For the 50th match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025, Hardik Pandya-led Mumbai Indians (MI) traveled to Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur to lock horns with the Riyan Parag-led Rajasthan Royals (RR).
Mumbai Indians (MI) won the away match of the Indian Premier League 2025 against Rajasthan Royals (RR) in a dominant fashion by 100 runs on Thursday, May 1.
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We could have got maybe 15 runs more – Hardik Pandya
Being invited to bat first in the match, MI posted a big score of 217/2 on the board as Ryan Rickelton (61) and Rohit Sharma (53), Suryakumar Yadav (48* off 23), and Hardik Pandya (48* off 23) batted brilliantly.
Defending the score, Rajasthan Royals were bowled out for 117 in 16.1 overs with Trent Boult (3), Karn Sharma (3), Jasprit Bumrah (2), Deepak Chahar (1), and Hardik Pandya (1) picking wickets.
During the post-match presentation ceremony, Pandya said that they were clinical with the ball but could’ve done a better job with the bat. He said:
“Especially the way they batted. Absolutely clinical with the ball. We could have got maybe 15 runs more. We kind of missed out.
What we were trying to speak to each other was to play percentage shots – Hardik Pandya
Hardik Pandya further revealed his chat with Suryakumar Yadav and talked about how the Mumbai Indians batters approached their innings.
“(talk with SKY) What we were trying to speak to each other was to play percentage shots and cricket shots. Value of shots are there if you hit the gaps, Ro and Ryan batted the same way, Ryan kept the intent and he targeted those boundaries and it was fantastic. It is never about people getting chances, it is about what is required of that situation,” Pandya said.
“People are going back to what is called batsmanship, it is about hitting the gaps, run hard and the way we batted was proper batsmanship.”
In the end, Hardik Pandya showered rich praise on his bowling unit and said they want to be humble. He said:
“I don’t know who all to mention, the kind of bowling attack we have and the experience, I don’t have to worry. Everyone is very clear and we are going back to simple cricket, it is working for us and hopefully it continues. We want to be humble, very disciplined and keep focusing.”
MI lost their previous IPL match to RR
In their previous IPL clash, Mumbai Indians had a forgettable outing in Jaipur as they suffered a nine-wicket defeat against Rajasthan Royals on April 22, 2024.
Opting to bat first, MI were rattled early by the RR pacers as Rohit Sharma, Ishan Kishan, and Suryakumar Yadav were all back in the hut within the first four overs, reducing the visitors to 20/3.
Tilak Varma (65 off 45) and Nehal Wadhera (49 off 24) stitched a brilliant 99-run stand for the fifth wicket, helping MI recover while Mohammad Nabi also made a good contribution of 17-ball 23. However, another flurry of wickets in the death overs saw them finish at 179/9, a total that looked below par.
With the ball, MI failed to take early wickets. Piyush Chawla picked the first wicket by dismissing Jos Buttler in the 8th over. Meanwhile, Jasprit Bumrah and Gerald Coetzee tried their best but couldn’t do any damage. Hardik Pandya, Nuwan Thushara, and Mohammad Nabi also gave their all, but Yashasvi Jaiswal’s sensational ton helped RR complete the run-chase in 18.4 overs.