back foot and tries to go big over long on. But he fails to get enough power behind his shot and Ben Stokes in the deep takes the skier with ease. Nelson strikes Mumbai here. A fine knock nonetheless from Quinton.

17.11 IST: Hardik Pandya arrives at number 4.

17.10 IST: Stuart Binny to Suryakumar Yadav, OUT! Caught! A wicket against the run of play. A short ball, around middle, Suryakumar looks to pull and seems to connect well too. But this is excellent field placement from Steven Smith. Normally, when fine leg is up, there is no one else from fine leg to mid-wicket. But Smith has a man placed at backward square leg in the deep! Probably Surya did not see him before he played that shot else he might have not have played it in the air. Resultingly, he finds Dhawal Kulkarni at deep backward square leg. A massive 97-run stand is broken.

17.08 IST: Stuart Binny to Suryakumar Binny, FOUR! Finally gets one from the middle of his blade. Binny tries the leg cutter on this occasion but it reaches the batsman on the full. Yadav shows it the full face of his bat and muscles it over the bowler's head for a boundary.

17.03 IST: Shreyas Gopal to Quinton de Kock, NOT OUT! Safely in. The Mumbai spectators in the crowd are excited. A googly by Gopal deceives the batsman there. It's outside off and Quinton stretches forward to play at it without accounting for the away spin. It turns past his bat and Samson is quick to dislodge the bails.

16.58 IST: Jaydev Unadkat to Quinton de Kock, SIX! Connects and connects handsomely this time. This one is right in the slot, on a fuller length around middle and leg, Quinton heaves it across the line and sends it flying over mid-wicket for a maximum.

16.52 IST: Shreyas Gopal to bowl his second over

16.51 IST: Dhawal Kulkarni to Quinton de Kock, FOUR! FIFTY! Fine shot to reach his 9th Indian T20 League fifty, third this season. A shortish delivery around leg, de Kock shuffles across the stumps and paddles it fine down the leg side for a boundary. So, at the halfway mark, Mumbai are going steadily, 81/1!

16.44 IST: Strategic time-out! It has been a good start from Mumbai and the pitch is on the slower side. Rajasthan have bowled well but have leaked runs also. Rohit Sharma struggled for timing due to the lack of pace and bounce on this pitch. Dhawal Kulkarni is back into the attack.

16.41 IST: Riyan Parag to Suryakumar Yadav, SIX! Straight as an arrow! Parag delivers it full and angles it into the batsman. Suryakumar gets behind the line and smashes it over the bowler's head. It has gone dead straight and crashes onto the sightscreen.

16.39 IST: Stuart Binny to Quinton de Kock, FOUR! 50-run stand comes up! Wrong line from Binny on this occasion. A slower short ball down the leg side, de Kock swings his bat firmly across the line and pulls it past the diving short fine leg fielder for a boundary. 9 coming from the over. 

16.36 IST: Stuart Binny comes back to bowl his second over

16.31 IST: Riyan Parag to Suryakumar Yadav, IN THE AIR BUT SAFE! Floated on off, Yadav looks to flick but gets a leading edge. It goes towards backward point where it did not carry to the fielder.

16.31 IST: Riyan Parag is the new bowler for RR

16.30 IST: Jaydev Undatkat to Suryakumar Yadav, FOUR! Four leg byes! Bonus runs! A delivery down the leg side, it's on the fuller side and Yadav tries to play the flick shot. He fails to middle but still it goes for a boundary after clipping his pads and beating the diving effort of Samson.

16.26 IST: Jaydev Undatkat is the new man in

16.25 IST: Jofra Archer to Quinton de Kock, FOUR! Boom! Archer delivers a slower one on the shorter side, Quinton picks it up very early, stays back and powers it over extra cover for a crunching boundary. Spoils what was turning out to be a good over. One more ball to go.

16.22 IST: Jofra Archer to Quinton de Kock, Ouch, that would have hurt. A shortish ball on middle, de Kock tries working it around on the leg side but misses and is hit flush on the box. Immediately the South African goes down on his haunches trying to catch some breath. That's a painful blow. After taking a moment to get his composure back, Quinton is ready to face the next ball.

16.21 IST: Jofra Archer is the new bowler for RR

16.17 IST: Dhawal Kulkarni to Quinton de Kock, SIX! Quinton makes it even bigger. This one has gone the distance. Back of a length ball on leg, sitting up nicely for the southpaw, de Kock gets on top of the bounce and dismisses it over square leg. 18 from the over, so far

16.17 IST: Dhawal Kulkarni to Quinton de Kock, FOUR! The length continues to be on the shorter side, de Kock this time picks it off his pads and glances it aerially over backward square leg for a boundary.

