Cameron Green's unbeaten 64 from 40 deliveries helped propel the Indians to 192-5 from their 20 overs on Tuesday, with Arjun Tendulkar's first IPL wicket then sealing victory.
Green came in after the loss of Rohit Sharma (28) in the fifth over, with Mumbai 41-1, and put on 46 for the next wicket with Ishan Kishan (38) before the second Indians opener was caught by Aiden Markram off Marco Jansen's bowling.
Jansen swiftly dismissed Suryakumar Yadav, too, but Green, with able support from Tilak Varma, put the Indians in control.
As Green clipped his way to a first IPL half-century, Varma plundered 37 from just 17 deliveries to up the run rate, with the Sunrisers set a daunting target.
Harry Brook's departure in the second over presented a stuttering start to Hyderabad's chase, with Rahul Tripathi following soon after.
Mayank Agarwal offered stubborn resistance but saw Aiden Markram, Abhishek Sharma and Heinrich Klaasen – who blasted 36 from 16 balls to give the Sunrisers hope – come and go before finally succumbing on 48.
Against the odds, Hyderabad had a slim chance heading into the final over, from which they required 20 to win, but Tendulkar – son of India legend Sachin – rounded out the win with a superb show of death bowling to have the Sunrisers out for 178 with one ball remaining.
Green does the business with bat and ball
Before Tendulkar stole the show, Green was Mumbai's star performer with the bat and stepped up with the ball, too.
The Australian finished with bowling figures of 1-29, taking the key wicket of Sunrisers captain Markram for 22.
Remember the name
Arjun Tendulkar has quite the legacy to live up to, but he made his mark in some style with a fantastically composed final over.
And his big moment came with the wicket of Bhuvneshwar Kumar to finish with figures of 1-18 in the most economical performance of all Mumbai bowlers.
"I just had to focus on what was in hand, the plan, and executing it, that's all," said Tendulkar. "Me and dad talk about cricket, discuss tactics."
Cricket South Africa announced following the Test series defeat to England this week Boucher was set to step down to "pursue other opportunities in line with his future career and personal objectives".
The 45-year-old has quickly secured a new role in the Indian Premier League, joining Mumbai for the 2023 season.
"It is an honour and privilege to be appointed as head coach of MI," Boucher said in an Indians statement.
"Their history and achievements as a franchise clearly put them up there as one of the most successful sporting franchises in all of world sport. I look forward to the challenge and respect the need for results.
"It's a strong unit with great leadership and players. I look forward to adding value to this dynamic unit."
Mumbai posted a modest 150-5 from their allocation on Saturday with the total boosted largely to some valuable late-order hitting from Kieron Pollard.
Jonny Bairstow (43 off 22) laid a solid platform for Hyderabad's reply with an aggressive knock alongside the more cautious David Warner (36 off 34).
But both men departed to soft dismissals before India leg-spinner Rahul (3-19) stifled the middle order and Boult (3-28) blew away the tail as Hyderabad were bowled out for 137.
Mumbai captain Rohit Sharma (32) and fellow opener Quinton de Kock (40) made good use of the powerplay after they had elected to bat first as they picked up length well, punishing anything short, on a slow pitch in Chennai.
Mumbai's innings stuttered in the middle overs as Vijay Shankar (2-19) and Mujeeb Ur Rahman (2-29) put the brakes on before Pollard (35 not out) whacked 16 crucial runs off the last over from Bhuvneshwar Kumar.
Boult and Jasprit Bumrah initially made life tough for Hyderabad before Bairstow exploded in with a brutal assault, striking three fours and four sixes before he stepped on his stumps trying to work a ball from Krunal Pandya.
Hyderabad skipper Warner was then run out and Rahul's leggies swung the momentum Mumbai's way with three wickets before Boult and Bumrah (1-14) proved formidable at the death.
The victory took Mumbai top of the table, until Sunday at least, while Hyderabad are languishing at the bottom.
Sunrisers need more from Bairstow and Warner
In the third over of their reply, England's Bairstow launched a towering six off Boult straight down the ground which shattered the glass on a drinks fridge next to the Sunrisers' dugout.
His 43 off 22 balls got Hyderabad's reply off to a great start while Australian Warner played a more methodical innings to put his side within striking distance.
