English wicketkeeper-batsman Jos Buttler scored a brilliant 100 as his knock trumped Jasprit Bumrah's three-wicket haul with Rajasthan completing a commanding 23-run victory over Mumbai in the Match No 9 of the ongoing Indian T20 Cricket League 2022 tournament, played at the DY Patil Stadium on Saturday.
The 2008 title winners Rajasthan were asked to bat first by five-time champions Mumbai on Saturday afternoon as the Sanju Samson-led side finished at a strong total of 193/8 in their 20 overs.
In their reply, Mumbai were bolstered with half-centuries from wicket-keeper batsman Ishan Kishan and the young and uncapped player Tilak Varma, but they could manage only 170/8 in their 20 overs, thus losing their second consecutive match in the Indian T20 Cricket League 2022 tournament.
Jos Buttler brought up his century scoring exactly 100 from 68 balls with the help of 11 boundaries and 5 sixes. His effort with the bat overshadowed the failures of young Rajasthan batsmen Yashasvi Jaiswal and Devdutt Padikkal, who both managed 1 and 7 respectively at the top of the order.
Rajasthan captain Sanju Samson was once again among runs, scoring 30 from 21 balls with the help of 3 sixes and a boundary.
The explosive Caribbean batsmen Shimron Hetmyer was once again at his best, clobbering 3 sixes and as many boundaries to score 35 from just 14 balls as Rajasthan finished at a high of 193/8 in perfect batting conditions, putting up in a challenging total in front of Mumbai who were seeking their first victory in the tournament.
Jos Buttler, who has been one of the best batsman for Rajasthan over the last few years, was at his best on Saurday not just on the individual perspective, but also from the team’s view as he forged plenty of partnerships along the way to get his first century of the season.
After his short 13-run association for the first wicket with Yashasvi Jaiswal, Jos Buttler added 35 runs with Devdutt Padikkal from only 20 balls to consolidate for Rajasthan.
Padikkal was removed by English bowler Tymal Mills in the 6th over following which Rajasthan got their best partnership in the match, between captain Sanju Samson and Jos Buttler.
The two right-hand batsmen added 82 runs for the third wicket from only 50 balls to beat Rajasthan further in the contest, and once their partnership was broken, the Englishman found another supporting batsmen in the form of Shimron Hetmyer.
Jos Buttler and Shimron Hetmyer added 53 runs from only 24 balls for the 4th wicket, following which Rajasthan suffered a mini collapse of sorts as they finished at 193/8 despite looking strongly placed for a total in excess of 200.
For Mumbai, their star fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah returned with a brilliant spell of 4-0-17-3 whereas Tymal Mills claimed 3/35 from his 4 overs.
Mumbai were rocked early in the chase when India fast bowler Prasidh Krishna accounted for Mumbai captain R Sharma, who was caught a point for a 5-ball 10, following which the chasing team lost another wicket in the form of No 3 batsman Anmolpreet Singh.
Anmolpreet Singh was surprised with the bounce that Navdeep Saini was able to generate from the wicket, lobbing up a simple catch to the man at cover to be dismissed for 5 from 4 balls.
Ishan Kishan, who was coming off a brilliant 81 in the previous match against Delhi, managed to take the orange cap from Rajasthan Jos Buttler with a half-century in the chase for Mumbai.
Ishan Kishan was not as explosive as he was against Delhi but still managed to get 54 from 43 balls, which was studded with 5 boundaries and a six. He was well supported by the young right-handed Hyderabad batsmen Tilak Varma, as the two added 81 runs for the third wicket from only 50 balls.
Tilak Varma gave a five example of his batting prowess scoring 51 from only 33 balls, hammering 5 sixes and 3 boundaries in the process. The young batsman was dismissed by senior India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, who beat him in the air on a delivery that the batsmen failed to connect with and saw the ball crashing into the top of his off-stump.
The veteran Mumbai all-rounder Kieron Pollard made a 24-ball 22 with 3 boundaries and a six but his effort was not enough to take his team over the finish line, with Saini getting rid of the burly all-rounder on the final ball of the match.
Yuzvendra Chahal was once again impressive, returning with 4-0-26-2 whereas Saini also took a couple of wickets in his first outing of the season.
The second consecutive defeat in the tournament pushed Mumbai on the second last spot in the points table for the Indian T20 Cricket League 2022 which has 10 teams, whereas Rajasthan went right at the top of the pile with four points in two matches and a healthy net run rate of 2.100.
Devarchit Varma is a cricket writer and journalist with an experience of more than a decade, having worked at Hindustan Times (newspaper) and CricketCountry (website). Along with covering international and domestic cricket, he has also interviewed several current and former top players such as Rohit Sharma, Steve Smith, Dale Steyn, Michael Hussey, Jacques Kallis, Brendon McCullum, Shane Watson, Lasith Malinga and many more. He has also worked in other beats as a journalist in Bollywood (Reliance BigOye) and IT (SiliconIndia) industries.
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