16.16 IST: Dhawal Kulkarni to Quinton de Kock, FOUR! Excellent footwork. A shortish delivery on leg, de Kock hops back to make room and smacks it through covers for a cracking boundary.

16.16 IST: Dhawal Kulkarni to Quinton de Kock, FOUR! Hammered away! A full length ball around leg, Quinton rushes down the track and drills it back past the bowler for a boundary down at long on.

16.13 IST: Shreyas Gopal to Quinton de Kock, DROPPED! Big, big miss! It would have been a great over for Gopal and Rajasthan had Jofra Archer not dropped this catch. A loopy delivery on middle, fuller in length, de Kock runs down the track to play the lofted shot but fails to get enough power behind it. Archer rushes forward from long on and tries to take the catch with a dive but it pops out of his hands at the last moment. A single taken to cap off this over.

16.13 IST: Suryakumar Yadav is the new man in

16.11 IST: Shreyas Gopal to Rohit Sharma, OUT! A soft dismissal and Gopal continues to hunt down big names of cricket! A well-disguised googly, landing full around off and turning back in. Rohit shimmies down the track a bit to play at it with a straight bat but it takes a little inside edge, brushes his pads and lobs back to the bowler. Shreyas accepts the return catch gleefully. Big breakthrough for Rajasthan.

16.11 IST: Shreyas Gopal to Rohit Sharma, FOUR! First boundary of the match! A leg spinner bowled by Shreyas Gopal but the line is on the leg stump. Rohit goes down on one knee and sweeps it behind square leg. It's not exactly from the middle of the bat but still it races away to the fence.

16.11 IST: Shreyas Gopal to bowl from the other end

16.10 IST: Dhawal Kulkarni to Quinton de Kock, Length delivery on leg, de Kock flicks it towards mid-wicket. Stuart Binny goes for a direct hit at the keeper's end but it goes over the stumps. The batsmen take a run.

16.05 IST: Dhawal Kulkarni to share the new ball with Stuart Binny

16.02 IST: Stuart Binny to Quinton de Kock, In the air... Just over the fielder on the leg side! This one stops a bit onto the batsman from a shorter length, Quinton mistimes his shot in the air and it goes over mid-wicket. The long on fielder mops it up and Mumbai are underway with a couple of runs.

15.59 IST: Time to get underway! Rohit Sharma and Quinton de Kock are the usual Mumbai openers. They have been in excellent form this season and have provided strong starts more often than not. The visitors would be hoping for something similar once more. Stuart Binny has the ball for RR.

15.45 IST: At the toss:

We'll bowl first as I'm not sure of the wicket, what it's going to do. Chasing would be a good option. Ajinkya has done a terrific job in the last one and a half year and the team management thinks there's a need for a change. I have done a bit of leadership in the IPL with a bit of success, hopefully I can lead the team well. Plenty of games coming up in the next few days. We got three changes, I come in for Buttler who's gone back for the birth of his child, Stokes is back in the team in place of Ish (Sodhi) and Riyan Parag comes in for Tripathi: Steve Smith

There's no grass on this side, bit of grass covering on the other side, looks a bit strange. I was going to bat first as well, because we have defended well as a team. It doesn't matter if we win games or lose games, there's always room for improvement. There have been different individuals who have stepped up and that's been a good thing. We've got one change, we are playing to the conditions. Also they've a lot of right-handers, hence Mayank Markande comes in for Jayant Yadav: Rohit Sharma

15.35 IST: Playing XIs:

Rajasthan Royals: Ajinkya Rahane, Sanju Samson (WK), Steven Smith (C), Ashton Turner, Ben Stokes, Riyan Parag, Jofra Archer, Stuart Binny, Shreyas Gopal, Jaydev Unadkat, Dhawal Kulkarni

Mumbai Indians: Rohit Sharma (C), Quinton de Kock (WK), Ben Cutting, Suryakumar Yadav, Krunal Pandya, Hardik Pandya, Kieron Pollard, Rahul Chahar, Mayank Markande, Jasprit Bumrah, Lasith Malinga

15.30 TOSS - Steve Smith ahs won the toss and Rajasthan will bowl first.



15.00 IST: Big news coming in as Rajasthan has decided to sack Ajinkya Rahane as captain and replace him with Steve Smith as long as the Australian is playing in the IPL this season.

Match Preview: Fast running out of time, a struggling Rajasthan Royals will hope to complete the double against Mumbai Indians in a return-leg IPL fixture and revive their campaign on Saturday. With six losses and two wins, hosts Rajasthan Royals are languishing at the second last position in the points table and they would be desperate to bring their campaign back on track with a much-needed win. Rajasthan would be taking heart from the four-wicket win over Mumbai Indians at their own den last Saturday and will hope to get the better of their rivals once again, this time at home. (Full Match Preview)