Both openers, however, were out to soft dismissals – Warner made a daft call for a single while Bairstow was out hit wicket – and the pair need to place greater value on their wickets.
Boult and Bumrah masterful
Rahul caught the eye with his with his leg spin as he removed the top-six wickets of Manish Pandey, Virat Singh and Abhishek Sharma.
But at the business end of the game New Zealand left-armer Boult and India paceman Bumrah, who did not concede a single boundary, gave an exhibition in how to bowl at the death to snuff out any lingering Hyderabad's hopes.
That was backed up by some superb fielding from Hardik Pandya, who prowled the infield sharply and claimed two run outs including Warner.
CSK won the toss and elected to bat and must have been regretting that decision after they got off to a disastrous start slumping to 24-4 by the end of the Powerplay as Trent Boult and Adam Milne wreaked havoc on their top order.
In dire straits, Chennai owed their recovery to 156-6 to Man-of-the-Match Putara Gaikwad, who scored an unbeaten 88 from 58 balls. Gaikwad hit nine fours and four sixes as he successfully balanced prudence with aggression while stitching together a critical fifth-wicket partnership of 81 with Ravindra Jadeja.
Jadeja faced 33 balls before Jasprit Bumrah had him caught by Kieron Pollard for 26.
Gaikward and Bravo, who was playing his 100th match for CSK, put up an additional 39 for the sixth wicket with the latter scoring 23 off just eight balls. Bravo, who last week led St Kitts and Nevis Patriots to their first Hero CPL title, hit three sixes before he became Bumrah’s second victim going for another big hit over cover.
Bumrah returned figures of 2-33, while Milne and Boult, who did the early damage, ended with figures of 2-21 and 2-35, respectively.
Chasing 157 for victory, Bravo took 3-23 to restrict Mumbai to 136-8, despite an unbeaten even 50 from Saurabh Tiwary.
Two wickets from Deepak Chahar had Mumbai in early trouble at 37-3 inside six overs.
Tiwary tried to keep the innings together but Mumbai lost wickets regularly mainly via Bravo’s intervention. The veteran Trinidadian was also instrumental in running out the dangerous Krunal Pandya for four that had the defending champions in trouble at 94-6.
Bravo then took the wickets of Milne for 15 and Chahar for a duck to seal the victory.
The New Zealand skipper scored just 216 runs from 13 innings at an average of 19.64 in the IPL this year.
Sunrisers on Tuesday announced that Williamson has not been retained by the franchise, who finished eighth last season.
Nicholas Pooran and Sean Abbott are among the other players who have not been kept on by Hyderabad.
It was also the end of an era for Mumbai Indians, with Kieron Pollard calling time on his IPL playing days and taking over as the franchise's batting coach.
Kolkata Knight Riders will have to do without Pat Cummins, Alex Hales and Sam Billings after the overseas trio opted out of the 2023 tournament.
Dwayne Bravo and Chris Jordan were among the players on the Chennai Super Kings' list of released players, while Jason Holder will not feature for Lucknow Super Giants.
Black Caps duo Daryl Mitchell and Jimmy Neesham will not return to Rajasthan Royals, while the same goes for South Africa batter Rassie Van Der Dussen.
Four-time champions Mumbai finished top of the table and will take some stopping in the final next Tuesday on the evidence of this crushing win in Qualifier 1.
Suryakumar Yadav (51 from 38 balls) marked his 100th IPL match with a half-century, while Ishan Kishan (55 not out from 30) also raised his bat as the holders posted 200-5.
Quinton de Kock (40 off 25) and Hardik Pandya (37no from 14) were the other Mumbai batsmen who put on a show at Dubai International Cricket Stadium, with Ravichandran Ashwin (3-29) the standout Capitals bowler.
The game was all-but over early in the run chase as Boult and Bumrah ran riot, the defending champions taking three wickets before Delhi had a run on the board.
Bumrah replaced Kagiso Rabada as the leading wicket-taker in this year's tournament with incredible figures of 4-14 and Boult would probably have claimed more than 2-9 if he bowled more than two overs.
Delhi never recovered from a lethal early burst from the pace duo, who have 49 wickets between them in the 2020 IPL, and their eventual 143-8 was much more than they looked destined for.
