3 cheers for Rajasthan Royals, boos for Hardik Pandya

PTI

Mumbai, April 1

A clinical Rajasthan Royals romped home for a third win on the trot in the IPL with a six-wicket hammering of Mumbai Indians, whose skipper Hardik Pandya continued to be on the receiving end of fans' anger here today.

125

Mumbai Indians’ total was their third-lowest after batting first at Wankhede

After Yuzvendra Chahal (3/11) and Trent Boult (3/22) combined to suffocate MI with the bat, restricting them to 125/9, Riyan Parag (54 not out) churned out yet another top-drawer knock to take RR to the first spot in the points table.

Bengaluru need to take Giant step

Bengaluru: An inconsistent Royal Challengers Bengaluru would be eager to hit the reset button when they host Lucknow Super Giants, who will keep an eye on regular skipper KL Rahul's fitness, in the IPL here tomorrow. RCB are currently eighth on the table with two points from three matches, and alarmingly, their net run-rate too has dipped to -0.71 after a heavy defeat to Kolkata Knight Riders here last week. This is not to undermine the side under Faf du Plessis, who himself is struggling for big runs, but its ability to dish out consistent cricket is a matter of debate at this point. Seemingly, Virat Kohli, who has two fifties from three matches, is the only constant in their batting line-up. But du Plessis, Glenn Maxwell, Rajat Patidar and Cameron Green, who constitute the cream of RCB's top and middle-order, have so far been unimpressive. PTI

The 22-year-old Parag continued to make giant strides this season with a knock that reflected his maturity and aggression, dishing out some spectacular hits in his innings, which was studded with five fours and three sixes as RR reached 127/4 from 15.3 overs, winning with 27 balls to spare.

"Actually, I've simplified everything instead of trying to do a lot of things. Earlier when I wasn't getting runs I would try a lot of different things. This year, it's just seeing the ball and hitting the ball. When I play domestically this is the exact kind of situations I go into bat,” Parag said.

Meanwhile, there was no let-up for Pandya who was booed on several occasions in MI's first home game. It started with Pandya being booed during the warm-up drills and the toss.

Even though commentator and former India player Sanjay Manjrekar appealed to the crowd to "behave", the boos continued until Pandya hit a few fours to pacify the fans after his side was left reeling at 20/4 inside the powerplay.

Pandya top-scored with 34 for MI in his bid to turn the brickbats into cheers, but Rajasthan came out on top in the game which was underlined by special bowling efforts from Chahal, Boult as well as Nandre Burger (2/32), who were all backed by excellent fielding.

Brief scores: MI : 125/9 in 20 overs (Hardik 34, Varma 32; Chahal 3/11, Boult 3/22); RR: 127/4 in 15.3 overs (Parag 54*; Madhwal 3/20).

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