It was a historic day in the Indian Premier League (IPL) on Sunday as the T20 extravaganza completed 1000 matches. Mumbai Indians and Rajasthan Royals locked horns at the iconic Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai Indians in the milestone game and it turned out to be a thrilling encounter. The five-time champions chased down a mammoth total of 213 runs in the final over. It also turned out to be the highest successful run-chase in the history of IPL at the Wankhede Stadium.
While it was a collective effort from the MI batting unit, Tim David was the star with a brilliant knock of unbeaten 45 off 14 deliveries with two fours and five sixes to his name. Perhaps, David hit three sixes off the first three balls of the last over to send the MI fans into frenzy. They needed 17 runs off the final over and Jason Holder was at the receiving end of the assault from the Australian batter.
MI also became the first team to chase a total in excess of 200 at the Wankhede Stadium in IPL history. The previous highest successful chase also belonged to Rohit Sharma and his men when they had chased down 198 runs against Punjab Kings in 2019 edition.
The win also a perfect gift for MI skipper Rohit Sharma who celebrated his 36th birthday on April 30. He was delighted after the win and had special praise for David for his match-winning effort on the evening. He also lauded Yashasvi Jaiswal who smashed a brilliant century for the Royals earlier. "Very pleasing to see how we chased this. Last game here also we came close to a similar target. We have the ability but need to back ourselves. (On David being next Pollard) Big shoes to fill, Polly for so many years won us so many championships. But Tim has so much ability and power. In the back end, having that power keeps the bowler thinking.
"(On team changes) It is difficult as a captain, but unfortunately you have to play the conditions and the opposition. We want to be flexible as a team and guys need to be ready for it. Jofra has had a massive injury and didn't play for a long, long time. Bowlers need practice and rhythm, and we saw good pace from him today. SKY obviously we knew a knock like today was round the corner. (On Jaiswal) I watched him last year, this year he has taken his game to a new level. I asked him where all that power is coming from, he says he is spending time at the gym, he's timing them really well. Good for him, good for Indian cricket and good for RR as well," Rohit said.