Marcus Stoinis (65 from 46) and Axar Patel (42 off 33) salvaged some pride, and Delhi must regroup before facing Sunrisers Hyderabad or Royal Challengers Bangalore on Sunday for the right to play Mumbai in the final.
KISHAN AND PANDYA CAP IT OFF
De Kock took 15 off the first over from Daniel Sams, but Rohit Sharma went for a golden duck when he was trapped leg before playing down the wrong line to an Ashwin delivery.
The holders were flying at 63-1 at the end of the powerplay, with Yadav in great touch, but De Kock fell 10 short of a half-century and they were 101-4 in the 13th over when Kieron Pollard became the excellent Ashwin's third victim.
Kishan and Pandya conjured up a devastating late onslaught, though, putting on 60 from only 23 balls, with Anrich Nortje suffering the most as he went for 50 off his four overs.
Pandya launched back-to-back sixes in the penultimate over from Rabada and struck five in total, while Kishan dispatched the last ball of the innings from Nortje over extra cover for six to reach his half-century and bring up the 200.
BOULT AND BUMRAH SPELL DOUBLE TROUBLE FOR DELHI
Delhi needed a blistering start to have a chance of chasing down a big target, but instead they became the first IPL team to be three down without scoring a run.
Boult and Bumrah were rested for the Indians' heavy loss to Sunrisers in their last game of the regular season and the refreshed pacemen were bang on the money on their return.
Left-arm quick Boult dismissed Prithvi Shaw and Ajinkya Rahane in the first over before Bumrah bowled Shikhar Dhawan with an unplayable searing yorker.
Shreyas Iyer also fell to the brilliant Bumrah prior to Rishabh Pant being sent on his way by Krunal Pandya to leave Delhi reeling on 41-5, with Stoinis' entertaining knock always going to be in vain.
Suryakumar Yadav scored 79 not out from 47 balls as the Indians, who won the toss and elected to bat, set a strong total of 193-4 in Abu Dhabi.
Jos Buttler smashed 70 from 44 deliveries in response but he lacked meaningful support from any of his Royals team-mates, who will be eagerly anticipating the availability of Ben Stokes once his period of quarantine in the United Arab Emirates is over.
Jasprit Bumrah starred for the Indians with bowling figures of 4-20 – his best in the IPL – to ensure his team moved above the Delhi Capitals at the summit and condemned the Royals, who had won their first two matches, to a third consecutive defeat as they were bowled out for 136.
YADAV GOES BIG
After opener Quinton de Kock fell to IPL debutant Kartik Tyagi, Mumbai looked like they could be in trouble in their middle overs when Shreyas Gopal (2-28) removed Rohit Sharma (35) and Ishan Kishan (0) with successive deliveries.
Krunal Pandya went to Jofra Archer for 12 but Yadav pushed the Indians forward, bringing up his fifty with a four off Tom Curran.
Yadav established an unbeaten partnership worth 76 runs with Hardik Pandya (30 off 19) and finished with 11 fours and a pair of maximums for his highest IPL score.
POLLARD DENIES BRILLIANT BUTTLER
The Royals' hopes of being competitive were effectively dashed inside their opening three overs as they lost Yashasvi Jaiswal and Sanju Samson to Trent Boult for ducks either side of Steve Smith swiping Bumrah to De Kock.
Rajasthan were in poor shape at 12-3 – the third game in a row they have been three down inside seven overs – but Buttler launched five maximums and found the rope four more times to give them hope.
However, a stunning catch from Kieron Pollard, who adjusted well in the deep after Buttler's shot initially hit his forearm, ended the wicketkeeper-batsman's electric knock.
Bumrah capped a commanding display from the Indians by dismissing Rahul Tewatia (5) and Gopal (1) in the same over before accounting for Archer at the end of his next set of six.
Both sides came into the showdown on the back of defeats and it was leaders Mumbai who responded like the champions they are, winning by five wickets in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday.
Bumrah moved past the 100 IPL wickets and 200 T20 scalp landmarks with outstanding figures of 3-14 from four overs, playing a big part in restricting RCB to 164-6.
Devdutt Padikkal (74 from 45 balls) and Josh Philippe (33 off 24) got Virat Kohli's second-placed side off to a flyer, but they were rocked by the India paceman Bumrah at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium.
