Highlights, MI vs RR, IPL 2021, Match 24, Full Cricket Score: De Kock fifty leads Mumbai to comfortable win

That’s it for this contest folks!

That was a heck of a performance from Mumbai Indians, who have given themselves a bit of breathing room in the fourth and final playoff spot. Luckily for us though, that’s not the end of the action tonight, as we now move on to Delhi Capital’s match against Kolkata Knight Riders! You can catch all the latest updates from that contest by clicking  here, so do make sure to check it out!

Champion side!

Brilliant chase, no doubt!

Mumbai Indians win by seven wickets!

This looks nigh impossible for RR to win at the moment. 9 runs needed in 12 balls. The first ball is hit for a boundary by Quinton de Kock, he’s been outstanding tonight! It’s lofted over extra cover. A single rotates strike, before Kieron Pollard seals the match with a boundary! Mumbai Indians have beaten the Rajasthan Royals by seven wickets, this has been a really convincing performance from the reigning champions, especially on the back of two defeats in their last two matches.

After 18 overs,Mumbai Indians 163/3 ( Quinton de Kock (W) 65 , Kieron Pollard 12)

Chris Morris to bowl to Kieron Pollard. Mumbai Indians need 25 runs in 18 balls. Make that 19 runs in 17 balls, Pollard’s hit a six! Oh wait, he’s not messing around at all, he’s just hit another four. Guess Pollard’s ready to wrap this up. Morris then tries to test Pollard with a bouncer, but even that doesn’t work, as it ricochets off the helmet and rolls past short fine leg to the boundary rope for four leg byes. The concussion protocol means we’ll need a quick break, but Pollard looks fine, he was urging the ball towards the boundary line with gusto. A dot and a single, De Kock is on strike for the final delivery. Does he try to keep strike in the next over or let Pollard finish it off? He takes a single to keep strike.

After 17 overs,Mumbai Indians 147/3 ( Quinton de Kock (W) 64 , Kieron Pollard 1)

Mumbai Indians need 32 runs in 24 balls. Krunal doesn’t look like he’s in any particular mood to use all those remaining overs though. He whacks a six on the first ball of Mustafizur’s over, it’s hit high into the night sky and it just about makes it over deep midwicket and falls a metre or two behind the boundary rope. A couple of dot balls, and then Mustafizur Rahman strikes! It’s an inside edge, and it finds the middle stump, Pandya’s sent packing. The celebrations are a bit muted though, it looks like Rajasthan are well aware of the fact that they are not out of troubled waters by a long shot. Kieron Pollard’s on, and after facing a dot, he gets off the mark with a single. What can the Trinidadian come up with in the few balls that he has left to face?

After 17 overs,Mumbai Indians 147/3 ( Quinton de Kock (W) 64 , Kieron Pollard 1)

Mumbai Indians need 32 runs in 24 balls. Krunal doesn’t look like he’s in any particular mood to use all those remaining overs though. He whacks a six on the first ball of Mustafizur’s over, it’s hit high into the night sky and it just about makes it over deep midwicket and falls a metre or two behind the boundary rope. A couple of dot balls, and then Mustafizur Rahman strikes! It’s an inside edge, and it finds the middle stump, Pandya’s sent packing. The celebrations are a bit muted though, it looks like Rajasthan are well aware of the fact that they are not out of troubled waters by a long shot. Kieron Pollard’s on, and after facing a dot, he gets off the mark with a single. What can the Trinidadian come up with in the few balls that he has left to face?

After 16 overs,Mumbai Indians 140/2 ( Quinton de Kock (W) 64 , Krunal Pandya 33)

So what are the Mumbai Indians going to do from here? Do they continue at this pace, or take a bit of risk and try to go for some boundaries in a bid to further improve their net run rate?Well, Krunal Pandya looks like he’s in the mood to hit, he flicks a wider delivery to deep square’s left, that has a lot of pace on it and it just about beats the scrambling fielder at the boundary rope. Five consecutive singles to make it 9 runs off the over. This is really comfortable for Mumbai.

