Navi Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], May 1 (ANI): Mumbai Indians batter Tilak Varma said on Saturday that he and Suryakumar Yadav were trying to take the 159-run chase against Rajasthan Royals as deep as possible.
An 81-stand between Tilak Varma (35) and Suryakumar Yadav (51) helped MI chase down the total and register their first win of the ongoing IPL season at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai.
“Me and Surya (Suryakumar Yadav) were talking about taking the game as deep as possible. We were confident since we have big-hitters like you (Tim David), Polly (Kieron Pollard) and Sams (Daniel Sams),” said Varma during a post-match discussion with batter Tim David.
Varma added that during his innings, he was looking at the scoreboard and taking note of the situation and also enjoying the pressure of the match. “Rohit (Rohit Sharma) has told me to enjoy the pressure. I was in a positive frame of mind,” he added.
Talking about facing spinner Yuzvendra Chahal, David said, “He is a class bowler and has been bowling well this season. He was going for a wicket ball at that stage and luckily, I could put it away. I was trying to keep it as simple as I could.”
Varma was happy to have the side win its first game of the competition yesterday, which also marked captain Rohit Sharma’s 35th birthday.
“I have been watching him since my childhood and he is my inspiration,” he added.
Coming to the match, Jos Buttler’s 67 and an entertaining cameo from Ravichandran Ashwin (21) took Rajasthan Royals to a respectable 158/6 in their 20 overs against Mumbai Indians at DY Patil Stadium here in Mumbai.
For Mumbai Indians, Riley Meredith (2/24) and debutant Kumar Kartikeya (1/19) ensured that RR could not go all out on the MI bowling attack.
Chasing a tricky 159-run target, Mumbai Indians did not get the best of starts losing their skipper Rohit Sharma cheaply as five-time champions lost their first wicket for 23. Ravichandran Ashwin dismissed Rohit at 2 and the MI captain’s poor run with the bat continued in the tournament.
Wicket-keeper batter Ishan Kishan batted aggressively hitting boundaries and sixes to keep Mumbai’s scoreboard moving. But left-arm pacer Trent Boult dismissed him for 26 off 18 balls after he had hit four boundaries and one six as MI lost their second wicket for 41.
Mumbai Indians needed a partnership and Suryakumar Yadav and Tilak Varma did exactly that to take the team’s total beyond the 50-run mark in 6.3 overs.
Suryakumar Yadav batted aggressively and along with Tilak Varma notched up a fifty-run partnership in just 33 balls while taking the team’s total beyond the triple-figure mark in 12.3 overs.
Suryakumar also scored his half-century in just 36 balls. Just when the MI team looked like motoring along, leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal jolted them dismissing Suryakumar for 51 off 39 balls.
In the next over, pacer Prasidh Krishna also struck dismissing Tilak Varma for 35 to reduce Mumbai to 122/4.
Mumbai Indians once again needed a partnership and Kieron Pollard played a patient knock and allowed Tim David to bat aggressively and Mumbai’s score reached beyond the 150-run mark.
With four runs needed in the last over, Mumbai Indians lost the wicket of Pollard against the run of play to Kuldeep Sen but in the next ball, Daniel Sams hit a six to seal a five-wicket win for Mumbai Indians.
With this win, MI finally have some points, sitting at the final spot in the table with two points. At the other hand, RR are at the second spot in the table with 12 points. (ANI)