Kieron Pollard also made an impact with the ball, removing AB de Villiers for only 15 in his only over – which cost just five runs.
Yadav was Mumbai's match-winner with the bat, making a statement to the India selectors after he was left out for the tour of Australia by crafting an unbeaten 79 off 43 balls.
Mohammed Siraj and Yuzvendra Chahal took two wickets apiece, but they were unable to see the back of the classy Yadav, who hit the winning runs off the first ball of the last over to leave the Indians on the brink of the play-offs.
BRILLIANT BUMRAH HITS MILESTONES BY CLAIMING KOHLI SCALP
India paceman Bumrah is up to second on the list of the leading wicket-takers in the 2020 tournament after playing a huge hand for the defending champions yet again.
He also reached two significant landmarks by claiming the huge wicket of Kohli, who was caught in the deep after top-edging a short ball.
Bumrah then removed Shivam Dube and Padikkal, who struck 12 fours and a six in a classy knock, in the 17th over and bowled 15 dot balls in another outstanding performance with ball in hand.
YADAV MAKES HIS POINT AFTER INDIA SNUB
Siraj was called up by India this week and celebrated by getting rid of Quinton de Kock and Saurabh Tiwary, while Chahal sent Ishan Kishan packing.
Mumbai were 107-4 when Krunal Pandya fell in the 14th over, but Yadav never looked troubled in a brilliant knock, reaching his half-century off 29 balls.
The elegant right-hander struck three of his 10 fours off the 16th over, bowled by Siraj, and two of his three sixes came off the spinner Chahal as he finished with a strike rate of 183.72.
Already out of contention for the top four having won just two of their first 10 games, Mumbai confirmed before the match that batter Suryakumar Yadav would miss the rest of the season with a left forearm injury.
However, Bumrah gave their fans something to cheer with a remarkable display of pace bowling, taking figures of 5-10 as KKR were restricted to 165-9.
Yet that total proved well beyond Mumbai as Pat Cummins and Andre Russell thrived with ball in hand to help KKR to their fifth win of the campaign.
A positive start from KKR that saw Ajinkya Rahane (25) and Venkatesh Iyer (43) put on 60 for the opening wicket eventually gave way to a Bumrah masterclass.
The turning point in their innings came in the 15th over as Bumrah removed Russell (9) and Nitish Rana (43) to reduce KKR to 139-5.
KKR never recovered from there and were helpless in the 18th as Bumrah produced a triple-wicket maiden.
Mumbai failed to deliver a batting effort to match his performance with the ball, the tone set when Rohit Sharma (2) was given out caught behind on review from the sixth ball of the reply.
Ishan Kishan (51) was the only Mumbai batter to score more than 15, Cummins displacing him in the 15th over, which also saw Daniel Sams (1) and Murugan Ashwin (0) caught to turn the tide firmly in KKR's favour.
The final three dismissals all came via run-outs as Mumbai's increasingly desperate chase ended with them bowled out for 113.
Bumrah blitz
India fast bowler Bumrah's figures marked the best of his IPL career, beating the 4-14 he took against Delhi Capitals in 2020.
The highlight was unquestionably the 18th over, in which Sheldon Jackson and Cummins both fell before Bumrah had Sunil Narine caught and bowled. Tim Southee denied him a sixth wicket and a hat-trick.
KKR still in the hunt
Defeat for KKR would have ended their top-four hopes. As it is, they still have an outside chance of making the play-offs. They are one of four teams on 10 points, four points behind fourth-placed Royal Challengers Bangalore.
However, three of those teams have a game more to play, meaning KKR's fate is therefore not in their own hands.
The Indians put their opponents in to bat first but no doubt soon regretted that decision as opener Buttler plundered 100 off 68 balls.
That knock did the heavy lifting in the Royals' 193-8 – a total that proved comfortably beyond Mumbai, despite the best efforts of teenager Tilak Varma (61).
Buttler had 26 runs in a dizzying fourth over alone and later put on 82 with captain Sanju Samson (30) for the third wicket in the biggest partnership of the match.
Shimron Hetmyer (35) played his part and the Royals were moving at a blistering pace up until his departure, collapsing from 183-3 with 11 balls remaining.
