RR vs MI IPL 2021 HIGHLIGHTS: Mumbai beat Rajasthan by 8 wickets, keep playoff hopes alive

IPL 2021 Rajasthan Royals (RR) vs Mumbai Indians (MI): HIGHLIGHTS

21:15 IST: 4 for 13 is Coulter-Nile's best figure in his IPL career. This is also the second time he has picked four wickets in an IPL game and first since 2015

21:04 IST: Tow more quick wickets for Mumbai as Nathan Coulter-Nile picked his third for the evening, removing Miller while Bumrah dismissed Gopal for a golden duck. Rajasthan in deep trouble as they stand 76 for eight in 16.4 overs

20:52 IST: Rajasthan haven't struck a boundary since the powerplay. That's 59 balls, comprising 21 dot balls, where Rajasthan scored just 29 runs for the loss of four wickets. TROUBLE, TROUBLE, TROUBLE!! Neesham picked his third wicket for the evening as he dismissed Tewatia in his final ball of the innings. 

20:45 IST: Miller and Tewatia are the last recognised option for Rajasthan to go for a respectable total. Something around 120 to 130 will still be a fighting total, but they need these two batters to fire. 

20:35 IST: This is the second time that a team has gone five or more down in the first 10 overs in Sharjah, both against Mumbai Indians. The other instance was Chennai Super Kings, in IPL 2020, when they managed only 52 for 7. Coulter-Nile dismissed Glenn Philips for just 4, off 13, to send Rajasthan five down for 50 at the end of 10 overs. 

20:25 IST: James Neesham has picked only three wickets in 26 overs across 10 innings in his IPL career, ahead of this game, at an average of 88.3 and strike rate of 52.  This year, he has played only one game for Mumbai, against Chennai in May, where he had conceded 26 runs in two overs without a wicket. Today, Neesham has picked two wickets, against Rajasthan, in two overs, at the cost of just four runs, with eight dot balls and zero boundaries. 

20:10 IST: Rajasthan's top-order has crumbled as Neesham removed Samson for just three. Cross seam delivery, that rose down the corridor, close to the off stump. Samson, deceived by the height, went for the hack, but the ball flew low to the fielder at point.

20:04 IST: Mumbai have fought back. Bumrah and Nathan Coulter-Nile have removed the two openers before the end of the powerplay, with Rajasthan 41 for two in 5.3 overs. The lack of bounce hurt Lewis as he failed to connect against the back of the length delivery, which struck plumb on his thighs in line with the middle stump. Shivam Dube, one of the stars in Rajasthan's chase against Chennai last week, joined Samson in the crease. 

19:52 IST: WICKET! Nathan Coulter-Nile with the breakthrough as he dismissed Jaiswal for 12. 

19:26 IST: Ishan returns: In nine matches this season, Ishan has managed only 107 runs at a strike rate of 89.99. His boundary rate of 15 is the worst among batters who have at last faced 100 deliveries this season. But it was always better for the youngster to return to the XI in a bid to return to scoring ways ahead of the T20 World Cup. He has been roped in place of De Kock, a top-order batsman, implying Saurabh Tiwary will be slotted atop alongside Rohit. The reason behind the selection has been to add more pacers to the lineup given the performance of the variety at the venue. Neesham is the overseas player that has been slotted in, replacing Krunal, who will also add depth to the batting down the order.

19:08 IST: Captains speak...

Sanju Samson: We face different challenges in each game. We have a decent combination which can suit this wicket. Looking forward to an exciting game. We have to keep it simple, will have to trust ourselves. We have made two changes. Shreyas Gopal comes in for Mayank Markande and Kuldip Yadav comes in for Akash Singh.

Rohit Sharma: We are going to bowl first. We have tried everything in this UAE leg, we have tried batting first, we have tried bowling first. The wicket here doesn't change too much, so we thought let's have a target in front of us when we bat. We know where we stand at the moment. Every individual knows what to do. It's about coming here and executing. We need to read situations, not to worry about the table, if we play well the results will take care of itself. Two changes: Ishan comes back for de Kock and Neesham from Krunal. We looked at how the game is being played here. The pacers have done well with the slower balls.

19:05 IST: Here are the playing XI for the two teams...

Rajasthan Royals (Playing XI): Evin Lewis, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sanju Samson(w/c), Shivam Dube, Glenn Phillips, David Miller, Rahul Tewatia, Shreyas Gopal, Kuldip Yadav, Mustafizur Rahman, Chetan Sakariya

Mumbai Indians (Playing XI): Rohit Sharma(c), Ishan Kishan(w), Suryakumar Yadav, Saurabh Tiwary, Kieron Pollard, Hardik Pandya, James Neesham, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Jayant Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Trent Boult

19:01 IST: TOSS UPDATE: Mumbai Indians won the toss and opted to bowl against Rajasthan Royals in Sharjah

18:49 IST: Pitch Report | Murali Kartik: The pitch we are using has been used on two previous occasions, both times the team batting second has won. First one was the RCB-CSK game where 156 was chased and then recently the DC vs MI game. The surface has got a bit of sheen, not the old Sharjah sheen. Run-scoring has been tough, it does look dark and patchy. Don't think run-scoring is going to be easy. Anyone winning the toss is going to bat second.

RR vs MI, Match 51 Preview: Mumbai Indians' mega-stars will be making one last-ditch effort to put their derailed Indian Premier League campaign back on track when they take on a confident Rajasthan Royals in their penultimate league match on Tuesday. The five-time champions were aiming for a hat-trick, which would be a first in the tournament's 14-year-history, but poor show by their batsmen has led the team down. The wrinkles on Rohit Sharma's forehead and the grumpy look on his face are telling a tale that is unheard of in the MI contingent till now. [READ]