Mumbai Indians won a third straight match and moved top of the Indian Premier League as they recorded a 57-run win over slumping Rajasthan Royals on Tuesday.
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.