That shaky finish looked like it could prove costly when Varma joined Ishan Kishan (54) in the middle, but Ravi Ashwin finally got the better of the 19-year-old.
Yuzvendra Chahal (2-26) then set about tidying up the rest of the middle order, getting Tim David and Daniel Sams from consecutive deliveries before creating a hat-trick chance with his ball to Murugan Ashwin, only for Karun Nair to fluff the catch, if not his team's ultimately routine win.
Bumrah bests Buttler after brilliant show
One of the great limited-overs batsmen, Buttler's tally of a single hundred in 66 prior IPL matches was on the light side. He was well on the way to his second century within four overs, though, with 38 runs off 20 balls at that stage.
The England wicketkeeper hit five boundaries in succession – two fours and three sixes – in that fourth over. Although that pace then slowed a little, it still required an elite bowler to eventually get Buttler, with a Jasprit Bumrah beauty among three wickets in the 19th over as he finished with 3-17.
Victory charge ends with Varma wicket
Varma could not join Buttler on three figures, but this was a first fifty and will surely not be his last. It said a lot for Varma's performance that he earned a send off from Ashwin, having sent him for six with a reverse sweep from the previous ball.
Unfortunately for the Indians, already slightly behind in the game, their next boundary did not follow for almost three overs – during which time Chahal took his two wickets.
The Capitals, requiring a victory at the Wankhede Stadium to make the last four, were limited to 159-7, with Jasprit Bumrah (3-25) the pick of the bowlers.
Rovman Powell (43) and Rishabh Pant (39) fell short of half-centuries, but Delhi's total looked competitive as the Indians made a slow start in response.
Mumbai struggled to 27-1 at the end of the powerplay after Anrich Nortje dismissed captain Rohit Sharma, who managed only two off 13 deliveries.
Ishan Kishan offered more attacking intent, scoring 48 off 35 balls before falling to Kuldeep Yadav (1-33) in the 12th over and Dewald Brevis (37) followed to Shardul Thakur soon after with 65 runs still required.
Pant failed to review when David, on nought, edged behind and the Australian capitalised by blasting an 11-ball 34 before he was removed by Thakur (2-32) to leave Mumbai needing just 15 from 13 balls.
Ramandeep Singh (13 not out) saw Rohit's side over the line with five deliveries to spare, which meant Royal Challengers Bangalore took the final play-off spot and will face Lucknow Super Giants in the eliminator on Wednesday.
Brilliant Bumrah
Bumrah has been somewhat off the pace for the struggling Mumbai in this year's competition, barring his excellent 5-10 against Kolkata Knight Riders.
However, the India quick was in imperious form in the first innings of this game, removing Prithvi Shaw (24), Mitchell Marsh (nought) and Powell to take his tally to 15 in the 2022 IPL.
Pant's reviews
Pan dropped a simple chance when Brevis skied Kuldeep on 25. The skipper then ignored Thakur's advice and opted to not review when David edged behind.
The Capitals captain followed that up by reviewing a Nortje delivery to Tilak Varma that pitched well outside leg stump, capping a miserable day for the India wicketkeeper.
Avesh Khan (3-15) and Axar Patel (3-21) limited Mumbai - who are sixth with two matches to play - to 129-8 as the holders lost wickets at regular intervals.
Anrich Nortje also picked up 1-19 from his four-over allocation and, despite Suryakumar Yadav's 33, Rishabh Pant's side looked like the firm favourites at the halfway point in Sharjah on Saturday.
Nathan Coulter-Nile dismissed fellow Australian Steve Smith (nine) with his first delivery to leave the Capitals teetering at 30-3 after openers Shikhar Dhawan and Prithvi Shaw were also dismissed cheaply.
Pant (26) followed to off-spinner Jayant Yadav to leave Delhi 57-4 but Iyer and Shimron Hetmyer (15) offered resistance to drag their side up to 93-6 before the latter fell to Jasprit Bumrah's deceiving slower ball.
Ravichandran Ashwin (20) then joined Iyer, who finished unbeaten on 33, to secure victory for second-placed Delhi with five balls to spare and leave the Indians under serious threat of failing to reach the play-offs.
Avesh torments Indians
Avesh toyed with the Mumbai line-up as he delivered a mix of slower balls and inswinging yorkers to secure his three dismissals.
