IPL 2020, RR vs MI: Ben Stokes & Sanju Samson's explosive knocks help RR beat MI by 8 wickets
In the 45th match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020, Rajasthan Royals (RR) beat Mumbai Indians (MI) by 8 wickets at Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi. Ben Stokes and Sanju Samson played a crucial match-winning partnership for the RR tonight, with Stokes making explosive yet undefeated 107 runs off 60 balls while Samson scoring fiery yet undefeated 54 runs off 31 balls tonight. After a decent start by the top batting line-up, Hardik Pandya's quick cameo of undefeated 60 runs off 21 balls helped MI set a high target of 196 runs for the RR to chase tonight. With tonight's win against MI, RR now stands at the 6th position in the points table of the 13th edition of IPL. However, despite their loss tonight, Mumbai Indians continue to stand at the pinnacle of the points table of IPL 2020.
Skipper Kieron Pollard won the toss and elected to bat first. Ishan Kishan and Quinton de Kock opened for the Mumbai Indians tonight. While de Cock lost his wicket in the early after making just 6 runs, Ishan Kishan and Suryakumar Yadav played a good partnership tonight, with Kishan making 37 runs off 36 balls and Yadav making 40 runs off 26 balls. Saurabh Tiwari also played a decent innings of 34 runs off 25 balls for the MI tonight. While the skipper Kieron Pollard lost his wicket after making just 6 runs, Hardik Pandya impressed everyone with his explosive knock of undefeated 60 runs off 21 balls aided by 7 sixes and 2 fours for the MI tonight. Pandya's quick cameo allowed MI to give a high target of 196 runs for the RR to chase tonight. Jofra Archer and Shreyas Gopal shined for the RR with them grabbing 2 wickets each tonight while also being quite economical in their respective spells of 4 overs.
Rajasthan Royals had a rough start with the early wicket of its opener Robin Uthappa as he lost his wicket after making 13 runs off 11 balls tonight. However, the other opener, Ben Stokes took his time and played his best of the season for the RR tonight. Skipper Steven Smith, who joined Stokes after the fall of Uthappa's wicket, failed to impress tonight as he made only 11 runs for the RR. After the skipper's wicket, youngster Sanju Samson came to the crease and supported Stokes in the chase against MI tonight. Ben Stokes and Sanju Samson played a match-winning partnership for the RR tonight, with the former scoring explosive yet undefeated 107 runs off 60 balls aided by 3 sixes and 14 fours, While the latter playing fiery innings of undefeated 54 runs off 31 balls aided by 3 sixes and 4 fours. James Pattinson remained the solo wicket for the MI, with him grabbing 2 wickets tonight.
Rajasthan Royals, with their win tonight, have kept the hopes of making into the playoffs of this season alive. Ben Stokes, who joined the RR midseason, played his best of the season tonight with his explosive yet undefeated 107 runs knock. Kerala youngster Sanju Samson who had been showing consistent performance this season has played a crucial role in RR's successful run chase against MI tonight.