After 15 overs,Mumbai Indians 131/2 ( Quinton de Kock (W) 62 , Krunal Pandya 26)

We’re done with a strategic timeout. There’s not much of an immediate effect of any strategy on the bowlers though, Tewatia’s first ball is hammered for six by Krunal Pandya. It’s pumped straight down the ground, the air time on that was crazy! A dot ball, and then Krunal runs a quick double, he’s really grown into this match. A wide and three singles follow, 12 runs off the over. Mumbai Indians need 41 runs in 30 balls.

After 14 overs,Mumbai Indians 119/2 ( Quinton de Kock (W) 61 , Krunal Pandya 16)

Rajasthan are really running out of time. Mumbai Indians still have some big hitters left to play, and the required run rate is also in control at the moment. Someone needs to come up with something special if Rajasthan are to win the match. Single, single and a double to start, before Quinton de Kock escapes a walk back to the dugout by the skin of his teeth! He tries to loft that over long-off, but it’s miscued and it goes straight up into the air. It’s swerving and moving on the descent, but Yashashwi Jaiswal almost, almost manages to take the catch. That was very, very close. Two more singles to end the over, eight off it. Mumbai Indians march on.

After 13 overs,Mumbai Indians 111/2 ( Quinton de Kock (W) 55 , Krunal Pandya 14)

More Rahul Tewatia now, he didn’t have the best first over, so he’ll be looking to make amends for that. The first three balls are all singles, followed by a dot. Krunal then tries a clever little sweep, but he can only find deep backward square. Couple of singles to end the over. Where are the wickets going to come from for Rajasthan?

After 12 overs,Mumbai Indians 106/2 ( Quinton de Kock (W) 53 , Krunal Pandya 12)

Unadkat’s final over, and he begins it with a dot. De Kock takes a single on the next ball, and that brings up his half century! The South African has done really, really well tonight, playing some smart shots and keeping his side’s scoreboard ticking along. A single, a double and a single follow. Mumbai are now slightly ahead of where Rajasthan were at this same point in their innings. Krunal Pandya then ends the over with a sweetly-timed boundary past mid-off’s right

After 11 overs,Mumbai Indians 97/2 ( Quinton de Kock (W) 49 , Krunal Pandya 7)

Shivam Dube’s got an over, and he starts off with a dot. Ooooh, that was unlucky! It was a dipping slower ball outside off, and it deflects off a toe and races away for four leg byes. Very unfortunate for RR, but a gift for Mumbai. A single, wide, double and dot follow, before Rahul Tewatia saves a boundary with some superhuman fielding! That was some athleticism! It’s a close call though, there might have been a bit of contact with the boundary rope. It’s looked over a couple of times, but the stop is good, just two runs on the last ball

After 10 overs,Mumbai Indians 87/2 ( Quinton de Kock (W) 48 , Krunal Pandya 3)

Chris Morris is back for his second over. The first ball is a dot, before Morris gets a huge wicket! Suryakumar Yadav is sent right back to the dugout. The MI batsman tried to loft a shot over midwicket, but he can’t get enough height on it, and it’s claimed pretty easily by Buttler. Another big wicket for orris, he’s really come good for his skipper here. Mumbai Indians are still ostensibly in control of the match, but this will have them sweating a bit. Two singles and a double follow. Just 4 runs conceded and a huge wicket, this could be a turning point for RR.

After 9 overs,Mumbai Indians 83/1 ( Quinton de Kock (W) 47 , Suryakumar Yadav 16)

Unadkat is back, and he will replace Tewatia. Rajasthan really need wickets, something, anything to change the trajectory of this match. The first delivery is run for a double, before De Kock gets another boundary which is pulled a bit awkwardly to fine leg’s right. A dot and two singles follow, and then De Kock ends the over with a crisp four straight down the ground.

