Jaipur, May 1 (NationPress) Ryan Rickleton and Rohit Sharma delivered stunning fifties, while Suryakumar Yadav and captain Hardik Pandya rounded off the innings with impressive unbeaten contributions of 48, leading the Mumbai Indians (MI) to a formidable total of 217/2 in their allotted 20 overs against Rajasthan Royals (RR) during Match 50 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium on Thursday.

The duo of Rickleton and Rohit, who scored 61 and 53 runs respectively, formed a remarkable 116-run partnership for the opening wicket. Although both batsmen were dismissed in quick succession, Suryakumar and Pandya combined to add 94 runs off just 44 balls in a solid third-wicket partnership, finishing with identical scores of 48 not out off 23 deliveries each, helping MI amass 71 runs in the final five overs.

Initially, with the longer boundaries and lateral swing induced by strong winds, RR managed to maintain a tight grip during the first three overs. MI experienced a moment of tension when Rohit was given out lbw to an inswinging delivery from Fazalhaq Farooqi, but after reviewing the decision before the 15-second mark, he was thankfully cleared as the replays indicated the ball pitched outside leg stump.

Following this, MI began to dominate – Rickleton executed a flick and pull against Farooqi for four and six respectively, while both he and Rohit targeted Jofra Archer with two fours and a six. With Maheesh Theekshana struggling with his length, Rohit lofted consecutive fours before Rickleton hit another boundary, leading MI to score 42 runs in the last three overs of the powerplay.

Despite the introduction of Kumar Kartikeya Singh and Akash Madhwal, Rickleton remained unstoppable, hitting three quick boundaries off them, while Rohit reached a significant milestone, scoring his 6000th run for MI in IPL. Rickleton achieved his fifty in just 29 balls, while Rohit reached his half-century off 31 balls after slicing Theekshana over point.

However, RR made a brief comeback as Rickleton was bowled by a straight delivery from Theekshana, and Rohit fell to a wide delivery from Riyan Parag, getting caught at long-off.

Suryakumar quickly got into the action, hitting three boundaries in his first six balls, with his upper-cut and late slice being the highlights, before he swept Theekshana for six.

Continuing his aggressive approach, Suryakumar struck Archer for another six, while a solid Pandya, who had already hit two boundaries, lofted Farooqi for a four and a six, before collecting two more fours off him, resulting in a remarkable 21 runs off the 18th over.

Suryakumar pushed MI past 200 by lapping Archer for four, and both he and Pandya concluded the innings with a boundary each off Madhwal in the final over, finishing on identical scores off the same number of balls.

Brief scores:

Mumbai Indians 217/2 in 20 overs (Ryan Rickleton 61, Rohit Sharma 53, Suryakumar Yadav 48 not out, Hardik Pandya 48 not out; Riyan Parag 1-12, Maheesh Theekshana 1-47) against Rajasthan Royals