Mumbai, May 24 (IANS) A fine bowling effort by Jofra Archer (3-17) as Rajasthan Royals defeated Mumbai Indians by 30 runs in a must-win match at the Wankhede Stadium and sealed a berth in the Playoffs of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 on Sunday.
Archer, who played a brilliant cameo (32 off 15 balls) to lead a fine recovery and help Rajasthan Royals to 205/8 after being asked to bat first, struck a wicket each in his first two overs and then came back to claim the crucial wicket of Hardik Pandya and end Mumbai Indians’ hopes of chasing the stiff target.
Suryakumar Yadav anchored MI’s chase with a brilliant 60 (42 balls) and, with help from Will Jacks (33) and Hardik Pandya (34), pulled MI back from a precarious 38/4. With Archer bagging three and Nandre Burger, Brijesh Sharma, and Yash Raj Punj claiming a double each, RR restricted Mumbai Indians to 175/9 in 20 overs, sealing victory in a must-win match.
With this win, the Rajasthan Royals moved to 16 points from seven wins in 14 matches and clinched the fourth spot in the playoffs, setting up a meeting with Sunrisers Hyderabad in the Eliminator in New Chandigarh on Wednesday.
With Punjab Kings moving to 15 points with a win at LSG last night, RR (14 points) went into this match with their back to the wall, but they fought back brilliantly to make a grand comeback and extended their stay in the tournament. Their win rendered the final league match between Kolkata Knight Riders and Delhi Capitals inconsequential.
With the ball sticking to the pitch that had gotten slower as the shadows lengthened, Mumbai’s chase was derailed early by Archer, who sent back Rohit Sharma, brought in as an Impact Substitute to replace Raghu Sharma, getting out for a four-ball duck with MI yet to score.
Archer struck again in the third over, rocking back Naman Dhir’s middle stump with a peach of a delivery that jagged in the air and swung out after pitching. Mumbai were down to 13/2, and they slumped further into the swamp after losing Ryan Rickelton (12 off 7) and Tilak Varma (3) in quick succession and were crawling at 38/4 in the sixth over.
Suryakumar Yadav, the most successful batter for MI this season, and Will Jacks shared a fifty-run partnership to rescue them with a 63-run partnership for the fifth wicket in 38 balls as
MI batters hammered Yash Raj Punj for 22 runs in the 12th over. Will Jacks struck him for a six, but was out on the next delivery, skying a wide, fullish leg-break to short leg for keeper Dhruv Jurel to complete an easy catch. Jacks was out for a superb 33 off 18 balls, hitting three boundaries and two maximums as he and SKY took Mumbai past 100.
Hardik Pandya got a life off the first delivery he faced when Riyan Parag grassed a difficult chance running back. He made the most of that by smashing Punj for two sixes interspersed by a wide ball as the over went for 22.
Pandya continued to live a charmed life as he struck back-to-back boundaries off Dasun Shanaka and off the first ball bowled by Nandre Burger as he and Surya put the Mumbai Indians’ chase back on the rails.
But Jofra Archer returned for his fourth over and accounted for Hardik Pandya, who mis-played a pull on a shortish ball pitched wide, offering an easy catch to Nandre Burger. Mumbai Indians were down to 149/6. Pandya and Suryakumar Yadav added 48 runs for the sixth-wicket partnership. Mumbai were left needing 54 runs off 24 balls.
But the five-time winner lost the plot as Corbin Bosch fell for 2 in a brilliant over bowled by Punj as he conceded five runs and claimed a wicket.
Mumbai’s hopes depended on Suryakumar Yadav, but he fell in the 18th over trying to hit a big one, caught and bowled by Burger, trying to pull but managing to hit with the toe-end of his bat. Suryakumar Yadav top-scored for Mumbai with 60 not out of 42 balls (3×4, 4×6).
SKY’s departure sealed Mumbai’s fate, and they fell short by 30 runs.
Brief scores:
Rajasthan Royals 205/8 in 20 overs (Dhruv Jurel 38, Jofra Archer 32; Shardul Thakur 2-41, Deepak Chahar 2-43) beat Mumbai Indians 175/9 in 20 overs (Suryakumar Yadav 60, Hardik Pandya 34, Will Jack 33; Jofra Archer 3-17, Nandre Burger 2-43, Brijesh Sharma 2-26, Yash Raj Punj 2-44) by 30 runs
–IANS
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