The seamer impressively dismissed the dangerous finisher Hardik Pandya in the penultimate over, while also removing Coulter-Nile after he had claimed the big scalp of Rohit Sharma in his first over.
Ashwin final-over gamble fails
Pant gambled by holding back Ashwin to the final over of Mumbai's innings. The off-spinner dismissed Jayant Yadav but conceded 13 from his final six deliveries as he ended with 1-41 from his four overs.
However, Ashwin made up for it with the bat as he sealed the win with a six off Krunal Pandya's first ball of the last over.
Quinton de Kock smashed 67 off 39 balls and a 78-run stand with Ishan Kishan (31) was fundamental in building the foundations for Mumbai's score of 208-5.
Krunal Pandya's explosion in the final over, during which he battered Siddarth Kaul for 20 from four balls, helped Mumbai get to that tally, which seemed to be above par on a slow pitch.
David Warner made a pedestrian start, though he picked up the pace to at least gave Sunrisers a fighting chance until his knock was ended on 60, departing in the 16th over to effectively end their hopes.
There was little help in a disappointing middle-order showing, with pace trio James Pattinson (2-29), Trent Boult (2-28) and Jasprit Bumrah (2-41) doing the damage for Mumbai, who restricted Sunrisers to 174-7.
Victory means Mumbai now have three wins and two defeats from five games to move top of the table, while a third loss for Sunrisers leaves them sixth.
QUINTON DE KOCK OF THE WALK
Rohit Sharma (6) lasted just five deliveries but De Kock and Suryakumar Yadav (27) put on 42 before the big stand with Kishan boosted Mumbai.
De Kock, who hit four fours and as many sixes, was the protagonist of the partnership, contributing 54 of the 78 runs.
LACK OF SUPPORT FOR WARNER
Pandya may have rued putting down Manish Pandey with a sitter at deep point when he went on to put on a 60-run partnership with Warner.
But when Pandey clumsily chipped Pattinson to long off, Warner – who had five fours and two sixes in his 44-ball knock – was not helped by Kane Williamson (3) or Priyam Garg (8).
When Warner got a thick edge to a slower one from Pattinson that was taken with a superb diving catch by Kishan at short third man, the game was up.
The Indians posted 161-4 at Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune, Suryakumar Yadav top scoring with 52 off 36 balls with support from Tilak Varma (38 not out) and Kieron Pollard (22no).
Mumbai looked to be on course for their first win of the tournament when KKR were 101-5 in the 14th over, but Australia Test captain Cummins had other ideas.
The paceman matched KL Rahul's record for the fastest IPL half-century from 14 balls and put the Knight Riders top by hitting Daniel Sams for six to seal victory with four overs to spare, Venkatesh Iyer also playing a big hand with an unbeaten 50.
Jaiswal lit up the IPL's 1,000th match with a superb innings, but the five-time champions chased down the 213 target with three balls to spare as David whacked three straight sixes to seal the victory.
The Royals won the toss and elected to bat first, getting off to a strong start as Jaiswal and Jos Buttler combined to get Rajasthan to 72 runs before Buttler was caught off Piyush Chawla's bowling.
The wickets began to tumble around Jaiswal, with no other batsman scoring higher than Buttler's 18, yet he powered his way to a century off just 53 balls to help the Royals to a strong total of 212/7.
The run chase started poorly as captain Rohit Sharma could not mark breaking the Indians' all-time IPL appearance record with a suitably memorable innings, dismissed for just three in the second over of his 190th match for Mumbai.
But Suryakumar Yadav gave the Indians a chance of pulling off the win with his 55 off 29 balls, and though he fell in the 16th, David finished the job with an epic final over, nailing three consecutive maximums to clinch a first win in three for Mumbai.
Jaiswal century in vain
Jaiswal's brilliant 124 is the highest score in this season's IPL and is the joint-most ever recorded by a Rajasthan batsman (also Buttler v Sunrisers Hyderabad in 2021).
The 21-year-old smashed eight sixes and 16 fours on his way to the highest IPL score by an uncapped Indian batter, yet he still ended up on the losing side.
Mumbai win despite Rohit's birthday struggles
Danger man Rohit turned 36 the day of the game, also moving above Kieron Pollard on the Indians' IPL appearance list, with only Virat Kohli and MS Dhoni playing more games for a single team.
