Mumbai: Kiwi batsman Corey Anderson conjured up an astonishing 95-run knock under tremendous pressure to single-handedly power Mumbai Indians to the IPL play-offs as the hosts rattled Rajasthan Royals by five wickets in a high-scoring thriller, here on Sunday.
Requiring to chase down a 190-run target within 15 overs, Mumbai Indians overhauled the target in 14.4 overs when Aditya Tare hoisted James Faulkner for a six.
In a heart-stopping finish, when the scores were tied in 14.3 overs, Tare pulled off one of the most memorable strokes of his career with that six that helped his side sneak into the play-offs.
It was a humongous task to score 190 runs in 14.3 overs as the target was initially but Anderson, who holds the world record of scoring the fastest hundred in ODIs, showed his worth with one of the most destructive knocks in the IPL.
His unbeaten 95 runs came off 44 balls with nine fours and half a dozen sixes.
With this win, Mumbai edged out Royals on net run rate to book an Eliminator match against Chennai Super Kings on Wednesday.
Mumbai were 61 for 3 and looking down the barrel but left-handed Anderson and Ambati Rayudu shared a game-changing 81-run stand for the fifth wicket.
Rayudu blasted 30 runs off just 10 balls.
Tare sounded the death-knell for Royals with a first ball six off left-arm quick Faulkner, who conceded 54 runs without taking a wicket.
Earlier, Sanju Samson and Karun Nair hit came up with responsible knocks to help Rajasthan Royals post an imposing 189 for four after being put into bat.
Samson scored 74 off 47 balls while Nair took 27 balls for his 50-run knock as the two young batsmen shared a 100-run stand in 57 balls after the early departure of Shane Watson.
Samson, who opened the innings instead of Ajinkya Rahane, hit three sixes and seven fours, while Nair’s knock was studded with two sixes and seven fours.
Big-hitting Australians Brad Hodge (29 not out) and James Faulkner (23 off 12 balls) then joined hands in the last five overs to add 49 runs for the fourth wicket.
Royals were 59 for one at half-way mark and went on to score 130 runs in the last 10 overs.
Mumbai Indians skipper Rohit Sharma could not believe that they had pulled off one of the most dramatic wins in this IPL.
“It will take a little while to get my heartbeat down. Nothing is impossible. This kind of performance, doesn’t come every day. This is for the people of Mumbai. It was a fantastic victory. Anderson was unbelievable,” Sharma said. (PTI)