After 8 overs,Mumbai Indians 71/1 ( Quinton de Kock (W) 36 , Suryakumar Yadav 15)

Another Mustafizur Rahman over, and another boundary on the first ball. That one is sent racing past third man’s left by Yadav, there was a huge outside edge. A single then, and there’s a big call for LBW. Umpire doesn’t give it, and Samson has a think, before reviewing the decision. There’s a nick though, Quinton de Kock is safe and now Rajasthan don’t have any reviews left. Three singles to end the over, and we head into a strategic timeout. What can Samson do here to stem MI’s tide?

After 7 overs,Mumbai Indians 63/1 ( Quinton de Kock (W) 34 , Suryakumar Yadav 9)

Great over for Mumbai Indians despite the loss of wicket. A couple of back-to-back fours in there from Suryakumar Yadav, before a boundary on the last ball by de Kock makes it 14 off the over.

After 6 overs,Mumbai Indians 49/1 ( Quinton de Kock (W) 29 , Suryakumar Yadav 0)

Chris Morris is in to bowl his first over, and he’s greeted with a six by De Kock! It was a gorgeous pull over midwicket, he really put some force behind it. The next delivery isn’t great either, it deflects off of De Kock’s thigh and races away for four leg byes. Not the start Sanju Samson would have wanted from the big South African. A single, a dot and a double follow, before Rohit Sharma departs against the run of play! He chips it straight to Chetan Sakariya at mid-off! Big wicket this for Rajasthan

After 5 overs,Mumbai Indians 36/0 ( Rohit Sharma (C) 12 , Quinton de Kock (W) 23)

Unadkat continues, and De Kock tries to go big on the first delivery, but there isn’t enough juice on the attempted shot, it’s just a single. Rohit Sharma’s on strike, and my oh my, that’s a belter of a six! It’s an excellent pull shot, and he hammers it over midwicket and into the cheap seats. It was hit hard, and quite flat, that could’ve knocked out a spectator or two had we had any in attendance. Two more singles and two more dots end the over, MI are ticking along quite nicely here.

After 4 overs,Mumbai Indians 27/0 ( Rohit Sharma (C) 5 , Quinton de Kock (W) 21)

Bangladesh’s Mustafizur Rahman will replace Jaydev Unadkat. Rahman’s first couple of deliveries lack a bit of ‘Fizz’ though, and they’re sent away for a four and a six by Quinton de Kock. The first one is caressed between short third and point, Miller almost stops it, but he’s not quite quick enough, and it rolls away for four. The next one is really special, as De Kock gets down on a knee and whacks one over short fine! A single, a dot and two more singles follow. Decent over for MI, they can really build on this.

After 3 overs,Mumbai Indians 14/0 ( Rohit Sharma (C) 4 , Quinton de Kock (W) 9)

Sakariya continues. First ball’s a single, before there’s a huge shout from the bowler for LBW. The umpire wasn’t having it at all, that one pretty clearly looked like it was missing the off stump. Quinton de Kock shows the first real sign of intent on the next ball, as he opens up his body and sends a delivery racing past extra cover for four. First boundary of the night for MI that. A dot, a single and another dot to end the over.

After 2 overs,Mumbai Indians 7/0 ( Rohit Sharma (C) 4 , Quinton de Kock (W) 3)

Jaydev Unadkat will bowl from the other end. The first ball’s a single, the second one’s a dot. This is a bit of a tentative start from MI’s openers, but there’s no real cause for concern yet. 171 on this pitch isn’t a particularly daunting target, so they can take a few balls to settle in. Two more dots follow, before Sharma takes a quick single. That was a risky one, Tewatia pulled off some decent fielding at cover point to recover the ball, but his throw is just wide of the wicket. Had that been an accurate throw, it would have been the end of Sharma’s evening. Single on the final ball.