He had his team-mates to thank for being able to mark his special day with a win, though, as Mumbai overcame their captain's low score with Cameron Green, Suryakumar and David all getting scores of 40+, the latter making 45 off just 14 deliveries to secure the victory.
Rajasthan made 171-4 but were lacking an outstanding contribution with the bat, which is what De Kock gave Mumbai as his unbeaten 70 from 50 balls proved telling, halting a two-game slide.
Chris Morris took two of the three Mumbai wickets to fall, but the Indian Premier League's most expensive player also saw his first delivery swatted for six by De Kock and could not win that contest.
Jasprit Bumrah had earlier played a key role with the ball in restricting the flow of runs late in Rajasthan's innings, and Mumbai reached their target with nine balls to spare, finishing on 172-3.
At Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi, Rajasthan's top four all made useful scores, with Jos Buttler having three fours and three sixes in making 41 from 32 deliveries and fellow opener Yashasvi Jaiswal also clearing the ropes twice in a rapid 32 from 20 balls.
Both fell to Rahul Chahar (2-33), with Sanju Samson top-scoring with 42 from 27 balls before being cleaned up by a Trent Boult yorker. Shivam Dube (35) was caught and bowled by Bumrah, who snagged his reward for a dazzling performance, finishing with 1-15 from four overs.
Mumbai began their reply in solid fashion and De Kock welcomed fellow South African Morris into the attack with a brutal pull over the ropes.
Morris conceded four leg byes from the next delivery too, but from the final ball of the over he coaxed Rohit Sharma to chip to Chetan Sakariya at mid-on for the first breakthrough of the innings, with 49 on the board.
De Kock kept the runs flowing but lost second-wicket partner Suryakumar Yadav for just 16, flicking Morris to Buttler at mid-wicket, and almost departed himself when he was dropped on 58 by Jaiswal off Sakariya. It would have been a stunning catch and Jaiswal, dashing backwards in the field, got hands to the ball but could not cling on.
Krunal Pandya cracked two sixes in making 39 from 26 balls, edging a delivery from Mustafizur Rahman into his stumps to perish before the winning line, but De Kock and Kieron Pollard (16no), who also struck a maximum off Morris, soon made sure.
Bumrah gets it right
Bumrah may not have the wickets to show for it yet this season, but few batsmen will have relished facing his pace and skill. Here he delivered 12 dot balls, conceded just one boundary, and picked up a wicket from his penultimate delivery, which was probably one of the worst balls he bowled. Stifling the Royals batsmen late in the innings proved so valuable in the end.
De Kock makes his mark
With three failures from his first four IPL innings this season, De Kock knew the team were due a score from him, and here it was. After going 2, 40, 2, 3 in Mumbai's previous matches, opener De Kock stepped up and made all the difference in this clash. His six off Morris was a highlight and De Kock twice went over the ropes, also cracking six fours while proving both sturdy and ever-dangerous. Mumbai had won just two of their opening five games, but this third win was a dominant one, largely thanks to their powerful left-hander.
The Warriorz made 138-6 off their 20 overs after being put in to bat by the Capitals. Talia McGrath made 58* and captain Alyssa Healy made 36 against 3-26 off four overs from off-spinner Alice Capsey.
Meg Lanning (39), Capsey (34) and Marizanne Kapp (34*) then led a successful Delhi chase as the finalists needed just 17.5 overs to reach 142-5.
Pacer Shabnim Ismail took two wickets for the Warriorz.
With the league phase of the tournament now complete with all teams having played eight games, the Capitals, after finishing top-of-the-table with 12 points, are automatically into the final.
The Warriorz will have an opportunity to meet them there when they take on the Mumbai Indians, who finished as runners-up in the league phase, in the eliminator on Friday.
Earlier on Tuesday, Mumbai also finished the league phase with 12 points after a four-wicket win over the Royal Challengers Bangalore at the Sr DY Patil Sports Academy in Mumbai.
RCB made 125-9 from their 20 overs after losing the toss. Ellyse Perry and Richa Ghosh both made 29 for RCB as Amelia Kerr continued her good form with the ball with 3-22 from her four overs for Mumbai. Nat Sciver-Brunt and Issy Wong also took two wickets each.
