IPL 2022, MI vs RR Top Performances: Meredith's 2-24 restricts RR to 158; MI register first win

IPL 2022, MI vs RR Top Performances: Riley Meredith's 2-24, Jos Buttler's 67 and Surya-Tilaks's 81-run stand are the top performances. MI beat RR, registers first win of IPL 2022.

Mumbai Indians (MI) beat RR by 5 wickets, register 1st IPL 2022 win (Images ©BCCI/IPL)

Brief Sores: Mumbai Indians 161 for 5 (Suryakumar 51, Varma 35, Ashwin 1/21) beat Rajasthan Royals 158 for 6 (Buttler 67, Meredith 2-24, Shokeen 2/47) by five wickets

Player of the Match: Suryakumar Yadav for his 51(39)

Mumbai Indians (MI) registered their maiden win in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 following a 6-wicket win over Rajasthan Royals (RR) on Saturday. The side eyeing their first win, first managed to restrict Rajasthan Royals on 158/6 on a spin-friendly overworn track. Jos Buttler again top-scored for the side, on what also has been the usual story for the England batter who is currently the Orange Cap holder in the tournament.

Mumbai Indians brought in Madhya Pradesh spinner Kumar Kartikeya, who was roped in by the side as a replacement for Mohammed Arshad Khan this week. The left-arm orthodox spinner delivered the goods with an economical, yet effective spell, with 1/19 in four overs, including the scalp of Royals skipper Sanju Samson (16 runs off 7 balls). MI bowlers played a significant role in restricting RR below 160 owing to the spells from Hrithik Shokeen (2/47) and Riley Meredith (2/24).

Chasing 159 runs, MI lost their skipper at a paltry 2 runs, however, the likes of Suryakumar Yadav and youngster Tilak Varma, followed by the cameo from Tim David (20* off 9 balls) led the side home with their first two points in the tournament. All in all, MI put up a good show, while RR despite having shown winning intent, succumbed to their third defeat of the season.

Here are the top three performances from 44th game, MI vs RR, IPL 2022:

Jos Buttler scores half century (67) against Mumbai Indians (Images ©BCCI/IPL)

Jos Buttler emanates excellence with a 67-run knock on a tough pitch

On a pitch that was covered with patches and dust, Rajasthan Royals batters struggled to stay on the crease and get the runs flowing. They got off to a sluggish start and lost opener Devdutt Padikkal on 15 runs (off 15 balls) in the 5th over.

Mumbai Indians bowlers managed to tie the knot on run-flow, however, Jos Buttler, who has been in full swing this season, again rose for the Royals. Buttler started his innings on the slower side and kept it low-key, yet significant throughout his stay at the crease. The 31-year-old who has had a terrific show against the MI in the last few encounters including a century and an unbeaten 94*, went on to spend time on the crease up until the 16th over and helped the side go past the 120-run mark.

He opened his arms in the 16th over and went down the track against Hrithik Shokeen for four consecutive sixes en route to his half-century that came off 46 deliveries. Unfortunately, Shokeen, who had faced Buttler’s wrath, sent him back when the latter tried clearing the boundary for the 5th six in the over. Buttler departed at 67 runs off 52 balls and scored the most number of runs in IPL history for Rajasthan Royals (566).

Read More: IPL 2022, RR vs RCB, Top Performances: Parag's late surge (56*), Sen's 4-20 take RR back to number 1

Riley Meredith' 2-24 restricts Rajasthan Royals to 158 (Images ©BCCI/IPL)

Riley Meredith impresses with 2/24 in a spinner-dominated game

While MI spinners managed to keep the in form RR batters quiet on a spin-friendly track, the Tasmania-born Riley Meredith epitomized his fast-bowling knack. He took two crucial wickets of Riyan Parag (3) and Ravichandran Ashwin (21) during his spell and also managed to keep the menacing Shimron Hetmyer (6*off 14 balls) at bay.

Meredith remained the only pacer among both sides with the most effective economy, i.e., 6 RPO, laced with two wickets. Moreover, he only conceded just three runs in the final over of RR’s innings. Meredith’s spell became a much sought after solution for MI, which they have been lacking in terms of a good wicket-taking death bowler this season. His presence made a significant difference in the number of runs that RR could have posted, but eventually got restricted to 158/6 after 20 overs.

Read More: IPL 2022, MI vs LSG, Top Performances: Rahul 103*, Chameera's stifling 0-14 take LSG to number 4

Yadav, Varma added 81 runs for 3rd wicket against Rajasthan Royals (Images ©BCCI/IPL)

Suryakumar Yadav-Tilak Varma stitch 81-run stand in MI’s winning quest

The opening batters have not fired for MI this season. Skipper Rohit Sharma departed after scoring just 2 runs. New batter Suryakumar Yadav came to the crease to bat alongside Ishan Kishan, who got out on 26 in the last over of the powerplay.

Following Kishan’s dismissal, new batter Tilak Varma arrived on the crease. Suryakumar Yadav and Tilak Varma went on to add 81 runs in their partnership, when MI needed them the most. The duo fired against Daryl Mitchell to cobble up 20 runs in the 7th over, followed by consistent run flow in their winning quest.

Mumbai Indians’ scorecard read 103/2 after 13 overs, which was followed by Surya’s 15th half-century in IPL in the next over. Unfortunately, he gave away his wicket as he was caught at long on by Riyan Parag, who caught the ball and terminated the match-winning partnership for MI.

In the next over, MI lost another wicket of set batter Tilak Varma, who gave away his wicket to Prasidh Krishna (1/29) and went back to the pavilion after scoring 35 runs off 30 balls. However, the duo ensured that the side was on the right track for their maiden victory as MI only needed 39 runs off 29 balls with 6 wickets in hand.

The task was eventually completed by Tim David’s short burst of 20* off nine deliveries.

Read More: IPL 2022: Incumbent Orange Cap holder Jos Buttler exemplifies Power and Purpose in T20 Cricket

TATA IPL 2022 Points Table

TATA IPL 2022 Points Table: Rajasthan Royals remain at 2nd place

What’s to come

The iconic Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai will witness a northern derby on May 1 as Delhi Capitals clash heads with Lucknow Super Giants in an evening game.

Here are some of the top twitter reactions from MI vs RR as MI registers 1st win of TATA IPL 2022:

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