Sharjah, Oct 5: Jimmy Neesham and Nathan Coulter-Nile bowled exceptionally well to keep Mumbai Indians alive and kicking as they outclassed Rajasthan Royals by eight wickets in a low-scoring Indian Premier League match, here on Tuesday.
New Zealander Neesham (3/12) and Aussie Coulter-Nile (4/14) snapped seven wickets for only 26 runs in eight overs between them to choke Rajasthan for a meagre 90 for 9.
The five-time champions then knocked off the runs in 8.2 overs to go up to 12 points and more importantly improve their net run-rate to -0.048. This was also the biggest victory for MI in terms of balls left (70).
Ishan Kishan (50 not out) got some much-needed confidence during the short chase as MI knocked Royals out of IPL from the league stage itself yet again as they flattered to deceive.
The Royals did not have many quality Indian players except Yashasvi Jaiswal.
Kishan, who has endured wretched form during the better part of the UAE leg, hit five fours and three sixes. Fittingly, he finished it with a maximum.
MI will now meet Sunrisers Hyderabad on Friday, another must-win game but they would also want Kolkata Knight Riders (12 points, NRR +0.294) to lose their last match against Royals on Thursday.
In case KKR win and move up to 14 points, MI on the last day would know how much they require to get past Shah Rukh Khan-owned team’s net run-rate.
On the day, Neesham and Coulter-Nile hit the ideal length on a tacky strip as they choked Royals to the lowest T20 total by any team batting first at Sharjah.
Rohit Sharma was spot-on in deciding to bowl first and Neesham (3/12), playing his first game of the UAE leg, took the pace off his deliveries on a Sharjah track where the ball wasn’t coming onto the bat.
Coulter-Nile (4-0-14-4) was equally effective with his change-ups and hitting the hard-lengths more often than not en route one of his best IPL spells.
Neesham and Coulter-Nile cumulatively gave away only 26 runs between them in eight overs and also got a whopping seven wickets, which threw Royals out of contest. (PTI)
Today’s Fixture
Rajasthan Royals Vs Mumbai Indians at 7.30 PM (Sharjah)
Scoreboard
Rajasthan Royals:
Evin Lewis lbw b Bumrah 24
Yashasvi Jaiswal c Kishan b Coulter-Nile 12
Sanju Samson c Yadav b Neesham 3
Shivam Dubey b Neesham 3
Glenn Phillips b Coulter-Nile 4
David Miller lbw b Coulter-Nile 15
Rahul Tewatia c Kishan b Neesham 12
Shreyas Gopal c Kishan b Bumrah 0
Chetan Sakariya b Coulter-Nile 6
Kuldip Yadav not out 0
Mustafizur Rahman not out 8
Extras (NB-1, WD-2) 3
Total (For 9 wickets in 20 overs) 90
Fall of wickets: 1-27, 2-41, 3-41, 4-48, 5-50, 6-71, 7-74, 8-76, 9-82.
Bowling: Trent Boult 4-0-24-0, Jayant Yadav 2-0-17-0, Jasprit Bumrah 4-0-14-2, Nathan Coulter-Nile 4-0-14-4, James Neesham 4-0-12-3, Kieron Pollard 2-0-9-0.
Mumbai Indians:
Rohit Sharma c Jaiswal b Sakariya 22
Ishan Kishan not out 50
Suryakumar Yadav c Lomror b Rahman 13
Hardik Pandya not out 5
Extras (LB-1, NB-2, WD-1) 4
Total (For 2 wickets in 8.2 overs) 94
Fall of wickets: 1-23, 2-56.
Bowling: Mustafizur Rahman 2.2-0-32-1, Chetan Sakariya 3-1-36-1, Shreyas Gopal 1-0-9-0, Kuldip Yadav 2-0-16-0.
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