Kerr then completed a fine all-round performance with an unbeaten 31 while Yastika Bhatia made 30 and Hayley Matthews 24 as the Indians reached 129-6 in 16.3 overs.
The eliminator will be held at the Dr DY Patil Sports Academy on Friday while the final will take place at the Brabourne Stadium on March 26.
Despite missing David Warner, Mitchell Marsh and Anrich Nortje, the Capitals ultimately eased to victory, with Lalit Yadav (47 not out) and Axar Patel (38 not out) rescuing what had looked like a precarious situation.
An impressive 81 from 48 balls from Ishan Kishan helped the hosts on their way to 177-5 from their 20 overs, and they then reduced the Capitals to 104-6 from 13.2 overs, only for a partnership of 75 off the next five overs from Lalit and Axar to see the visitors home.
Kishan put on an opening stand of 67 with Indians captain Rohit Sharma (41) before the latter hit Kuldeep Yadav (3-18) to Rovman Powell.
Delhi appeared to be back in contention when the dangerous Kieron Pollard was caught brilliantly by Tim Seifert, the fielder taking a diving two-handed catch to his left to dismiss the Trinidadian for just three, but Tim David (12) played the support role for Kishan to do the damage, hitting 11 fours and two sixes.
Prithvi Shaw (38) and Seifert (21) made a promising start in reply before New Zealander Seifert was bowled by Murugan Ashwin, with Mandeep Singh following two balls later for a duck.
Capitals coach Ricky Ponting looked concerned on the sidelines when skipper Rishabh Pant hit a Tymal Mills delivery straight to David for just one, but Lalit and Axar eventually put on a show to see their team to victory.
Axar makes amends with the bat
Axar had not had the best of times with the ball in hand, going for 40 from his four overs without taking a wicket.
However, he more than made up for it with the bat as he smacked 38 from just 17 balls, including three sixes and the winning four to see his side to victory.
Sams has day to forget
Someone else who did not enjoy bowling was Daniel Sams, who went for 57 without taking a wicket from his four overs, including conceding nine boundaries (six fours, three sixes).
The game looked like it was drifting heavily towards Delhi's favour anyway, but that was confirmed when the Australian's final over went for 24.
However, Dottin has refuted these reports, revealing that she is, in fact, fit and healthy.
Dottin was announced as “ruled out” on Friday according to ESPN Cricinfo but quickly moved to dispute those reports on her social media.
“Get well soon from what if I may ask,” Dottin said on her Instagram stories over a screenshot of the report of her injury.
She also took to Twitter to voice her confusion.
“I appreciate all the messages but, truth be told, I’m recovering from nothing but the Holy Ghost anointing. Thank you,” she added.
Dottin was set to feature for the Gujarat Giants after being bought for US$73,000 at the WPL Auction in February.
Giants have named Kim Garth, the Australia allrounder, as replacement.
Garth had gone unsold at the auction last month. At the time of the auction, she was with the Australia squad that won the T20 World Cup in South Africa.
The Giants are set to take on the Mumbai Indians in the opening game on Saturday. The WPL runs from March 4-26.
Bravo was released by Chennai Super Kings on Tuesday, the same day his Trinidadian compatriot announced his retirement from the league and will take up a position as batting coach of the Mumbai Indians with which he won multiple IPL titles.
Bravo expressed mixed emotions in a post on social media.
“To my best friend, my teammate, opponent. 13 years ago I had a small part (to) play in introducing you to arguably one of the most successful IPL teams @mumbaiindians,” said Bravo, who was a teammate of Pollard’s having played for the Mumbai Indians during the first three seasons of the IPL before being picked up by CSK in 2011.
“I saw you grow from a little boy from Maloney and then go to India to dominate the toughest T20 league. You became a household name around the world. I salute you on a fantastic career (and) wish you all the best in the next chapter as it’s a sad day for you and your fans but we also celebrate what you have achieved.”
One of the marquee players for the Mumbai Indians since he signed in 2010, Pollard, in 189 matches for the side, has scored 3,412 runs at an average of 28.67, with 16 half-centuries while leading them to five IPL titles.
Bravo is expected to be resigned by CSK at a lower price later this year.
