Sharjah, Oct 5: Jimmy Neesham and Nathan Coulter-Nile bowled exceptionally well to keep Mumbai Indians alive and kicking as they outclassed Rajasthan Royals by eight wickets in a low-scoring Indian Premier League match, here on Tuesday.
New Zealander Neesham (3/12) and Aussie Coulter-Nile (4/14) snapped seven wickets for only 26 runs in eight overs between them to choke Rajasthan for a meagre 90 for 9.
The five-time champions then knocked off the runs in 8.2 overs to go up to 12 points and more importantly improve their net run-rate to -0.048.
This was also the biggest victory for MI in terms of balls left (70).
Ishan Kishan got some much-needed confidence during the short chase as MI knocked Royals out of the IPL from the league stage itself yet again as they flattered to deceive. The Royals did not have many quality Indian players except Yashasvi Jaiswal.
Kishan, who has endured wretched form during the better part of the UAE leg, hit five fours and three sixes. Fittingly, he finished it with a maximum.
MI will now meet Sunrisers Hyderabad on Friday, another must-win game but they would also want Kolkata Knight Riders (12 points, NRR +0.294) to lose their last match against Royals on Thursday.
In case KKR win and move up to 14 points, MI on the last day would know how much they require to get past the Shah Rukh Khan-owned team’s net run-rate.
On the day, Neesham and Coulter-Nile hit the ideal length on a tacky strip as they choked Royals to the lowest T20 total by any team batting first at Sharjah.
Rohit Sharma was spot-on in deciding to bowl first and Neesham, playing his first game of the UAE leg, took the pace off his deliveries on a Sharjah track where the ball wasn’t coming onto the bat.
Coulter-Nile was equally effective with his change-ups and hitting the hard-lengths more often than not en route one of his best IPL spells.
Neesham and Coulter-Nile cumulatively gave away only 26 runs between them in eight overs and also got a whopping seven wickets, which knocked Royals out. Jasprit Bumrah (2/14) too was menacing as ever with crucial wickets. (PTI)
